Event
James McMurtry
BIO
JAMES McMURTRY
On Just Us Kids, James McMurty follows up his critically acclaimed Childish Things with a dozen new, sharply drawn illuminations as he continues to hone and expand his considerable gifts. And the self-produced opus (James fourth venture pulling strings on both sides of the glass) unquestionably represents his most ambitious, accomplished and ass-kicking presentation to date.
Just Us Kids will be the first release for Nashville-based Lightning Rod Records; label president Logan Rogers previously worked as Vice President of A&R for Compadre Records on McMurtrys previous two albums.
The Texas native long has been known as an astute, clear-eyed observer and concise, no-holds-barred chronicler of the human condition, but a growing socio-political edge fairly exploded just prior to the 2004 elections when his scathing, palace-rattling We Cant Make It Here was made available online as a free download. The seven-plus-minute diatribe against social injustice and the Administrations hypocrisy and deceptions repercussed wildly across the Internet and the airwaves, igniting a grassroots firestorm that has brought legions of new fans to the singer/songwriters work. As of this writing, fan-made videos of We Cant Make It Here have been viewed more than 150,000 times on YouTube.
Released in autumn of 2005, Childish Things featured an uncensored version of We Cant Make It Here; the CD spent six weeks at 1 on R&Rs Americana Music Radio Chart in 2005/2006 and racked up James best sales totals in a decade en route to capturing nods for both Best Song and Best Album from the Fifth Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards.
Just Us Kids McMurtrys ninth full-length album picks up on the heat of Childish Things, and while he insists that the majority of the songs are not political, its also clear that hes not even close to abandoning his burgeoning role as a searing political gadfly.
So, roll over Kate Smith this God Bless America (pat mAcdonald Must Die) bears no resemblance to the ubiquitous Irving Berlin chest-thumper; its a scorched-earth cataloging of the old-boys club glad-handing, cronyism and belly up to the trough feeding-frenzy of corporate and state war profiteers.
Cheneys Toy juxtaposes the Hollywood hubris of the Bush administration against images of Guantanamo and a brain-damaged U.S. veteran (free downloads of it have been provided at both McMurtrys and Lightning Rods websites for a make-your-own-video fan contest).
The Governor probes the roles of class and wealth in the solving and prosecution of crimes, and Ruins of the Realm sorts through the fallout and detritus of a cynical, unilateral approach to global mapping.
Just Us Kids is a sonically-majestic, lyrically-grounded heartland rocker that takes a bemused look at the passage of time relative to ones own sense of age and image; with ones sense of internal youthfulness belied by the inevitable flesh failures, the title track glides through the years, arriving at the mid-life realization that were not so skinny, maybe not so free/not so many as we used to be . . .
Freeway View is a honking, breakaway rock n roller propelled by Ian McLagans dazzling ivory-tickling while, according to James, the Dylanesque Hurricane Party inhabits an old man cussing himself for what he misses and what he missed, occasionally noticing whats happening now its a reminiscence at the end of the world.
The sublime Ruby and Carlos looks at a relationship eroded by miscommunication and conflicting ambitions (with Gulf War Syndrome further roiling the waters). Ruby and Carlos arent doomed by a single fatal flaw; instead, their love is exhausted by a series of minor disconnects, finally dying the death of a thousand cuts. Fire Line Road looks at incest and meth addiction as the normal, everyday, ghastly horrors that they are exposing some of the ugliest dirt weve always swept under our societal rug.
The moving set-closer Youd a Thought (Leonard Cohen Must Die) imbues its tale of a couple strained by individual weaknesses and stubborn old habits with a generosity of spirit and wry resignation. McMurtry says the parenthetical tag is there because the lyrics kinda reminded me of a Cohen song, and I was still writing it while we were supposed to be recording it, and it just went on and on. So when I finally came up with it, I said If it wasnt for Leonard Cohen, you wouldnt have had to spend half the day waiting on me.
The core band throughout is McMurtry on guitar, his longtime road band The Heartless Bastards (bassist Ronnie Johnson and drummer Daren Hess) and guest Bastard Ian McLagan (The Faces) ..s.
Extra texture arrives via some hand picked, well-placed cameos: Timbuk3s pat mAcdonald adorns several tracks with his patented, haunting harmonica and all-around otherworldliness. Swamp-king C.C. Adcock (McMurtry: Hes as subtle as a brick through a windshield . . .) saws off some six-string mayhem on the raucous opener Bayou Tortous, and the splendid Jon Dee Graham (whose band shares the Continental Clubs stage with McMurtry & Co. on Wednesday nights in Austin) shreds maniacally on Fireline Road.
And thats James 17-year-old son Curtis McMurtry blowing baritone sax on Bayou . . .
McMurtrys own guitar work tends to be overlooked relative to his spectacular tunesmithing, but despite his poor-mouthing I cant afford to pay to have it done, so I had to learn how to do it myself its a flinty, muscular style perfectly suited to punctuate and emphasize his cogent, acerbic revelations.
These recent years have found James McMurtrys many skills steadily coalescing into an increasingly substantial, formidable whole: the voice, the tunes, the stories and the musicianship have become elementally interwoven to create the inimitable fabric of a distinct, singular artist whos determined to get to the heart of the matter, shake things up and do whatever it takes to make a difference.
In his regular column for Entertainment Weekly, noted author (and passionate rock n roll enthusiast) Stephen King cited McMurtry as the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.
Amen to that. And Just Us Kids makes it clear that theres much more to come.
Jim Musser, January 2008
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LocationHigh Noon Saloon
701 E. Washington Ave
Madison, WI 53703
United States
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| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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