Keb' Mo' craves balance in his music and life

Keb' Mo' doesn't leave home without his candles and bubble bath.

It's one way the singer-songwriter gets a sense of normalcy and routine on the 150 nights a year he's on the road, away from his Los Angeles home.

"I crave balance. I'm a Libra," he explained.

On the flip side, he likes the excitement and enjoyment he gets from traveling and performing throughout the world. He says being a blues musician with a heavy schedule of live performances allows him the best of both worlds.

Keb' Mo', whose real name is Kevin Moore, also makes decisions in true sign-of-the-scales fashion: S-L-O-W-L-Y.

"Deciding on music as a career took years even though I was already doing it," the 50-year-old performer said.

"When I first set out on my own, I was thinking I was going to be an architect. But once I started working at a firm as an apprentice, I hated being in that office -- all those suits and ties, and it was so quiet."

He also takes his time writing each song, letting it "gestate." (A song is never perfected until he's performed it live, he said.) And he records new CDs about every other year.

Keb' Mo' got his first guitar lesson when he was 12 from musician Herman Wyatt, his uncle. In the 1970s and '80s, he played with calypso and Top 40 bands, and also worked as a staff writer at A&M Records.

The turning point came in 1994 with his self-titled CD. Two years later, he released "Just Like You," which won a Grammy as best contemporary blues album.

Keb' Mo's most recent album, "Big Wide Grin," is filled with several doo-wop songs that he liked when he was a kid.

1. Many of your songs are about family, and you credit many of your relatives as collaborators on "Big Wide Grin." Are you a close-knit bunch?

Keb' Mo': My family is as close as anybody's is but it's also as dysfunctional as the next guy's. Family is a lot of things. ... Sometimes your family is put together with friends.

2. Since Keb' Mo' is a shortened version of your real name, what do your friends call you?

Keb' Mo': A lot of people call me Keb because they think it's two words. The correct way to say Keb' Mo' is Keb' Mo'. It's a nickname. If someone knows me a long time, a way long time, they know the street KebMo'. And they say, 'Hey, KebMo'!' And then there's the formal Keb' Mo', who does recordings, and that's Keb' Mo' -- two words.

3. Did you enjoy your recent appearance on "Sesame Street"?

Keb' Mo': It's the most fun thing you'll ever want to do in life. It's the best job in the world to be a puppeteer on 'Sesame Street.' They're just clowning around, having fun. Maybe they'll be a Mo'-pet with a little hat and a little guitar.

4. How do you know when you've made it in the music business?

Keb' Mo': They say if you haven't gotten naked in your career, you're nobody. I haven't gotten naked yet. (Laughs.)

5. Do you consider yourself a serious guy?

Keb' Mo': I'm serious enough but I also don't take anything too seriously -- except for maybe smokers. I don't hate the smokers, but I hate when I'm in close quarters and someone lights a cigarette up.