Tag: Reckless Kelly

From Lonesome, Gorgeous Texas Hill Country
to the World

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

There’s little to no stage banter when the Droptines play a show, with the Austin, Texas-based band sometimes cramming 30 songs into a 90-minute set. However, as their new album, Drought Flower proves, they still have plenty to say. Their original songs touch on broken relationships (“Old Tricks”), family grief (“Mamaw,” featuring Sarah Jarosz), and losing loved ones to addiction (“What Ate My Friend”). As a nod to classic country, there’s often a little bit of clever wordplay to offset the drama, too.

Named for the downturned deer antlers that are prized by hunters, the Droptines (rhymes with “stop signs”) first took shape with an EP release in 2019. Lead singer-songwriter Conner Arthur has since guided the group through indie albums, relentless touring, and now their debut set on Big Loud Texas, the label founded by Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall. The five-piece band hasn’t yet moved into a tour bus, though. Instead, they travel in a retrofitted school bus with upgrades that would impress any road musician. (It sleeps 10 people and has a bathroom, two air conditioners, and a built-in trailer space.)

Growing up in the Texas Hill Country town of Concan, Arthur watched countless musicians play at his family’s venue, House Pasture Cattle Company, during the summer season of city folks floating the Frio River. But the rest of the year, when nothing was really going in town, influenced him just as much.

“I learned how to be alone in Concan,” Arthur says. “I learned how to clear my mind and ignore my hunger pangs. But I would always watch and study people. Especially because if you’re driving through Concan in, say, January, and you see a car that you don’t recognize or someone you don’t recognize, you’re shocked and you want to go talk to them. You’re just caught in your own little village for so long. Having an outside perspective from my little narrow worldview was very, very important to me.”

A few days ahead of a full slate of tour dates (and just before stocking the school bus), Arthur called into Good Country to talk about what inspired the new music.

For people who haven’t been to the Texas Hill Country, how would you describe it?

Conner Arthur: The drama of the limestone bluffs, the crystal clear waters of the Frio River – man, it’s hard not to have a religious experience every other day. Especially when it rains and the floodwaters start moving. Everything there is so dramatic and explosive and chaotic. From the summer to the off-season, you have three months of complete and utter chaos, then the rest of the year is just silent. There are some days where I’d walk out and just sit there looking at River Road waiting for a car to drive by. And I was starting to freak out, thinking that I was the last person on Earth.

More than likely I think that made its way into my personal life. It’s just a large juxtaposition, and a dichotomy of high highs and low lows. But I learned how to handle it, growing up there. We didn’t get internet or cell phone service until 2012, and that’s a great way to grow up. My backyard was 200,000 acres. I could ride horses without hitting a fence line for miles. I wish that more people had that upbringing. I wish that I could provide that for my kids.

If you didn’t get the internet until 2012, then you got to experience live music at your family’s venue before the cell phones in the air and people documenting every show.

Oh yeah. The funny thing about House Pasture is [that] it’s changed hands but it stayed in the family. My biological father and my uncle started it. They failed, so my grandpa bought it from them. And then it was kind of a “break even” type of venue. It was just an addendum for someone who’s gonna go down to Concan and float the Frio anyway. Like, “Oh, we can go see so-and-so.” I mean, I’ve got scars all from being this tall and women ashing cigarettes out on my collarbone. Not on purpose!

I learned more about what I didn’t want to be, seeing the evolution of the Texas country scene come through there. I saw that evolution get commercialized in the mid-2000s, like 2005 and 2006. But when I was a little guy, I got to see the Great Divide. I got to see Gary P. Nunn. I got to see John Conlee. I got to see Earl Thomas Conley. I got to see all these really high-class acts. Reckless Kelly is still one of my favorites from that era. Robert Earl Keen, the list goes on. Even if I didn’t like it, the song’s going to be in my head. It is still red dirt Texas country. I still know every word to all these other musicians’ stuff that I’m not a fan of, because it’s just ingrained in you. You can’t avoid it in that environment.

What were you doing before you jumped into music?

I was in construction throughout high school and I’ve gone back and forth over the years when I needed money. But when I was 18 years old, my mom pretty much gave me an ultimatum. She said, “If you don’t go to college, you’re cut off.” And I was like, “Well, I don’t really care. I don’t like ultimatums.” So I grabbed my banjo and I hitchhiked the country for about a year and a half.

I got back home, and that was like going 90 miles an hour into a brick wall. The fantasies in my head were dashed out by my mom’s disappointment. She said, “You’re gonna have to get a job.” So I went back to construction for a little bit, then I joined up in the oil field. I was an oil field mechanic for about two years, and I said, “I’m not going to die out here in the Eagle Ford Shale.” So I made a decision. Just to give me some more confidence, I went to the bluegrass program in Levelland, Texas, at the [South Plains] College. I did that for two years and went home and knocked out our first EP with David Beck.

I knew you played the banjo, but I didn’t know that you had studied bluegrass.

Dillon [Sampson], our bass player, and I both went to South Plains and he’s way more of a bluegrass cat than I, but my story about how I got into playing banjo is just kind of happenstance. My older brother came into some money when we were young, and I won’t go into the details on how he got it, but it was burning a hole in his pocket. He bought this Deering Goodtime open-back banjo and it was sitting in the back of his truck. I was about 14 and I had plenty of guitars floating around the house. And I had a piano, but I never really broke through on it because it was just an instrument for me to get a song out.

I don’t know if it was the open tuning or just the fact that it’s hard to not have a good time playing banjo, but I broke through on it. I could start developing an understanding of music theory and scales. I don’t know why it made sense in my mind that it was less intimidating than 72 keys or six strings. You go down that road, and then are you a gimmick banjo player or are you good? That’s what led me to South Plains. I’m not going to disrespect the institution of bluegrass or the instrument of banjo. I’m going to do my best to play it. But I need to play more. I need to stay on it, because that is not a bike. Your agility and endurance of playing the banjo collapses if you’re not tickling it once or twice a day.

Is that the same for writing with you? Do you need to consistently write, or can you put that away for a while and come back to writing?

I’m always kind of writing in my head and building concepts, then I’ll scribble it down. I’ll more than likely lose the piece of paper I scribbled it down on, but I’ve always said if it’s worth remembering, then I’ll remember it. But I probably lost a thousand songs that way. It’s like a floodgate. I sit around and I’ll have an idea, and I’ll get a quarter way through it, blah, blah… But it’s not until the band all sits down in a room and we all have the intention to write, and these things just… “Boom!” There goes the dam.

