BILL KIRCHEN
''TOMBSTONE EVERY MILE''
JULY 5 1994
38:30
1/Bottle Baby Boogie
Evelyn McKinney/3:15
2/Tombstone Every Mile
Dan Fulkerson/3:16
3/Rockabilly Funeral
Kevin Blackie Farrell / Brian Voorheis/3:41
4/Fool on a Stool
Kevin Blackie Farrell / Leroy Preston/2:40
5/One Woman Man
Tillman Franks / Johnny Horton/2:27
6/Lovin' Cajun Style
Huey P. Meaux/3:13
7/Think It Over
Jimmy Donley / Huey P. Meaux/2:39
8/Lover's Rock/2:51
9/Cool Lovin' Baby
Jeff Sarli/3:34
10/Secrets of Love
Bill Kirchen / Louise Kirchen / Jeff Sarli/2:43
11/Tell Me the Reason
Bill Kirchen / Jeff Sarli/2:49
12/Without Love
Nick Lowe/2:40
13/All Tore Up
Austin DeLone / Tim Eschliman/2:42
Peter Bonta/Accordion, Piano
Buddy Charlton/Pedal Steel
Mitch Collins/Organ, Piano
Dave Elliott/Drums, Vocal Harmony
Bill Kirchen6-String Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Louise Kirchen/Vocal Harmony
Jeff Sarli/6-String Bass, Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Tambourine, Vocal Harmony
REVIEW
by Jana Pendragon
This first Black Top release by honky tonker Bill Kirchen is an Americana roots-music vault of valuables. With plenty of traditional C&W riffs underscored by the brilliant pedal steel of one-time Ernest Tubb steel player Buddy Charleton and the powerful piano of Mitch Collins, this project is more than mere buried treasure that contemporary radio overlooked. Kirchen, a living legend of sorts, takes a very broad stance and combines the best elements of C&W, hillbilly, blues, rockabilly, and honky tonk music to come up with cuts like "Bottle Baby Boogie," a rip-it-up rockabilly tune that shows off Kirchen's guitar master skills, and "All Tore Up," another rocker. The Farrell-Preston song "Fool on a Stool" is given an outstanding retooling with plenty of steel that is true to the tenants of C&W music. Covering Johnny Horton's hit "One Woman Man" is a brave move that comes off convincingly and sounding as honest as the original. Teaming up with bassman Jeff Sari and wife Louise Kirchen, this triple threat not only displays Bill Kirchen's songwriting skills, but a spectacular piece of music in "Secrets of Love." Also noteworthy is "Think It Over," a Donley-Meaux tune that is haunting in the hands of a master. With a nod to friend Nick Lowe, Kirchen adds the beautiful harmony vocals of Louise to his own multi-faceted vocal style on Lowe's "Without Love," to come up with a moment that leaves time standing still. A mighty accomplishment in musical terms. This disc is only an indication of what the future holds for one of the few solid survivors of the country-rock phenomenon of the 1970s. With all his talent on display here, it is easy to understand why Kirchen has survived, even in the face of the '90s pop-bubblegum-country cookie-cutter mentality.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jana Pendragon
Bill Kirchen is best known for his work in the '70s with the rebel band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Leading the way, this gang of rock & roll honky tonkers cut a wide path through country and rock, creating an intersection where both could meet and meld together their many guises effortlessly.
Bill Kirchen was a dominating force behind the success of the Airmen. Meeting up with George Frayne, later known as Commander Cody, in his hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, set the wheels of Kirchen's musical career into motion.
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, the future guitar god first learned to play the trombone. While in high school he meet folksinger David Siglin and proceeded to place himself in the middle of the local folk scene. This was a training ground for Kirchen's prospective endeavors. He learned to play banjo and guitar. His fascination with folk eventually segued into an interest in the blues and string bands. While still in college, Kirchen started his own band, an outfit best described as "psycho folk-rock." It was around this same time that Detroit-based Frayne and future airman John Tichy decided to put a country band together. Having gone to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Kirchen, Frayne, and some of the other Airmen knew each other, thus Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen were born.
By 1969 Kirchen knew something had to be done or the band would idle away in obscurity. Aware of the music coming out of San Francisco, he convinced the rest of the band to move to the West Coast, where they took off and became legendary outlaws, lauded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson as well as the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead. Kirchen's power as a vocalist, player, performer, and songwriter began to solidify. Known for his vocal treatment and hot guitar licks on "Mama Hated Diesels" and the ever popular "Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues" from two of their preeminent releases, Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers' Favorites and Lost in the Ozone, respectively. As a performer Kirchen came into his own while on stage in Austin for the live recording of the critically acclaimed Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas, recorded in November of 1973 at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Kirchen's work during this phase in the all-too-short career of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen is still remembered with awe.
