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Bill Kirchen and Austin
de Lone team up for a hands-across-the-Atlantic collection
with their new studio album, Transatlanticana, out
on August 26, 2016 on Red House Records. This long-overdue release
unites the pioneers of two major musical movements: Kirchen co-founded the
original “Americana” band, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, and
his trademark Telecaster licks drove their hit “Hot Rod Lincoln” into the
Top 10 in 1972. De Lone dropped out of Harvard to start Eggs
Over Easy, moving to London and recording with Jimi Hendrix’s
producer/manager and The Animals’ bass player Chas Chandler in 1970. The
Eggs are the progenitors of British pub rock, the first link in the chain
to punk rock, new wave and beyond. Backed by both their all-star
British and American bands, Transatlanticana finds
Kirchen and de Lone trading songwriting credits and lead vocals on this
soulful and rocking collection. They kick it off with the timely “Hounds
of the Bakersfield,” a tribute to the late Merle Haggard and the
Bakersfield, CA sound.
Kirchen and de Lone cut the
album in Austin and London, capturing on disc the best of their 30-year
collaboration. Kirchen is Austin-based; de Lone is in the San Francisco Bay
Area, but both artists have longtime ties with the UK scene: Kirchen has
toured as a guitarist with Nick Lowe and put out three albums on UK label
Proper Records; de Lone has toured as keyboard player for Lowe and Elvis
Costello and put out his first solo album on UK label Demon
Records.
They first collaborated in
the mid-1970s, writing together as The Moonlighters: “We sent Nick
Lowe a bunch of songs for Rockpile, but unbeknownst to us they had decided
to break up,” Kirchen says. What de Lone got back was a letter from Lowe
that began, “Dear hero o’ mine. There’s not many of us left…” Lowe then
offered to produce them in London, and the resulting Moonlighters album, Rush Hour, came out in 1983 on the
Edsel label. Since then, Bill and Austin have teamed up with with Lowe and
Costello many times: de Lone has worked with Lowe, Paul Carrack and Costello on several tours and
Kirchen held the guitar chair for Lowe’s critically acclaimed Impossible Bird disc and
tour. In 2008, Costello borrowed the title cut from Kirchen’s album Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods for
his band name at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco
featuring de Lone, Kirchen, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welsh and Jim Lauderdale.
The songs of Transatlanticana represent the core
elements of Americana music – R&B, country, rock and even a gospel
track. Butch
Hancock duets his song “Oxblood” with Kirchen. It’s a meaty
slice of Texas boogie recorded with the Austin contingent. “I guess they
used to color concrete with ox blood; I thought it was just an old shoe
polish color” says Kirchen.
Kirchen contributes “Wine,
Wine, Wine”, quintessential Commander Cody, straight-up country sad from
their first sessions in Ann Arbor ’67. (Fun fact: Bill and Iggy Pop
graduated same year, same class from Ann Arbor High School.)
“Let’s Rock” is a vintage
de Lone/Kirchen co-write featuring an easy, chugging groove and de Lone’s
tasteful piano work.
“Somebody’s Goin’ Home” is
a Blackie Farrell/Kirchen co-write. “I saw the Staple Singers for the first
time in 1964 at the Newport Folk Festival, then had to wait 50 years ’til I
saw Mavis again, when we both performed at the Salmon Arms Fest in Canada,”
Kirchen recalls. “It is a nod to that great family, written as a
gospel song without ‘The Gospel.’ ” It's also a poignant look at the
certainty and mysteries of loss, in true gospel style.
De Lone contributes “Warm
and Tender Love,” a track that showcases his deep love and understanding of
rhythm and blues. “I loved all the great Memphis soul ballads, and all the
fantastic singing that Percy Sledge did, so simple and so sweet.” It’s an
understated, soulful vocal performance, intimate and personal.
“Already Walking” is a
bittersweet pop song written by de Lone and his daughter Caroline de Lone,
who sings harmony on the track’s catchy chorus. It’s about moving on and
dealing with hard times, being “on the way back” from a loss.
Their ringing, rockified
version of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They are A-Changin’” closes down the
album with a bang -- it’s an anthemic, fresh take on a song you’ve heard a
thousand times and somehow these guys infuse it with a singular power that
comes from crazy talent, years spent playing together and a deep love of
Dylan.