In several of your songs, there are references to pills or addiction. On this record, you have “What Ate My Friend.” That’s a reality for a lot of people. When you’re tackling a heavy topic like that, how do you get into that headspace, knowing you’re going to jump into something serious?

A lot of that, it’s lived in for sure. I’ve had men that came before me that did it so I didn’t have to. Back to, I know what not to do now. And my brother Landry being one of them. I lost him to all that shit a couple years ago. He and I were Irish twins. The same thing happened to my biological dad’s brother. At the same age, the same exact circumstance, and they both died on their birthday.

“What Ate My Friend,” I can’t even remember writing that one, but I know that I showed up with all of it, and that’s rare. I have this band to lean on, but I showed up with every bit of that. This was all here. It’s not just about my brother, but a couple friends I have. Just like, “I know you’re on meth, dude, but why is it making you a liar?” Like, you can be honest with me, just tell me. It’s getting in the way of our friendship if you’re going to turn into a liar.

I thought there was a nuance, kind of, what I refer to as the days of country gold, the wordplay of like, “She’s Acting Single (I’m Drinking Doubles).” That’s so important in country and bluegrass music – that play on words – and that one is like, “Hey man, what’s eating at you?” All right, what’s the extreme of that? “What ate my friend?” I thought it was pretty decent, but yeah, that’s a rough one, you know, but it’s real, unfortunately. It’s real for a lot of people. And I hate that. I hate that anybody has to suffer.

You’ve been around music from the time you’re a kid, and now you’re doing this full time. What has surprised you the most about this career path that you’re on?

The main one is that there’s viability. I said this in an interview before, but I just thought playing music was a good excuse to be a loser. And then to see it all pan out! It starts to feel like work, but work is good, especially if it bears fruit, which it is, and it’s starting to even more so. But to be able to build a foundation for my future family off of the back of these songs, that right there is top tier, number one, the most important thing. I can’t be more grateful for that and the blessings that God’s given us. Just having people come religiously to your shows, and singing words, it gives you faith in live music, for sure. It is a little shocking to me, at the end of the day that I didn’t make all this up.

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Photo Credit: Jessie Addleman

Our Trip to Live in the Vineyard Goes Country

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Country music is all about place. Songs and locale, joined together. It’s a relationship so ubiquitous within the music we often lose sight of it, forest for the trees. But there would be no country music without… well, the country – or without rural places and their communities; without farms and ranches; without Texas or California; without Appalachia or the Southeast. Country also wouldn’t exist without urban centers, and the country folks who migrated to cities to find work, or reunite with their families, or build a better life. Even in concrete jungles seemingly divorced from country ideals, whether drawn by homesickness or nostalgia or longing for home – real or imagined or aspirational – country music and place always go hand-in-hand.

Lucky for all of us, this is a genre well-suited for a variety of places, from honky-tonks to front porches to internationally appealing festivals. Or even Napa Valley, California, vineyards.

Last month, we attended Live in the Vineyard Goes Country, a production of Austin, Texas’s Forefront Networks, an intimate three-day event that effortlessly denoted and celebrated that relationship between country and place. Guests, industry professionals, and country artists – from festival headliners to fresh discoveries – gathered at gorgeous locations on April 21, 22, and 23, throughout Napa and Napa Valley to enjoy stripped-down and essential performances, gourmet farm-to-table meals, delicious organic and biodynamic wines, and the lovely weather, views, and settings of California’s wine country. The eighth installment of the country edition of Live in the Vineyard, it showcased the genre with an elite yet still approachable level of quality, care, and intention.

Guests enjoyed a welcome reception featuring Jackson Dean, Lauren Watkins, and Chandler Walters on day one, sipping bubbles at Chandon in Yountville during golden hour. From there, separate groups of attendees were sorted into waiting coaches to be swept off to dinner for delicious food paired exquisitely with local wines – and still more small, up-close-and-personal musical performances. Our green group dinner, for instance, were treated to hilarious and touching stories and songs shared by Lauren Watkins and her husband, hit songwriter Will Bundy, at Cakebread Cellars over jaw-droppingly delicious chardonnay and perfectly lacquered short ribs.

 

The sun shines on Raymond Vineyards on day three of Live in the Vineyard Goes Country.

Though days one and two were punctuated with bursts of spring rain, throwing a logistical wrench into the works, the Forefront and LITV teams reacted with grace and ease, allowing attendees to relish the rarity of rainfall in Napa Valley without a second thought, and increasing the magical feeling of country music and country people basking in such a space. Day two began with the Texas Music Scene Tailgate, featuring performances by Sunny Sweeney, the Braun Brothers, and a songwriter round including Wade Bowen, Shelby Stone, and Cody Canada. During the live taping for Texas Music Scene’s long-running TV series, guests relaxed between sets by strolling the grounds, eating fresh Napa-grown produce, enjoying complimentary wines and sweets, and ducking in and out of the Frog’s Leap Winery barn to catch country songs sung amid the bright brass vats.

The Braun Brothers (L to R: Micky, Gary, Willy, and Cody)– known from Micky & the Motorcars and Reckless Kelly – swap songs and stories while performing at Frog’s Leap Winery for the ‘Texas Music Scene’ Tailgate.

On the evening of day two, the entire Live in the Vineyard Goes Country entourage traveled together to the Uptown Theatre in gorgeous downtown Napa for the headline show of the event, featuring sets by Abbie Callahan, Alex Lambert, and Marcus King. Once again performing in pared-down, intimate setups for the around 800-seat venue, the crowd was nevertheless animated and engaged, hooting and hollering as if they were polishing the floorboards for rowdy, full-band sets on a stage wrapped in chicken wire, rather than a gilded theatre in wine country. Even in as manicured and lovely a location as Napa Valley, the old saying holds: You can take the folks out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the folks!

Marcus King performs for the Uptown Theatre audience at Live in the Vineyard Goes Country.