The 1976 breakup of the band lead Kirchen to form the Moonlighters, a swing orchestra. British star Nick Lowe, who'd become interested in Kirchen's work while he was still with the Airmen, sought him out. The two formed a bond that remained intact years later. As the producer of the first Moonlighters album, Lowe found a soul mate in the talented American. Kirchen toured internationally with his friend and even joined him in the studio. While in England, Kirchen's style was a hot property as is evidenced by his participation on recording projects for Elvis Costello, rockabilly king Gene Vincent, and Link Wray.
By 1986 Kirchen had moved to the Washington, D.C., area, establishing himself as a leader on the music scene. Prior to his signing on with Black Top Records in 1994, Kirchen recorded Tombstone Every Mile. This high-powered project was initially released on Costello's label, Demon Records, in England. Available in the States on Black Top, this was just the beginning of Kirchen's personal recording renaissance.
1996 was the year Kirchen saw the release of Have Love, Will Travel. Critically acclaimed, it is an eclectic disc that displays the various aspects of Kirchen's artistry and talent. Praised as one of the pioneers who marked territory for a new radio format, Americana, this still-wild guitar slinger is also noted as a forefather of the twangcore movement that encompasses everyone from the king of California, Dave Alvin, to rockabilly bands and roots rock outfits like Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys and Wilco. It is also believed that fellow madman Junior Brown was given a career boost thanks to Kirchen's dominating spirit, which has served to stand as a point of light for rebels of every stripe and color over these many years. In 1999, Kirchen followed with Raise a Ruckus on Hightone Records.
A proud father married for over 25 years to the same woman, Kirchen has been instrumental in keeping the work of many musical pioneers as more than just memory. Using his 1950s Telecaster and his chameleon-like voice, he has told the tale of Bakersfield's top bard, Red Simpson, and maverick songwriter Blackie Farrell. Ernest Tubb's former man of pedal steel, Buddy Charleton, whose infallible twang and moan can be heard throughout Have Love, Will Travel, is a featured player in Kirchen's world. Always ahead of his time, Kirchen remains a man of distinction who looks at music not as something to be categorized, but as an art form that has no boundaries. Continuing to work with Hightone Records, Kirchen released Tied to the Wheel in 2001, followed by King of Dieselbilly in 2005 and Hammer of the Honkey-Tonk Gods in 2006.
''TOMBSTONE EVERY MILE''
JULY 5 1994
38:30
1/Bottle Baby Boogie
Evelyn McKinney/3:15
2/Tombstone Every Mile
Dan Fulkerson/3:16
3/Rockabilly Funeral
Kevin Blackie Farrell / Brian Voorheis/3:41
4/Fool on a Stool
Kevin Blackie Farrell / Leroy Preston/2:40
5/One Woman Man
Tillman Franks / Johnny Horton/2:27
6/Lovin' Cajun Style
Huey P. Meaux/3:13
7/Think It Over
Jimmy Donley / Huey P. Meaux/2:39
8/Lover's Rock/2:51
9/Cool Lovin' Baby
Jeff Sarli/3:34
10/Secrets of Love
Bill Kirchen / Louise Kirchen / Jeff Sarli/2:43
11/Tell Me the Reason
Bill Kirchen / Jeff Sarli/2:49
12/Without Love
Nick Lowe/2:40
13/All Tore Up
Austin DeLone / Tim Eschliman/2:42
Peter Bonta/Accordion, Piano
Buddy Charlton/Pedal Steel
Mitch Collins/Organ, Piano
Dave Elliott/Drums, Vocal Harmony
Bill Kirchen6-String Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Louise Kirchen/Vocal Harmony
Jeff Sarli/6-String Bass, Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Tambourine, Vocal Harmony
REVIEW
by Jana Pendragon
This first Black Top release by honky tonker Bill Kirchen is an Americana roots-music vault of valuables. With plenty of traditional C&W riffs underscored by the brilliant pedal steel of one-time Ernest Tubb steel player Buddy Charleton and the powerful piano of Mitch Collins, this project is more than mere buried treasure that contemporary radio overlooked. Kirchen, a living legend of sorts, takes a very broad stance and combines the best elements of C&W, hillbilly, blues, rockabilly, and honky tonk music to come up with cuts like "Bottle Baby Boogie," a rip-it-up rockabilly tune that shows off Kirchen's guitar master skills, and "All Tore Up," another rocker. The Farrell-Preston song "Fool on a Stool" is given an outstanding retooling with plenty of steel that is true to the tenants of C&W music. Covering Johnny Horton's hit "One Woman Man" is a brave move that comes off convincingly and sounding as honest as the original. Teaming up with bassman Jeff Sari and wife Louise Kirchen, this triple threat not only displays Bill Kirchen's songwriting skills, but a spectacular piece of music in "Secrets of Love." Also noteworthy is "Think It Over," a Donley-Meaux tune that is haunting in the hands of a master. With a nod to friend Nick Lowe, Kirchen adds the beautiful harmony vocals of Louise to his own multi-faceted vocal style on Lowe's "Without Love," to come up with a moment that leaves time standing still. A mighty accomplishment in musical terms. This disc is only an indication of what the future holds for one of the few solid survivors of the country-rock phenomenon of the 1970s. With all his talent on display here, it is easy to understand why Kirchen has survived, even in the face of the '90s pop-bubblegum-country cookie-cutter mentality.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jana Pendragon
Bill Kirchen is best known for his work in the '70s with the rebel band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Leading the way, this gang of rock & roll honky tonkers cut a wide path through country and rock, creating an intersection where both could meet and meld together their many guises effortlessly.
