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ome to the world of kettles | eno:
The Jake Leg Chronicles
CD Out on October 21
Songs, tunes, odes and anthems are abound on debut release
Atlanta, GA – Welcome to The Jake Leg Chronicles: a mixed-up world of chaos, filled with love, misery, justice and sometimes bad luck; all set to music. The songwriting duo of Steed Kettles and Jeff Eno combine their talents to create a collection of songs that are potent with lyrical imagery and strong in musical hooks. The Jake Leg Chronicles will be released on October 21st on Indian Proud Entertainment with national distribution through Burnside Distribution.
The CD was recorded and mastered at Meaner Studios located in Smyrna, GA with Rick Willaford producing, engineering and mastering, Rick even managed to cut a drum track here and a vocal track there. His hands are all over this CD.
The Jake Leg Chronicles took 8 months to compile due to competing schedules. But, despite the time lapse, the songs maintained a continuity that served as the perfect bed for the primarily southern gothic, wild-eyed tales.
Songs like, “Blood Brothers” to the haunting “I’m Coming Home”, shows the depth and range of the characters that kettles | eno deliver. The labyrinths of tawdry characters find redemption in the end with the song “We Believe.” This uplifting song ends the CD because you always have to say a prayer for the next day.
Take a listen to the song: https://soundcloud.com/jill-kettles/kettles-eno-im-coming-home
Steed and Jeff were lucky enough to get, some of Atlanta’s finest musicians. Atlanta guitar legend, Jim Lavender, who was a founding member of the seminal roots band, The Cigar Store Indians and childhood friend of Steed’s, gives the music an undeniable edge with his guitar work. Liberty Jones’ guitar man, Mike Duckworth offers up some nifty finger style work on “Blood Brothers”, while vocalist Karin Johnson, plays the part of Emmylou Harris on the cd’s only cover, “Song For You”, a Gram Parson’s classic. She changes it up a bit to sound more Stax than country. Dave James, of Boy Howdy fame, who is equally adept on piano and B-3 organ, always seemed to know which instrument fit in the right hole. David Smith, who is a jack of all trades, rose to the occasion of spreading his musical abilities to more than anyone could ask for on drums, bass and guitar.
Steed and Jeff met in a band called, Skin n Bones (mid 90’s) that would become the first call for various venues around the Atlanta club scene to open up for the classic rock bands during the early 1990s. After the band broke up, Jeff formed Warped Groove, a jam band. Conversely, Steed formed Liberty Jones which received national attention. Soon after Liberty Jones was formed, they received a spec deal to track the record as band management sought a Nashville major label.
Shortly into those sessions, it was apparent that the songs chosen required a strong, resonant voice like Jeff’s. So, Steed asked Jeff to come aboard which Jeff quickly accepted. With Jeff now on board, the band decided their sound lent themselves for the Americana genre.
In 2007, Liberty released their final record, title, Atlanta, Georgia. This record got worldwide press and radio airplay.
After a couple of years relaxing, Steed (deep rooted in folk or country filled with imagery or emotion,) Jeff (a deep understanding of pop and roots rock,) Decided to step back in the studio one more time. This time it was going to songs primarily from Steed’s catalogue and recorded the way they’ve always heard the material.
The result, The Jake Leg Chronicles, is an 11-song disc that approaches Americana with a pop influence.
From the Cabbagetown bio-op, “Poor White Trash” to the “Hey!” in “I’m Coming Home” to the bitterness of a break up on “Sticks and Stones” to a Sunday morning prayer of “We Believe”; the songs come from years of southern living, not pies and sweet tea, but social and cultural discomfort. Always being thought of backwards, racist, and poor which is the opposite of what most of us are. “We are a unique group”, says Steed, “always wanting everyone to be what the Bible says, love one another like Jesus does, in the daytime, anyhow. When the sun goes down it’s pretty much a free-for-all. That’s why a lot of great art comes from down here. The eternal struggle with good and evil inside the soul makes for a good muse.”
As the title of the CD was arising, a theme began to develop with varied characters and imagery that led up to the chosen moniker, The Jake Leg Chronicles. So what is Jake Leg? The title came from the prohibition-era south, when a couple of bootleggers named Harry Gross and Max Reisman searched for an alternative adulterant to sell as alcohol. They asked an MIT professor (who did not realize they intended internal consumption) for advice. They settled on a ginger extract (TOCP), nicknamed, “Jake.” Originally thought to be harmless, TOCP, turns out, is a neurotoxin. Thereby, drinking TOCP affected the nervous system, leaving them with a funny walk. The old, southern slang reflects the mood of many of the lyrics in The Jake Leg Chronicles.
First impressions are everything but making them last is hard work, kettles| eno is not trying to reinvent the wheel only trying to enhance the ride. From the artwork to the musicians, to the voices this one that is sure to turn heads and twist some ankles.
For more information please visit www.kettles-eno.com
kettles | eno – The Jake Leg Chronicles – October 21, 2014
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