On day three, already feeling like Live in the Vineyard was much too short, attendees gathered at Raymond Vineyards in St. Helena, California, for one final hoorah, a lovely send-off brunch featuring a mimosa bar, lemon-blueberry pancakes, JCB Wines, and performances by Frankie Ballard and Zach John King. In the shade of palm trees and snacking on scratch-made frittatas, it was clear – from start to finish – that Live in the Vineyard Goes Country gives this genre, the folks who make it, and the fans who love it the treatment they all deserve. Yes, country is made for barn dances and radio shows and flatbed trailers in pastures, but isn’t it made for Napa Valley, too? For barns aging fine wine, for farms growing gourmet salads, luxurious wines, and handmade breads?

Country is a music for everyone, for every setting, and for every place imaginable. The GC team was excited to be on hand for Live in the Vineyard Goes Country 2026, capturing lo-fi photos with our trusty Camp Snap camera and reflecting on how delicious country music can be when it’s made with this level of intention and care in a beautiful setting such as this. Scroll to enjoy even more photos and dispatch notes from our trip with LITV to Napa Valley.

If you missed Live in the Vineyard Goes Country, don’t worry, Forefront Networks have more music and roots music events on the docket so you, too, can experience country in gorgeous places like this. For a near-immediate fix, Hill Country Reserve will take place in November 2026 in Fredericksburg, Texas. And stay tuned for future editions of LITV, Elevation Bear Creek, and more from Forefront.

All photos by Justin Hiltner, shot on Camp Snap.

You Gotta Hear This: Steep Canyon Rangers, Jim Lauderdale, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to the conclusion of another week. With it, we’re once again sharing our weekly roundup of brand-new tracks, singles, videos, and more. You Gotta Hear This!

To start us off, Kentuckian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Adam Chaffins shares a lyric video for “Sugarcoat It,” a new original song about the temptation and believability in misinformation these days. Chaffins and his collaborators leverage groove and catchy hooks for a meaningful and oh-so-timely message in the rockin’ Americana track. Also bringing a topical and cutting central thesis are Joe Troop & the Truth Machine, who have released a new live performance video for “Billionaires.” Bluegrass and old-time stemming from Southwest Virginia are the musical trappings for a funny, satirical song taking the 1% of the 1% to task. Troop and his queer cohort are well equipped to proffer their message with silliness, joy, and string band music.

From across the Atlantic, Spanish (via Amsterdam) singer-songwriter Liza Lo shares “Birdsong,” a tender and vibing alt-folk number zooming in on the present moment. “Life can get overwhelming and the simple things are quickly forgotten or overlooked,” she explains to BGS, using the song to remind all of us – and herself – not to lose sight of the beauty in the simplest of everyday things.

Bluegrassers Chris Jones & the Night Drivers have a new single out today. “Steal My Today” is the band’s first recording released with their latest member, Nelson Williams, playing the bass. Plus, Italian resonator guitarist Paolo Ercoli guests on the track, which also features banjoist Grace van’t Hof throwing some accordion into the mix. It’s also a song about the present moment, and not letting it be soiled by another. Meanwhile, perhaps the most prolific recording artist in roots music has announced a new project. Jim Lauderdale once again teams up with the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, this time on his upcoming album The Birds Know – out in April. The lead single, “We Look At Things In Different Ways,” furthers our unofficial theme today of examining societal discourse, by pointing out you actually can love and care for another even with disparate points of view.

And, you won’t want to miss the latest from Western North Carolina’s bluegrass troubadours the Steep Canyon Rangers. Earlier this week they launched “Rumble Strips” a new single that will be included on their May Yep Roc Records release, Next Act. Written by Aaron Burdett, it’s a straight ahead bluegrass jam about getting back on track after you’ve wandered a bit from your lane and hit the rumble strips. But hope need not be lost, as Burdett points out, often you “maybe only need a little course correction to get back on the right path.”

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day next week, country rockers Reckless Kelly share a reimagined, “evolved” acoustic version of “Seven Nights in Eire.” They originally released the song in 2005 on Wicked Twisted Road and it’s since become a fan favorite. This new edition of the track features mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel, and more combining country, Celtic, and string band in a pub-ready blend.

Check it all out below, right here on BGS. You Gotta Hear This!

Adam Chaffins, “Sugarcoat It”

Artist: Adam Chaffins
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee, via Louisa, Kentucky
Song: “Sugarcoat It”
Release Date: March 13, 2026 (single)
Label: Spirit Nashville Recordings / Fluid Music Revolution

In Their Words: “Lately it just feels harder and harder to tell what’s real and what isn’t with so much information flying at us all the time. Sometimes, you hear something so outrageous you assume it can’t possibly be true – until you realize it is. That tension really shaped the song. It’s got sweet, sugary, sticky hooks and a groove you can’t help but move to, while shining a little light on how the truth can sometimes be deceiving. It was a lot of fun to track this playing upright bass. Along with Frank Rogers and the crew we really brought it to life. We’ve got a lot of new music on the way and we’re really excited to kick it off with this one.” – Adam Chaffins

Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, “Steal My Today”

Artist: Chris Jones & the Night Drivers
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Steal My Today”
Release Date: March 13, 2026 (single)
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “This song represents some firsts for us: it’s our first release to feature Nelson Williams on the bass (including some bowed bass). He’s the newest Night Driver, though he’s already been with us for over two years. It’s also our first time to feature Italian Dobro player Paolo Ercoli as a musical guest. He and I have been doing duo tours in Europe and in the U.S. for a few years now. Grace van’t Hof and I co-wrote the song, one about not letting the material loss of a breakup take away the joy of the present moment. Grace also played banjo and even added some accordion to the recording.” – Chris Jones

Track Credits:
Chris Jones – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal
Nelson Williams – Bass
Mark Stoffel – Mandolin, harmony vocal
Grace van’t Hof – Banjo, accordion, harmony vocal
Tony Creasman – Drums
Paolo Ercoli – Resonator guitar

Jim Lauderdale, “We Look At Things In Different Ways”

Artist: Jim Lauderdale & the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Hometown: Troutman, North Carolina
Song: “We Look At Things In Different Ways”
Album: The Birds Know
Release Date: March 13, 2026 (single); April 24, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “This song came through me to speak to these times of divisiveness in our world. It was an important message I wanted to get out: that you can still love somebody even though your views might differ.” – Jim Lauderdale

Liza Lo, “Birdsong”

Artist: Liza Lo
Hometown: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Song: “Birdsong”
Release Date: March 18, 2026
Label: Gearbox Records

