[Video] Redlight King Give KROQ The Royal Treatment With Tacos And Tasty Jams

Many KROQ listeners were probably equally shocked and delighted to hear the iconic warble of veteran singer-songwriter Neil Young sampled and interlaced with modern, introspective rap-rock in a song called “Old Man.” [Photo Gallery] Redlight King Performs…The product of Redlight King a.k.a Mark Kasprzyk’s creativity and tenacity (Neil Young’s people originally denied him the sample), “Old Man” is a soulful amalgamation of Kasperczk’s sound with vintage sentiments that still resonate with current music listeners.

Redlight King stopped by the KROQ backyard to turn an otherwise gloomy day into an energetic acoustic session–complete with tacos and tapping feet.

Although Kasperczk, or “Kaz,” is originally from Canada, the hot rod car fiend now lives in Los Angeles and was invited to play KROQ’s Locals Only show last night at The Roxy.

On our tiny backyard stage, Kaz is a natural; he engages the audience sans awkwardness. This is not shocking considering Kaz has years of intense practice dealing with high pressure situations like performance; Kaz has recorded music since he was 16-years-old and was a Canadian Olympic hopeful in the Japanese martial art practice of Judo.

Not without an artist’s prerequisite demons, Kaz has turned the pain of his life into confident, street-smart poetry with a hip-hop styling that  effortlessly translates in an acoustic setting.  Kaz and his band played songs off his début album on Hollywood Records called Something For The Pain– including “Old Man.”

It’s obvious from their live performance this afternoon that through his Redlight King project, Kaz has successfully filtered his world-worn reflections into a sound that a diverse array of listeners can enjoy.

Even his physical presence is full of splendid juxtapositions; at one moment urban, at another pure rock ‘n roll, and at still another, especially with his love for hot rods, he channels a little rockabilly.

Redlight King is music made for people just like Kaz himself; people who have overcome the shadows of their past, but can embrace that shadow enough today to teach the people of tomorrow a lesson.

Exactly the idea we think Neil Young was trying to express with his own “Old Man” almost four decades ago.