In advance of the new Kathy Kallick Band album, Horrible World, scheduled for a September 19, 2018, release, she shares an audio clip of one of the tracks, Ride Away.
Ride Away, written by Kathy Kallick, is a ‘rollicking bluegrass romp’ of a story song. It is not about an “anti-hero” or anybody with any redeeming qualities. This is a story of a thoroughly evil guy.
Would you tell me a little about Ride Away; what inspired you to write the song?
“The recording opens with Ride Away, an old-time bluegrass burner about a very bad man. I wanted to describe somebody with no redeemable qualities, and the darkest of natures, rather than a cowboy anti-hero. This was a challenge because bad guy, outlaw, cowboys are so romanticized in American culture. But, I wanted my character to be so much worse than anybody else, and just keep leaving a wake of charred disaster. I realized that the only character in these narratives who is more romanticized than the outlaw is the horse. When I thought of this guy saying he’d kill the horse before he would let anybody steal it, or actually catch him, I felt sick. Ah, that’s the feeling I was going for, a universally sickening guy!”
Here’s a preview of Ride Away …
Insofar as the album itself is concerned, Horrible World is an intriguing title; in what ways do you express this view in the songs on the CD?
“The title, Horrible World, is a bit ironic because in the cover image we’re all holding puppies and look ecstatically happy! On the flip side is the other title, It’s A Beautiful World, with an idealized image of gorgeous sunset, blue water, and huge tropical flowers, but we’re in a grey box looking disgruntled, angry, morose, and frustrated. And, that’s because this world is always both things, terrible tragedy and wonderful beauty. This feeling is expressed in the title song and elsewhere in the album.”
Horrible World contains a half-dozen new Kallick compositions, plus original instrumentals from Kathy Kallick Band member Tom Bekeny and renowned West Coast musician Mike Eisler (of the Sawtooth Mountain Boys). There are also distinctive covers of numbers learned from Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, and Bob Wills, plus a couple of unique interpretations of traditional songs.
The album promises to follow in the tradition of the previous five Kathy Kallick Band releases; all spent a year in the upper echelons of the national charts and received widespread critical acclaim.
The Kathy Kallick Band works the west coast predominantly, making appearances close to home in the San Francisco Bay Area, and on up to Anchorage; their powerful mixture of original and classic bluegrass music, mirrors their distinctive combination of traditional and contemporary sensibilities, that has great appeal everywhere the band plays.
Kathy Kallick (guitar and lead vocals) has had a very successful life in the music, winning a Grammy and two IBMA Awards, receiving a Lifetime Membership from the California Bluegrass Association, co-founding the internationally-acclaimed Good Ol’ Persons and releasing five albums with them, and collaborating with the country’s top acoustic musicians – including her mighty current band – Annie Staninec (fiddle), Greg Booth (Dobro and banjo), Tom Bekeny (mandolin) and Cary Black (acoustic bass), all of whom play and sing on the Horrible World album (Live Oak Records/2018).
At this time, radio hosts should contact Peter Thompson by email (bgsignal@comcast.net) for a hard copy of the CD.
It is hoped that an AirPlayDirect link will be provided very soon.