In Their Words: “‘Birdsong’ reminds me of a new love, a gentle morning walk, or a hug from a friend. Life can get overwhelming and the simple things are quickly forgotten or overlooked. First morning coffees, meeting someone new, real connection, holding hands, song of birds in the garden, the smell of spring air, sunlight on your face after a long period of rain and grey. ‘Birdsong’ is written to remember the beauty in the smallest of things life gives us, I hope it can be this reminder for you too.” – Liza Lo

Track Credits:
Sean Rogan – Acoustic guitar
Chris Rabbits – Double bass
Owen Spafford – Fiddle
Liza Lo Hoek – Vocals, acoustic guitar

Reckless Kelly, “Seven Nights In Eire (Alternate Routes)”

Artist: Reckless Kelly
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Seven Nights in Eire (Alternate Routes)”
Album: Alternate Routes
Release Date: March 13, 2026 (single)
Label: No Big Deal Records

In Their Words: “‘Seven Nights In Eire’ is a collection of stories based on trips taken to Ireland by myself, my dad Muzzie, and our old friend Pinto Bennett. We had all been there individually a time or two and had had some amazing experiences that we wanted to write about. We got together at Pinto’s house in Boise, Idaho, and after a couple hours and a few beers, we had the song down. We basically just sat around swapping stories and telling jokes and working them into the verses that became the song as you know it today.

“The original version was recorded for our 2005 release, Wicked Twisted Road. Over the years it’s become a fan favorite and one of our most popular songs, so we decided to include it in its new evolved version on Alternate Routes. We had our friend Kym Warner come play some mandolin on it and we did the version we’ve been playing live over the last several years. It’s a little different from the OG, but it’s one of those songs that has stood the test of time and will definitely continue to be a staple on the set list.” – Willy Braun

Steep Canyon Rangers, “Rumble Strips”

Artist: Steep Canyon Rangers
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Rumble Strips”
Album: Next Act
Release Date: March 10, 2026 (single); May 22, 2026 (album)
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “My friend Nate is fond of saying when a person has gotten off track a little bit and notices they’ve ‘hit the rumble strips’ and maybe only need a little course correction to get back on the right path. I took this imagery and applied it to a relationship. Some ongoing conversations between Graham [Sharp] and I filled this one out.” – Aaron Burdett, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist

Joe Troop & the Truth Machine, “Billionaires”

Artist: Joe Troop & the Truth Machine
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Song: “Billionaires”
Album: The Truth Machine (EP)
Release Date: March 13 2026 (video); April 3 2026 (EP)

In Their Words: “I formed this band with friends that I made at the Galax Fiddlers Convention many moons ago. This track has Southwest Virginia written all over it. It’s Southern bluegrass gospel with four-part vocal harmonies in the Stanley Brothers style.

“Lyrically, it’s unabashed political satire, a high lonesome roasting of MAGA and their principal talking points. But funnily enough, people often approach me after gigs to thank me for singing it without realizing it’s satire. Yikes! Is media literacy a problem in this country? On occasion, some folks have walked out on our show during this song. One couple told the presenter that they didn’t pay to be insulted – they work hard for their money! And while we aren’t ragging on anyone for accumulating wealth, to add some perspective: a million seconds is 11 days. A billion seconds is 32 years. Who needs that much money!? What could you possibly spend it on?! Election meddling, propagating divisive talking points? Beyond partisan politics, the wealth disparity in this country ought to alarm everyone. We plebs are not that different. Let’s rally together around music, laughter, and class justice in this billionaire-induced hellscape of a country. It’s time for a change!

“‘Billionaires’ is part The Truth Machine, a five-track EP that drops everywhere on April 3, 2026. It is available for preorder now on my website.” – Joe Troop

Track Credits:
Joe Troop – Banjo, vocals
Lu Furtado – Guitar, vocals
Malia Furtado – Fiddle
Olivia Fernandez – Mandolin, vocals
Jimmy Washington – Bass, vocals

Video Credits: 
Kayla L Oelhafen – Producer
Alexei Mejouev – Videographer
Andy Augustyn – Gaffer
Larry Vellani, Toni Murray – Location coordinators

Photo Credit: Steep Canyon Rangers by Jay Strausser; Jim Lauderdale by Jeff Fasano.

WATCH: Reckless Kelly Go Behind the Scenes of “What’s Left of My Heart” Video

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Austin, Texas-based alt-country rockers Reckless Kelly released their music video for “What’s Left of My Heart” – from their 2024 album, The Last Frontier – a handful of months ago. Now, they’ve returned with a special “Pop-Up Music Video” that takes viewers behind the scenes of the making of the video. (Watch below.)

Bits of commentary, context, insight, facts, and fun “pop up” as noteworthy action occurs on screen, bringing outlaw country fans into the processes that led to the zany and fun visual rendition of the track. Set in the now-legendary South Austin honky-tonk Giddy Ups, just days before it permanently closed its doors, the video includes plenty of Easter eggs and details that would have easily gone overlooked if not for the illuminating pop-ups. Viewers follow frontman Willy Braun through a series of hijinx brought on – or enhanced by? – the band’s informal mantra, “sorry for partying.”

“We shot the entire video in about five hours after a show,” Willy’s brother and bandmate Cody Braun explains via press release, “So a ton of pre-prep and organizing had to happen. It was amazing to have friends, family, and musician buddies join us and bring this vision to life. Giddy Ups was one of our favorite spots, and as Austin changes, we wanted to give it a proper send-off.”

“What’s Left of My Heart” is certainly that send-off, but with so many collaborators, actors, cameos, industry folks, and special guests, the behind-the-scenes touches of the pop-up video help illustrate how important community and family are to the band over the decades. There’s so much to see and hear in “What’s Left of My Heart,” we don’t want to give any of it away! So don’t miss a single beat and watch Reckless Kelly’s new pop-up music video.

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Photo Credit: Robert Millage
Video Credit: Co-directed by Tony Gates and Cody Braun.

BGS 5+5: Reckless Kelly

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Reckless Kelly
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest Album: The Last Frontier

(Editor’s Note: Answers supplied by Willy Braun.)

