Old song, young singer

Porter Combs is an old soul.

As a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Page, the 14-year-old studies the classic greats to discover himself as an artist.

“As I’ve grown, I’ve listened to more and more artists,” Porter said. “I would describe my style as, um — old.”

He’s been playing guitar since he was 9, and after performing monthly over the past six months and taking feedback from judges in last year’s competition, Porter competed in Hayden’s Got Talent on July 24 at Hayden Days.

The judges from last year’s competition suggested he engage his audience more when he competed in 2022, so he practiced sharing a bit more of himself in performances at Chalice Brewing and other local venues.

The commitment was something judges noticed as Porter took first place for performing Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” in this year’s competition.

The prize was a license plate that said “first place” and $550.

“I went out and bought gear that I could put toward my guitar stuff, so pedals, cables, strings,” Porter said.

“He wants to perform, so that’s why he took and reinvested his money,” said Porter’s mother, Janell Combs.

Porter describes himself as sounding mostly like Stevie Ray Vaughan and a little like Chris Stapleton, but he’s trying to discover his own sound. He also loves history and likes to analyze the early influencers to find inspiration.

His family encourages him in his creativity.

“The worst thing you can do is force them to do what they don’t want to do,” said Doug Combs, Porter’s father. “Just let them be them.”

Porter and his brother, Sawyer, got into hockey for a while, but that became cost-prohibitive, so now Sawyer is taking quilting classes and Porter plays guitar and sings.

His version of “Johnny B. Goode” blended elements of Berry’s style with his own sound, and sometimes limitations, to make it unique.

“My voice is a little higher than his, so I lowered the key a bit to make it sound good,” Porter said.

He improvised a guitar solo to blend with parts of Berry’s and tweaked the original. He also likes to do a slow version of “Johnny B. Goode” when he performs in shows.

“I’ve found there’s not as many newer artists that I like because they don’t have that old sound, like the old music does,” Porter said. “Country is just kind of lost. That’s why I like older music. It’s also what I’ve been raised on. It’s just good.”

Porter and his father analyze and listen to music together: concepts, styles, artistic decisions, tone, whatever. His dad influences his taste with hidden gems like Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” 3rd Bass’ “French Toast” or Led Zeppelin favorites.

“He’ll go on YouTube and watch videos, and watch how people play,” Janell Combs said.

Porter is trying to develop as an artist so he’ll be able to sound as good as the greats, but also not like anyone else.

In older music, he said, “each person had their own individual sound. No two artists sounded alike unless they played together.”

He wants to play professionally but stay humble.

“I want to play and I want to teach a little bit,” Porter said. “I’m teaching a friend right now, and just to see the improvement is huge. Just in three weeks, you can see a huge improvement, especially if they really enjoy it.”