Bill Kirchen was a dominating force behind the success of the Airmen. Meeting up with George Frayne, later known as Commander Cody, in his hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, set the wheels of Kirchen's musical career into motion.
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, the future guitar god first learned to play the trombone. While in high school he meet folksinger David Siglin and proceeded to place himself in the middle of the local folk scene. This was a training ground for Kirchen's prospective endeavors. He learned to play banjo and guitar. His fascination with folk eventually segued into an interest in the blues and string bands. While still in college, Kirchen started his own band, an outfit best described as "psycho folk-rock." It was around this same time that Detroit-based Frayne and future airman John Tichy decided to put a country band together. Having gone to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Kirchen, Frayne, and some of the other Airmen knew each other, thus Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen were born.
By 1969 Kirchen knew something had to be done or the band would idle away in obscurity. Aware of the music coming out of San Francisco, he convinced the rest of the band to move to the West Coast, where they took off and became legendary outlaws, lauded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson as well as the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead. Kirchen's power as a vocalist, player, performer, and songwriter began to solidify. Known for his vocal treatment and hot guitar licks on "Mama Hated Diesels" and the ever popular "Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues" from two of their preeminent releases, Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers' Favorites and Lost in the Ozone, respectively. As a performer Kirchen came into his own while on stage in Austin for the live recording of the critically acclaimed Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas, recorded in November of 1973 at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Kirchen's work during this phase in the all-too-short career of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen is still remembered with awe.
The 1976 breakup of the band lead Kirchen to form the Moonlighters, a swing orchestra. British star Nick Lowe, who'd become interested in Kirchen's work while he was still with the Airmen, sought him out. The two formed a bond that remained intact years later. As the producer of the first Moonlighters album, Lowe found a soul mate in the talented American. Kirchen toured internationally with his friend and even joined him in the studio. While in England, Kirchen's style was a hot property as is evidenced by his participation on recording projects for Elvis Costello, rockabilly king Gene Vincent, and Link Wray.
By 1986 Kirchen had moved to the Washington, D.C., area, establishing himself as a leader on the music scene. Prior to his signing on with Black Top Records in 1994, Kirchen recorded Tombstone Every Mile. This high-powered project was initially released on Costello's label, Demon Records, in England. Available in the States on Black Top, this was just the beginning of Kirchen's personal recording renaissance.
1996 was the year Kirchen saw the release of Have Love, Will Travel. Critically acclaimed, it is an eclectic disc that displays the various aspects of Kirchen's artistry and talent. Praised as one of the pioneers who marked territory for a new radio format, Americana, this still-wild guitar slinger is also noted as a forefather of the twangcore movement that encompasses everyone from the king of California, Dave Alvin, to rockabilly bands and roots rock outfits like Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys and Wilco. It is also believed that fellow madman Junior Brown was given a career boost thanks to Kirchen's dominating spirit, which has served to stand as a point of light for rebels of every stripe and color over these many years. In 1999, Kirchen followed with Raise a Ruckus on Hightone Records.
A proud father married for over 25 years to the same woman, Kirchen has been instrumental in keeping the work of many musical pioneers as more than just memory. Using his 1950s Telecaster and his chameleon-like voice, he has told the tale of Bakersfield's top bard, Red Simpson, and maverick songwriter Blackie Farrell. Ernest Tubb's former man of pedal steel, Buddy Charleton, whose infallible twang and moan can be heard throughout Have Love, Will Travel, is a featured player in Kirchen's world. Always ahead of his time, Kirchen remains a man of distinction who looks at music not as something to be categorized, but as an art form that has no boundaries. Continuing to work with Hightone Records, Kirchen released Tied to the Wheel in 2001, followed by King of Dieselbilly in 2005 and Hammer of the Honkey-Tonk Gods in 2006.