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

My favorite memory of being on stage is usually the last song at the Braun Brothers Reunion. We always close with a Bob Dylan song, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” It’s been a tradition for a long time and that’s always the end of our set. Reckless Kelly always closes Saturday night of the festival. We bring all of our artist friends out to do a big grand finale jam on that song. It’s always really fun, because it’s following a week of great times, great shows, great music, and people getting together having a ball. The crowd is always singing along with it. It’s just a good little crescendo to end the BBR every year. So that’s one of my top ten right there for sure.

What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?

I get a lot of inspiration for songs from reading. Actually, I borrow lines from books and maybe story lines or direct quotes. Not sure if that’s considered stealing or not, but haven’t been sued yet; so that’s good. But no, I try to read a lot, especially when I am up in Idaho in the wintertime and I keep a notepad by the chair or by the fire where I’m reading. I’ll jot down lines that jump out at me or you know sometimes when you’re reading a story you’ll get an inspiration for a song. But yeah, I take a lot of inspiration from reading books.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

The nature element that inspired me the most is probably just being in the mountains up in Idaho. Kind of out in the middle of nowhere in the high desert. My place is pretty secluded, so I don’t have a lot of people stopping by, especially in the wintertime. I’m able to just kind of shut the phone off and do some writing. It’s just a great place to just sit and stare out the window at the mountains and just be inspired by the solitude and silence of it all. So I would say the mountains are my number one place to go and get away from it all.

Does pineapple really belong on pizza?

This is two questions rolled into one. First question being, “What’s the most random question you’ve been asked in an interview?” followed by, “Does pineapple belong on pizza?” I think that’s the most random thing I’ve been asked, so we’re going to answer it for you.

The answer is, yes, pineapple belongs on pizza. If you don’t think so, then you’re only fooling yourself, you’re trying to be cool, and trying to be a little more Italian than maybe you are. I can just tell you this from experience. When we have more than one pizza delivered to the bus and one of them contains pineapple, it’s the first one to go. Even though half the guys in the band claim they don’t like pineapple on their pizza, like it is some kind of abomination. So, I’ll take my pizza with pineapple, canadian bacon, and jalapeño, thank you very much. Preferably on thin crust and if you don’t like it, you can go back to Sicily.

If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?

If I didn’t work in music, I would probably be a carpenter. I’ve always liked building stuff. My grandpa was a carpenter; he taught me how to build stuff when I was a kid. I just enjoy creating things; whether it’s a coffee table, a cabin, a house, or a picture frame, whatever – if it’s made out of wood. It’s fun, I like to build stuff out of wood. I’m not much of a mechanic, but I can work with wood. Yeah, I’d be a woodworker/carpenter if this whole music thing doesn’t work out.

Photo Credit: Cassy Weyandt

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Rose Cousins, Reckless Kelly, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s a serendipitously Canada-filled day on You Gotta Hear This, where singer-songwriter Rose Cousins brings us a brand new track, “Forget Me Not,” with a beautiful accompanying visualizer, plus Alex Mason impressively performs “Broken Bottles” live from a canoe, and Bob Sumner and posse line-dance it up in a new video for “Motel Room.”

That’s not all, though, as we’ve got alt-country, bluegrass, and more from the southern side of that border, too. Don’t miss Reckless Kelly performing “Keep Lookin’ Down The Road” in a brand new, self-shot video that features gorgeous landscapes and stunning drone footage. Derek Vanderhorst brings us the title track to his upcoming album, Be Kind, as well, with a ringer cast of collaborators including Steve Poltz.

To round out our collection this week, we’re re-sharing two premieres from earlier in the week on the site. The Doohickeys brought us zombie-fied Good Country with “Rein It In Cowboy” and virtuosic pickers Steven Moore and Jed Clark paid tribute to what would have been Frank Wakefield’s 90th birthday with their rendition of “New Camptown Races.”

It’s all right here on BGS and, to be perfectly honest, You Gotta Hear This!

Rose Cousins, “Forget Me Not”

Artist: Rose Cousins
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Song: “Forget Me Not”
Release Date: June 28, 2024 (single)
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Forget Me Not’ is the romance of spring unfolding into summer as it pulls us into its presence. Nature asking us to pay attention and come along. Spring is my favourite season and I’ve now gotten to see it four times in a row in the same place which touring kept me from doing for years. It’s been like falling in love in a new way with an old flame.” – Rose Cousins

Reckless Kelly, “Keep Lookin’ Down The Road”

Artist: Reckless Kelly
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Keep Lookin’ Down The Road”
Album: The Last Frontier
Release Date: September 13, 2024 (album)
Label: No Big Deal Records

In Their Words: “‘Keep Lookin’ Down The Road’ is a reflection of the past and an appreciation for the present, but most importantly, it’s an optimistic look ahead. I wrote it with my brother Gary and our buddy Jeff Crosby during our annual songwriting retreat that we jokingly refer to as the ‘hitscation.’ I came up with the line on the way there. sang a few lines into my voice recorder, and we worked out the rest over the next couple of days. Once we were in the studio, I chopped up a couple of verses and used the best lines to shorten it up a bit to match the theme of the record, which is, in a nutshell, ‘Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.’

“As technology advances by the second, I’ve wondered for a while how close to a pro-shot music video I could film using just an iPhone and a drone. Since the expense of filming a music video can sometimes outweigh its visibility, I decided to find out. Using the limited videography and editing skills I’d picked up filming the pandemic-inspired ‘Music from the Mountains’ and ‘Quarantine Kitchen’ shows, I set up time lapses of sunsets, sent the drone up to capture areal views of the mountains in my high desert backyard, and tried to time sunrises and sunsets for the cringiest part – standing in a field of sagebrush all alone, Uncle Rico style, filming myself singing and playing the song in front of a tripod. Luckily, my locations were so remote that nobody drove by and saw this old man making selfie videos like some 14-year-old influencer.

“I shot a lot of B roll road scenes, filmed at an old junkyard in the woods, waterfalls, national monuments, and in huge valleys surrounded by mountains on all sides. I tried to use the scenery as the main focus and also borrowed my brother Gary’s old Dodge truck to match the timeless vibe I was going for. It was a lot of work and took a lot more time than I thought it would, but it was fun and it turned out pretty cool, and I have a newfound appreciation for why these things cost so much. I’m not sure if I matched the quality of a high-end production, but for the cost of a tank of gas or two it’s close enough for RK!” – Willy Braun

Track Credits: Written by Willy Braun, Gary Braun (Micky & The Motorcars) and Jeff Crosby.

