Welcome 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:
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.
kettles | eno – The Jake Leg Chronicles – October 21,
2014