Kirchen: “I first saw him
[Dylan] at my high school in Ann Arbor in ’63, then Newport Folk Festival
in ’64 where he debuted "Mr. Tambourine Man." I went to Newport
the next year and saw him ‘go electric’. I loved it. What I saw those two
years at Newport, and all the wild music that came through Ann Arbor and
Detroit pretty much ruined me for normal work.”
Spirited and served up with
wit and humor, Transatlanticana is
a gem –- a ringside seat to these transatlantic sessions by a group of
like-minded, top-of-their-game players enjoying each other’s musical
company. For tour dates and more info go to http://www.billkirchen.com.
Cast
of characters: Gurf Morlix, Butch Hancock, Rick Richards, David Carroll,
Sarah Brown, Louise Kirchen (representing Texas); Bobby Black,
Paul Revelli, Michael Godwin, André Moran and Caroline de Lone (representing
Calilfornia) and Paul “Bassman” Riley and Malcolm
Mills (representing the UK).
TOUR DATES
# Transatlanticana shows
with Audie de Lone and band
FR Jun 10 Alexandria, LA - Spirits Food
& Friends
SA Jun 11 Kerrville Folk Fest - Quiet Valley
Ranch
WE Jun 15 Austin, TX - Saxon Pub
TH Jun 16 New Braunfels, TX - Gruene Hall
SA Jun 25 Buffalo, NY - Riverside Park
SU Jun 26 Troy, NY - The Hanger
MO Jun 27 Rochester, NY - Abilene Bar &
Lounge
WE Jun 29 Austin, TX - Broken Spoke
TH Jun 30 New Braunfels, TX - Gruene Hall
SA Jul 02 Berlin, MD - The Globe Theater
SU Jul 03 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
WE Jul 06 London, UK - Troubadour Club
TH Jul 07 London, UK - Troubadour Club
SU-FR Jul 10-15 Elkins, WV - Augusta Heritage Early
Country Music Camp
TH Jul 28 Fredericksburg, TX - Hilltop
Cafe
FR Aug 05 Brownfield, ME - Stone Mountain Arts
Center
SA Aug 06 Dover, NH - Red & Shorty's House
Concert
FR Aug 12 - MO Aug 15 Pomeroy, OH - Jorma Kaukonen's
Fur Peace Ranch
TH Aug 18 Pawling, NY - Daryl’s House
FR Aug 26 Liberty, UT - Ogden Valley Roots
& Blues Festival
FR Aug 19 Hamden CT - The Ballroom at the Outer
Space
SU Aug 21 Piermont, NY - The Turning Point
SA Aug 27 Berkeley, CA -
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse #
SU Aug 28 Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's Guitar
Shop (Bill Kirchen & Audie de Lone duo show)
FR Sep 02 Richmond, VA - The Tin Pan
SA Sep 03 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere #
FR Sep 09 - SU Sep 11 Greensboro, NC - National Folk
Festival
TH Sep 15 Wimberley, TX - Wimberly Methodist
Church
FR Sep 16 Baton Rouge, LA - Red Dragon
Listening Room #
SA Sep 17 New Orleans, LA - Chickie Wah Wah #
MO Sep 19 Buffalo, NY - Sportsmens Tavern - SAM
Awards
FR Oct 28 Austin, TX - The Backstage at El
Mercado
SA Oct 29 Houston, TX - The Mucky Duck
FR Sep 30 - SU Oct 02 - San Francisco, CA - Hardly Strictly
Bluegrass Festival #
FR Oct 28 Austin, TX - Backstage at ElMercado #
SA Oct 29 Houston, TX - The Mucky Duck #
FR Nov 4 Minneapolis, MN - Lee's Liquor
Lounge
SAT Nov 5 Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald's
SA Nov 19 Bethesda, MD - Bethesda Women's Club
TH Dec 01 Northampton, MA - The Iron Horse #
FR Dec 02 Shirley, MA - Bull Run Restaurant #
SA Dec 03 Buffalo, NY - The Sportsmens Tavern #
SU Dec 04 Rochester, NY - The Lovin' Cup #
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