Wily Braun – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, percussion
Cody Braun – Fiddle, harmony vocals, mandolin, tenor guitar, synth, percussion
Jay Nazz – Drums, percussion
Joe Miller – Bass guitar
Geoff Queen – Lead electric guitar, pedal steel guitar
Bukka Allen – Hammond B3 organ, piano, harmonium
Kelley Mickwee – Harmony vocals

Produced by Jonathan Tyler, Cody Braun, Willy Braun.
Engineered by Joseph Holguin.
Mixed by Jacob Sciba, Cody Braun, Jonathan Tyler.
Mastered by Jacob Sciba.
Recorded at Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas.
Additional recording at Clyde’s VIP Room, Austin, Texas.

Video Credit: Produced, directed, filmed, and edited by Willy Braun. Filmed on location in Idaho.

Alex Mason, “Broken Bottles”

Artist: Alex Mason
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Broken Bottles”

In Their Words: “‘Broken Bottles’ is a song about how when memories form, especially when we’re younger, they can take on an almost mythical quality in our imaginations and dreams. Then as we grow older and that spell of innocence is broken, we leave them behind, only to return to them again later when they likely don’t resemble anything like what they originally looked like. After losing my mom, writing songs became a way to preserve memories, even painful ones from when I was a kid. Sometimes even difficult memories can sweeten and soften with time. I was exploring a lot of open tunings with this new album, and felt a bit like Dylan on Blood On The Tracks – something about playing in open D on this Martin opened up a new space and new ideas for me and reminded me of being a teenager exploring the same tunings. It’s funny how things make their way back around.” – Alex Mason

Video Credit: Bradley Pearson, Don River Music

Bob Sumner, “Motel Room”

Artist: Bob Sumner
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Song: “Motel Room”
Album: Some Place to Rest Easy
Release Date: September 6, 2024
Label: Fluff and Gravy Records

In Their Words: “There is a rapper/DJ named Channel Tres. Everything Channel does is cool. He drips cool. I’m a big fan of his music, his aesthetic, and his videos. He has a video for a tune called ‘Weedman.’ It’s Channel and his homies hanging out in a home ordering weed from their dealer. Throughout the video they break into dance routines. It’s chill af. It’s funny. It’s joyous. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. I wanted that for ‘Motel Room.’

“I wrangled two of my close friends, Logan Wolff & Matty Beans. I knew they’d be down. My partner Mica Kayde choreographed a dance routine for us. With my director Dana Bontempo and his partner Zara, we loaded into my pickup truck, brought Endo my tripod dog (and best friend), and spent three days on a road trip messing around. We danced in front of a motel called El Rancho in the interior of B.C. We went to the Armstrong Fair & Rodeo. We laughed a lot, mostly at ourselves, and we had the time of our lives doing it. It’s no Channel Tres, but I think we did what we set out to do. The video turned out to be a joy. It’s fun. It’s funny. It encapsulates those magical carefree years I spent with my friend. At the end of the video the character ends up alone in a motel room wantonly gazing out the window. We felt that was a part of the story we couldn’t leave out.” – Bob Sumner

Derek Vanderhorst, “Be Kind” (featuring Steve Poltz)

Artist: Derek Vanderhorst
Hometown: Golden, Colorado but moving to Nice, France in September
Song: “Be Kind”
Album: Be Kind
Release Date: July 12, 2024

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Be Kind’ in a fun, humorous way to address serious issues that are dividing friends and family and loved ones. Racism and intolerance are making their way into our everyday experience and becoming somewhat normalized. The divisiveness is becoming so overwhelming that it’s now hard to have these serious conversations and I wanted to send the simple message of acceptance, love, and kindness – as well as [pointing out] differences are what makes life so great and worth living.

“As Gen Xers, we need to be open, aware, and embrace all the progress and change, not forgetting our generation’s great changes. We sometimes need to remember that we need change to have stagnant waters.” – Derek Vanderhorst

Track Credits:
Derek Vanderhorst – Music, lyrics, guitar, vocals
Steve Poltz – Vocals, guitar
John Mailander – Fiddle, mandolin
Frank Evans – Banjo
Brook Sutton – Bass
Jamie Dick – Percussion

The Doohickeys, “Rein It In Cowboy”

Artist: The Doohickeys
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Rein It In Cowboy”
Album: All Hat No Cattle
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Label: Forty Below Records

In Their Words: “We wrote ‘Rein It In Cowboy’ after Haley got her butt grabbed in a bar… He copped a feel and we copped a song. The unsettling vibe you get from a creepy guy groping you is eerily similar to the feeling zombies evoke, which is why our video draws inspiration from our love of classic zombie films like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. We had a blast coming up with t-shirt pick-up lines and other visual jokes throughout the video. With the help of our friends, we crafted a visual narrative we’re truly proud of and can stand behind (and grab).” – Jack Hackett, The Doohickeys

More here.

Steven Moore & Jed Clark, “New Camptown Races”

Artist: Steven Moore & Jed Clark
Hometown: Jed Clark lives in Nashville, Tennessee, originally from Searcy, Arkansas; Steven Moore lives in Saint Clairsville, Ohio, originally from Bethesda, Ohio.
Song: “New Camptown Races” (by Frank Wakefield)
Release Date: June 26, 2024

In Their Words: “We are very excited to share our music video of ‘New Camptown Races,’ a tune by the late Frank Wakefield (June 26, 1934 – April 26, 2024) that has become a bluegrass standard. The idea for this video began at SPBGMA 2023, when we jammed to ‘New Camptown Races’ with both of us playing it in B-flat without using capos. We laughed and agreed that we needed to record it and maybe do a video shoot of it someday. It wasn’t until a year later at SPBGMA 2024, when we met up again, that we really solidified plans to make the video happen. Our hopes were to record the video and put it out on June 26, 2024 in honor of Frank’s 90th birthday. Unfortunately, the world lost Frank two months before he turned 90, but we decided to still aim to put out the video on what would have been Frank’s 90th birthday, in his memory…” – Steven Moore

More here.

Photo Credit: Rose Cousins by Lindsay Duncan; Reckless Kelly by Cassy Weyandt.

