An Inteview with Kevin Gordon {play}ARUpdate_3.mp3{/play} {enclose ARUpdate_3.mp3} Websitewww.KevinGordon.net Purchase o Come Look at the Burning OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY “I called Joe and said ‘let’s make a record—next week’,”says Kevin Gordon, of a conversation with coproducer/engineer/guitarist Joe McMahan that led to the making of his new release, o Come Look at the Burning. His first record in five years, though a long time coming, is full of that same spontaneity. “Just like Sonny Boy Williamson said—‘let’s cut it while it’s hot, goddammit’–that feeling came over me and I knew it was time to make the record.” Recorded in a home studio in a rental house in East Nashville, on 15 tracks of a vintage 16-track tape machine, Burning cuts against the grain of contemporary recording trends in many ways—the entire band was recorded live, rather than focusing on getting a good “rhythm track” then later adding supplemental tracks one at a time. Most of Gordon’s vocals heard on the record are the original tracking vocals, instead of clean, pitch-perfect overdubs. “For this record, we wanted the sound of the band playing together—a performance of the song, with everybody playing and interacting as it went down, not the illusion of a performance”, says Gordon. “Nothing felt as good as the vocals that were cut with the band—so we stuck with them.” Burning represents what Kevin’s fans have wanted for years—a recording that matches the searing unpredictable intensity of his live shows. The album’s ten original songs combine seemingly simple chord changes and arrangements with richly descriptive imagery. “Several songs follow after ‘Down to the Well’, in a way—lots of acutely detailed images placed together in a more abstract context”, says Gordon. Crack of the apple, sting of the juice— Lord, my little black heart done cut loose Shot the bird right off the bough. Blood on the wood, I gotta make it good somehow (from “Make It Good”) This intensely poetic language fused with raw, muscular rhythms and a plainspoken vocal delivery makes Gordon’s music a distinctive hybrid: “I’m a self-taught guitar player who studied poetry in grad school—I take my John Lee Hooker with a side of Gerard Manley Hopkins; it leads you to some interesting places”. Along with ten new original songs, Gordon also covers the late Eddie Hinton’s “Something Heavy” as well as Willie Dixon’s never-more-appropriate “Crazy Mixed-Up World”, originally recorded in 1959 by Chess artist Little Walter. Special guests include Charles “Wigg” Walker, a star on the north Nashville R & B scene in the early 60s (who once employed a young Jimi Hendrix, and wrote songs with the legendary Joe Tex), Lucinda Williams/Greg Brown producer/guitarist Bo Ramsey, and Louisiana R & B hit songwriter David Egan. o Come Look at the Burning is a haunting passionate performance that embraces its influences without being trapped by them; a redefining of the often myopic term “Americana”. A north Louisiana native, Gordon grew up hearing music that shares the same raw emotion and spontaneity that he now puts into his own. “My folks would have people over on the weekends, and I remember hearing a lot of Jerry Lee Lewis . . . a live record on Smash, I think; and Ray Charles. Green daquiris in the blender, wet glass rings on the console, ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘What’d I Say’. That music—it hit me hard. I loved it so much—that’s what drove me to want to sing, play, and write. “ A variety of musical pursuits followed: punk, rockabilly, blues, and now a Nashville-based career as a recording artist and songwriter. Gordon’s songs have been recorded by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Levon Helm of The Band, Ronnie Hawkins, Kate Campbell, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, and others. The title track from his Down to the Well CD, a duet with Grammy winner Lucinda Williams, has been featured on two prominent compilations: the 2001 Oxford American Southern Music Sampler, and No Depression: What It Sounds like, Volume 1, released by Dualtone in 2004. Gordon tours regularly throughout the U.S., and is a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Louisiana Folklife Festival. Also a published poet, Gordon holds an MFA degree from the renowned University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He lives in Nashville with his wife and two children.
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