She kind of lost interest, so there was this nice shiny drum kit waiting for me. “My sister started playing drums when I played guitar. “I love playing guitar, but I get a lot of satisfaction from playing other instruments, too,' Clark says. But the Austin native is anything but a strict traditionalist, and on the new set he weaves psychedelic and Delta blues, chillaxed retro-soul, acoustic gospel, and gonzo garage rock into a personal sonic tapestry that's as daringly au courant as it is classic. The album brims with the kind of fiery, emotive, and imaginative 6-string work that has prompted some writers to compare Clark to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. While he doesn't play trumpet on his musically diverse and compelling new album, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, the 31-year-old singer-guitar star gives pretty much everything else a go, functioning as a veritable (and astonishingly versatile) one-man band, tackling drums, keyboards, bass, finger snaps … oh, and, of course, the guitar. The funny thing is, Clark made good on most of his promises. And if that doesn't work, I'll play trumpet.' Or whatever. “My mother used to say to me, 'What if you can't be a guitarist? What then?' So I told her, 'If the guitar doesn't work out, then I'll play drums. had a backup plan-more than a few of them, in fact. Just in case this whole hotshot axe-man thing didn't pan out, Gary Clark Jr.