LISTEN: Tylor & the Train Robbers, “Lemonade”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tylor & the Train Robbers
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Song: “Lemonade”
Album: Non-Typical Find (produced by Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly)
Release Date: July 9, 2021

In Their Words: “Everyone has heard the saying ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’ I wanted to use that sentiment as the theme of this song without actually saying it and dig into the idea that when you don’t find a way to bring some good out of the bad, you’re just stuck with the same old lemons. When I’m writing about characters, I like to try to make them feel as real as possible, so I often end up using people I know as inspiration. This one started with the first character that the protagonist encounters, who was based on my grandfather (The Storyteller from our last album). He was a hard-working man who spent his weekends hunting in the hills with his hound dogs and was back at work in the mill come Monday. He was also very fond of bluegrass music so as an additional nod to him we brought in a little of the bluegrass sound featuring a banjo solo.” — Tylor Ketchum, Tylor & the Train Robbers

Photo credit: Maggie Grace Photography

BGS 5+5: Reckless Kelly

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Reckless Kelly
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: American Girls & American Jackpot

Answers provided by Willy Braun

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I get a lot of ideas from books, lines here and there, but a lot of time they’re just ideas. A theme or a mood. I get some ideas from movies as well but that’s a little more rare. I’d say most of my ideas for songs come from things people say or do in everyday life. I’m always writing things down.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I’ve always known I was going to be a musician. It’s the family business. My dad, uncles, grandpa, brothers, cousins, etc., are all musicians. I grew up singing on stage with my dad’s band and eventually my brothers and I all joined so there was never really any question about what path we were going to go down.

However, to answer the question more directly, I remember when I was about 5 I got up and sang a song with my dad at a chili cook-off. After the show the girl at the concession stand gave me my Coke for free, and I remember thinking that was the coolest thing ever. It may have been what hooked me for good.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I have a place in Idaho where I do the majority of my writing these days. It’s in the high desert with mountains all around so it’s really inspiring. It takes me a few days to get in a groove but once I find my rhythm I usually get a lot done. It also helps that it’s off the beaten path so distractions are at a minimum.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

If I could meet one person it would probably be Sir Paul McCartney. I’m pretty sure he’s a vegetarian so I’d eat whatever he wanted to have as long as we could chat about writing and of course, the Beatles. I’m sure we’d have a couple bottles of wine to wash it all down as well.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I use a lot of metaphors in my songs so that’s a place to hide out, ha ha. I almost always write with a caricature in mind, so even when I say “me” I’m not usually talking about myself. A lot of my stuff is fictional so I don’t worry about hiding much. The new albums are the first time I’ve really explained a lot of meaning behind the songs. Normally I let people make up their own version of what they think it’s all about. This time I felt like it was important to let people behind the curtain a bit because of the concept. I wanted them to get it.

Photo credit: Cynthia Dawn Photography

BGS 5+5: Tylor & the Train Robbers

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tylor & the Train Robbers
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Latest album: Best of the Worst Kind

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s so hard to choose just one, I’ve been inspired by so many great songwriters. My first major influence as a kid was Hank Williams Sr. I was introduced to his music through my grandparents record collection and it was a sound I had never heard before. My first songs were heavily infused with his tone. Over the years I’ve drifted from that, but it still serves as an important first step down the songwriting rabbit hole. John Prine was my next big influence and his music has continued to inspire me to this day. I find myself re-listening to his records and finding nuances in his writing that I never noticed before and that to me is the mark of a truly great songwriter.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. inform your music?

I grew up watching a lot of old Western movies with my grandpa, which played a big role in my writing of the track “The Ballad of Black Jack Ketchum” on the new album. The imagery from the films painted the picture for the backdrop of this song. I also pulled inspiration from the language and storytelling style of Louis L’Amour from his classic series of Western novels.

Honestly though, my biggest inspirations come from other musicians. I love listening to all kinds of different music, new and old, to pull ideas from. I feel like the best way to continue being inspired is to listen to more music.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

From an early age, I just remember that whenever I was listening to music I had a strong desire to want to play along and learn the songs. My mom played guitar and sang to me a lot when I was kid, she had always wanted to be a musician, but never pursued it. I found one of my mom’s rusty electric guitars in my house and started to try to teach myself to play, which eventually led to my parents getting me my first acoustic guitar. I pretty much knew right then that this is what I wanted to do and I never really turned back. I was really lucky that my mom was always very supportive of my dream and never tried to talk me out of it.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

Probably the toughest song I have ever written is actually on our new album. “Storyteller” was written back in 2012 when my grandpa passed away, he was a huge part of my life and we lost him at a pretty early age to illness. I wrote the song to help cope with the loss, but couldn’t completely finish it for over five years after his death. Sometimes I feel like that song and the time it took to write it are a literal representation of the time it took me to grieve.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

For years I had a goal to play The Braun Brother’s Reunion Festival. If you’re not familiar with it, it is an annual Americana music festival in Challis, Idaho, with some of Red Dirt/Americana’s best bands. It’s hosted by the Braun family (Cody and Willy of Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary of Micky & the Motorcars). They are Idaho natives who took their music to Texas and have thrived in that scene for many years. I went to the BBR for the first time back when I was 18 years old. It was the first time I had seen that much of the music I loved in one place and from that point on, it was my goal to play it someday.

In 2017, a good friend of mine, Jeff Crosby was playing the festival and he reached out and asked if I wanted to come play a Tom Petty song with him during his set. Of course I said yes! He got me up in front of that crowd and on that stage for the first time. He introduced me to the crowd and told them that we were his favorite Idaho band, which meant a lot. It took us a couple years after that, but this year, 2019, the band and I are on the bill for the festival and we can’t wait!

Root 66: Reckless Kelly’s Roadside Favorites

Posted on by Amy Reitnouer

Name: Reckless Kelly
Hometown: Austin, TX
Latest Project: Sunset Motel

Tacos: Living in Austin, Texas, is like living in taco heaven. There’s a taco on every corner and you really can’t go wrong. We are currently involved in a breakfast taco war with San Antonio, which I believe we’re winning. They have some good tacos, too, but for my money, I’d have to say that Maudie’s has the best tacos in town, and if we’re gonna get specific, Pete's tantalizing breakfast tacos are the bomb. Flour tortillas filled with eggs, potatoes, cheese, sausage, and serrano peppers. They are already hotter than the fiery bowels of hell, but I like to put a little of their fantastic salsa on there, too … really ties the room together. 

