Bret Koontz's Private Line

(above- a detail from the art for Into My Dream).

I chose and arranged the items in this image to correspond visually and/or conceptually to the order of the chakras, which happens to correspond to the Roy G Biv color spectrum found in light. This was news to me!

Thanks for tuning in to my private line. This is the alcove I'm carving out to more directly share updates about my work with the people who are invested in hearing about it.

File Under “T” for “That’s Showbiz”

Image by Mikie Poland.

The next BK&TC show with Gracie Horse. I met Gracie when she was living in Boston and fronting Fat Creeps, a great indie trio whose songs struck me as embodying this idea of simmering LA Rock that may have only existed in my own head. Now based in LA, she's writing country rock that's got just enough polish on it. Gracie accomplishes the rare feat of working in this genre and never sounding like a tourist—her songwriting refuses to be corralled.

My good friend Davey Hart's solo project the Christmas Bride is rounding out the bill. The X-mas Bride is high-concept Power Pop Punk that may or may not take place in this virtual reality RPG called life.

As for BK&TC: we've been after a new sound lately, so at this show we'll be premiering a lot of new material and new sonic developments. Current inspo look-book: Everything but the Girl, the Go-Betweens, Tango in the Night-era Fleetwood Mac, the Blue Nile, and the Cleaners From Venus.

It’s a matinee show on Friday, 9/22 6pm at the California Clipper. That means once our show is done at 9:30pm, you’ll still have the whole gaping maw of a Chicago Friday night ahead of you. Bon chance!

Music Video for Lonesome Rambler

To make this video, we Jake, Beth, Dave, and I drove out to some secret caves. It starts out as an endurance piece: a protracted load-in (me carrying a Peavey amp deep into the woods) that turns paranormal with shades of El Topo.

The pedal steel on this track was played by Reggie Duncan, a true country session player from Mississippi who's been at it since the 80s. When I asked him to send me a photo to include in the album art, he replied with a three word email that read “CHECK THIS OUT.” The attached photo featured him seated at the lap steel, winking. I was pumped but surprised at this choice of pic, since our communications until then had been pretty no-nonsense.

Some months went by before I took a closer look at his website's gallery and found that this is just the natural state of his right eye: partially closed. I guess this is a lesson in how text can subvert or add unintentional meaning to images, because I don't think his expression would have “read” as a wink without the accompanying introduction. From now on, I'll take better care not to juxtapose to conclusions . . . unless?

A Book Tour

I'm in the early stages of putting a solo tour together in support of the Art Book Album we released last year. Since we did in fact release it as a book instead of a vinyl record, I'll be approaching this tour more like a book tour than a band-on-the-road situation. I'm aiming to play exclusively in living rooms, book stores, and art spaces and devote some time to talking about the sheet music and art in the books, Q&A, etc. The music will be mostly acoustic with maybe some minimal backing track collages (read: quiet). My friend Ariel Mejia's joining me for this one. A sound artist/producer who currently works at Vocalo, she'll be premiering a new Interactive Audio Visual Performance.

Call for Spaces: If any of you are interested in hosting an evening like this in your living room, store, or space get in touch with me through this email. Right now we're thinking Midwest and East Coast, but we could possibly stretch out to other regions if it makes sense. Let's keep under-the-radar micro events alive!

A Song With a Name that Anyone Could Love

This installment's musical offering is a demo recording of a song called Bunny. I was overdubbing some Nashville-strung guitar parts one night on another track when I realized the harspichord-ish quality of the higher strings lent itself well to this particular guitar arrangement. I recorded a single take with the vocals and guitar on the same track, then doubled the guitar on a separate track. Bunny finds a narrator considering the places and people that have fallen apart, disappeared, or been similarly junked by time.

Thanks for your attention. That and time are so valuable. If you’re into what’s going on here and have $25 to spare, buy our Album. Also available for digital download. Another avenue of support is sharing, streaming, re-posting, listening with friends, or likewise spreading our songs around.