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As the title
suggests, the
debut album from
The Kenneth
Brian Band,
Welcome to
Alabama,
is an
introduction to
the New South,
by way of a
relentless
attack of tracks
featuring
masterful
song-crafting,
blistering
guitar work,
spot-on
harmonies, and a
take-no-prisoners-rhythm
section, all
tied together by
Brian’s honest
voice and
unapologetically
strait-forward
point of view.
While dark times
have seen the
Southern
farms and small
businesses of
old paved over
and toppled by
the
ever-increasing
growth of
suburban sprawl,
Welcome To
Alabama
shines like a
beacon for those
who fear that
Southern culture
is all but lost;
and moreover,
proves that it
isn’t lost at
all.
Welcome to
Alabama
was produced by
Johnny Sandlin,
the acclaimed
producer who’s
worked with The
Allman Brothers
Band, Gregg
Allman, Elvin
Bishop, Bonnie
Bramlett,
Widespread
Panic, Delbert
McClinton and
Wet Willie,
among many
others. Special
guests on the
album include
legendary singer
Bonnie Bramlett,
guitarist Jason
Isbell (Drive-by
Truckers),
keyboardist
Randall
Bramblett (Sea
Level, Cowboy,
Steve Winwood),
bassist Charlie
Hayward (The
Charlie Daniels
Band), guitarist
James Pennebaker
(Delbert
McClinton) and
iconic Muscle
Shoals Rhythm
Section bassist
David Hood.
The Kenneth
Brian Band’s
smokin’ brand of
outlaw country
music meets
Southern Rock is
led by the
powerful vocals
and incendiary
lead guitar of
Kenneth Brian.
The rest of the
band includes
Travis Stephens
on rhythm guitar
and harmony
vocals, Dickey
Pryor on drums
and Zach Graham
on bass.
Nine of the ten
tracks on
Welcome to
Alabama
are originals
written by
Kenneth Brian.
The lone cover
is “There Ain’t
Nothin’ You Can
Do,” written by
Dickey Betts and
originally
recorded on the
Dickey
Betts and Great
Southern
album in 1977.
Brian’s version
features a
rousing vocal
duet with Bonnie
Bramlett. In
addition to the
kickin’ title
track, some of
the album’s
other many
highlights
include the
ballsy,
hard-core
rocking opening
track,
“Something
Better;” the
crowd-pleasing
Lone Star State
anthem, “Texas
by Tonight;” the
tender barroom
ballad, “Last
Call;” the
rumbling
“Tonight We
Ride;” and the
powerfully-moving
“Prayer for
Love” (featuring
Jason Isbell on
slide
guitar).
In March of
2011, The
Kenneth Brian
Band showcased
in front of a
packed house
during the SXSW
Music Festival
held in Austin.
His genuine
authenticity and
modern edge have
attracted
listeners from
all over the
world.
Kenneth Brian
has been called
“The past,
present and
future of Outlaw
Country Music,”
by The
Gainesville Sun.
Before moving to
Alabama, Kenneth
Brian spent
several years in
Nashville
writing songs
and performing
at a number of
clubs in Music
City. With eight
years of
experience
playing in an
eclectic
assortment of
country, metal,
and punk bands
behind him,
Kenneth followed
his dream up and
hasn’t looked
back since,
touring nonstop
around the U.S.
and Europe.
Kenneth’s
writing draws
inspiration from
his life growing
up on the Gulf
Coast of
Florida, and his
family’s West
Virginia hard
working roots.
Brian’s lyrics
reveal his years
spent on the
road as a
musician -
moving forward
and looking back
on what he’d
left behind. The
Kenneth Brian
Band’s music is
straight-ahead
roots-country
with a
contemporary
sharpness,
fueled by a
backbeat of raw
emotion and
rock.
While living in
Austin in 2006,
Brian starred as
Hank Williams
Sr. in the
production,
“Hank Williams:
Lost Highway,”
for a long run
at the city’s
Zachary Scott
Theatre, where
local station
KUT-FM said of
his performance,
“His musical
talent is no
act.” During his
time in Austin,
he also did
session work
with Hunt Sales
and Will Sexton.
With its first
album, The
Kenneth Brian
Band has created
a Southern Rock
tour-de-force
that, like its
title’s
namesake, is
both progressive
and steeped in
tradition.
“Welcome
To Alabama.”
Other Kenneth
Brian Press
Quotes:
“Kenneth is
really
unbelievable as
a guitar player,
he’s a real
shit-kicking
gunslinger with
great chops and
then he writes
songs in that
Guy Clark and
Townes Van Zandt
vein of
songwriting.
It’s not only a
hell of a rock
‘n’ roll sound,
but the songs
are there if you
are listening.”
- Huntington
Herald Dispatch
“Kenneth Brian
pushes country
rock music to
new boundaries.”
- Southern
Oregon's Mail
Tribune
“As much good
country soul as
a pine-wood pew
in a Baptist
church come
revival time.” -
The Times of
Acadiana
“Kenneth Brian
comes ripping
through the
speakers like a
bat out of hell.
The album is a
blistering set
of rocking
swingers that
conjure the bars
with sawdust
still on the
floor.”
- Breath of
Fresh Air
Magazine
To watch a video
of the song,
“Welcome to
Alabama,” click
on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqNDa_l-Y0w.
To watch a video
of the song,
“Last Call,”
click on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQ5MUZQtZU.
For more
information,
visit
http://www.kennethbrian.com
http://www.myspace.com/kennethbrian
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kenneth-Brian-Band/123281901592
The Kenneth
Brian Band –
Welcome to
Alabama
– Southern
Shift Records
Release date:
October 18, 2011
– Distributed by
Burnside
Distribution
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