Burger: One of the greatest little greasy spoons in the world is a little dive called Brown’s Diner in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a little café with about an eight- or 10-stool bar that’s usually filled with songwriters eating their world famous cheeseburgers and fries while washing it down with a Budweiser for $1.10. We’ve been known to log in some serious sessions there … the kind where you order a second cheeseburger a few hours later because you’re still there and smelling those burgers will get you every time. I’m pretty sure they’ve never cleaned the grill, which may be the secret to the success of the cheeseburger. The also have a world class jukebox, filled with classic country.

Record store: Bop Street, in Seattle, Washington. It used to be right next door to the Tractor Tavern where we almost always play. They’ve moved a few blocks away, but as far as I know, are still alive and well, which says a lot in this day and age. I was in there once looking for a British copy of Revolver and the owner asked me what I was looking for. I told him I didn't see one, and he took me down to the basement where he had what he estimated to be 750,000 albums and three full shelves of Beatles. He had about 20 copies of Revolver, and I picked one out. I bet he had several hundred Beatles albums, an instant stamp of approval in my book.

Book store: Kevin and Dustin Welch always told me about City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. It was on my list for quite a while before I finally made it in and, since then, I don’t miss an opportunity to stop in when we’re in town. I was on a big Steinbeck kick a few years back and was having a hard time finding some of his lesser known works. City Lights had them all. I think I spent a couple hundred bucks on Steinbeck alone and then had to haul a huge bag of books all over town for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. I still don’t think I’ve read them all yet.

Backstage hang: Speaking of San Francisco, there is a festival there called Hardly Strictly Bluegrass that is our favorite backstage hang. The festival is put on by the Helman family and they treat the artists and fans like royalty. It’s free to the public and there are no corporate sponsors, so basically, it’s all about the music. The back stages are all set up with comfy couches, chairs, and everything you might want backstage. The staff is second to none and they aim to please. They also have artist-only pathways between stages so you can easily get from stage to stage to watch other bands or get someplace fast, if you need to jump up and jam with someone. 

Gear shop: It’s called Austin Vintage Guitars. They have a huge collection of great old guitars and amps. They also have the best amp service in town and, for my money, the world. It’s the kind of place where, if you’re not in the market to buy anything, you better not go in, because there’s always a guitar or amp calling your name and making you re-evaluate your current financial situation: “Well, I guess I could sell the car, and do the kids really need new shoes?”

Listening room: There are some great listening rooms out there … but when someone says “listening room,” I immediately think of the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. We played there with Robert Earl Keen a few times when Robert used to take us out on the East Coast with him when we were just getting our feet wet. They have a strict "no talking over the band" policy, and it was one of the first places I’ve ever seen people really listen like there was gonna be a test at the end of the show. It’s a beautiful room. I’ve heard a few people say things like, “I don’t like the Birchmere because they won’t even let you talk …” I’m always thinking, "Exactly."

Music Festival: I may be biased, but my favorite festival is one that my parents have been putting on since I can remember. The Braun Brothers' Reunion started in Stanley, Idaho, about 30 years ago and was held there on a flatbed stage at the scenic city park. We moved the fest to Challis, Idaho, about 15 years ago, and have built a permanent stage on the driving range at the local golf course. The driving range is a perfect natural amphitheater where fans spread their blankets, set up chairs and awnings. Kids will be rolling down the hill and tossing frisbees around while the music plays in the background. The views are incredible and the little town grows from about 800 to about 3,400 over the three-day weekend. Almost everyone camps out in RVs or tents since there are only a couple hundred rooms available, so there are all these little makeshift villages of people who return every year and reconnect with other music fans they’ve met there over the years. What started as a couple local bands playing to a couple hundred people from the back of a flatbed trailer has turned into a three-day event with acts like Chris Hillman, Alejandro Escovedo, Robert Earl Keen, and the Randy Rogers band. The list goes on and on … It’s a unique festival and we’re really proud of it!

Driving album: My favorite driving music lately is live Bruce Springsteen bootlegs. I have a place up in Idaho that’s exactly a four-hour drive from the airport to the front door, and my friend Dale is a big Boss fan so he always sends me Bruce bootlegs. Since he varies his set list so much and plays for almost four hours a night, one show will pretty much get me home, and another will get me back to the airport. It’s a great way to pass the time on a drive that I’d otherwise be getting pretty sick of.

 

Not a bad view from tonight's show at #LazyGators in Lake Ozark, MO!

A photo posted by Reckless Kelly (@recklesskelly96) on

Car game: Our favorite car game as kids was “Name That Tune.” The rules were simple: We’d crank up the radio and the first person to yell out the artist and song got a point for each, and a bonus point for getting both. If you guessed wrong, you lost a point. We also had what we called a lightning round, which was when dad would hit the scan button and it would stop on every station for about five or 10 seconds. You could really rack up the points during a lightning round. If dad was falling behind, he’d always stop on the oldies station for a few songs and kick our asses.

Dive bar: There are so many great dive bars out there that it’s hard to narrow it down to one favorite. I have my favorite one here in Austin, but I don’t want it overrun with hipsters, so I’ll tell you about another one … Mary’s Club in Portland, Oregon, is one of the best dives ever. It’s a little hole in the wall with cheap drinks, classic drunks, and great bartenders. It’s also the oldest topless bar in Oregon, but you’d hardly know it was a strip club except for the topless dancers who pick their own songs on the jukebox that’s on stage, and sometimes they have to borrow a buck from someone to get started. We’re not really big strip club guys, but in a world of great dives, this one is right up there … and there just happens to be a topless dancer in the corner.

Highway stretch: Of all the cool stretches of highway in America, I’d have to say the coolest and most breathtaking one is Route 1, or the Pacific Coast Highway, out in California. You’ve got the ocean on one side and hillsides on the other. You pass through Big Sur and a bunch of cool little overlooks along the way. It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road! I’ve written a lot of songs about the road and that stretch of highway has inspired a few of them. I camped out on a cliff overlooking the ocean for a few days one time and wrote songs. When I left, a guy pulled in with his camper and asked if he could take the spot when I left and that he had always tried to get that particular site for years and couldn't believe his luck. Since I was flying out, I gave him a few leftover bottles of good wine a friend in Carmel had given me. I thought he was going to cry. Pay it forward!