Notes
"Kathy Kallick is one of the best songwriters in bluegrass and acoustic music, always coming up with interesting, sometimes playful, always sure-handed songs with conversational yet evocative lyrics.' (Chris Stuart, Sing Out!) Cut To the Chase is Kathy Kallick's 18th release, recordings which contain well over 100 of her remarkable original compositions. The new album is a collection of Kathy's story songs, and continues her tradition of once-a-decade releases of not-quite-bluegrass original material, following 'Matters Of the Heart' (Sugar Hill/1993) and 'Reason & Rhyme' (Copper Creek/2004). Kathy observes, "Story songs are a significant part of the roots of music that I enjoy. They were ways of spreading the news and recounting important events, and I find plot-driven songs appealing - and easy to remember! I also find the fact that something mattered enough to be recounted to be moving and compelling - and it makes me want to sing the song/story in a compelling way." This time, Kathy has recorded several tracks with her current band: Annie Staninec (fiddle), Greg Booth (dobro), Tom Bekeny (mandolin), and Cary Black (acoustic bass). The Kathy Kallick Band has released two albums in recent years, and both have remained on the national bluegrass charts longer than any other recordings of the time, as well as being the highest-ranked bluegrass releases on the folk-dj chart. Kathy also makes music once again with her bandmates from the Good Ol' Persons (John Reischman/mandolin), Sally Van Meter/resophonic guitar), Rustler's Moon (Bill Evans/banjo, Cindy Browne/acoustic bass), and a previous iteration of the KKB (Amy Stenberg/harmony vocals). But Cut To the Chase contains new and quite wonderful collaborations as well. The revered guitarist-singer-songwriter Clive Gregson co-wrote three of the album's songs with Kathy, and plays his distinctive guitar on four tracks. Sylvia Herold (guitar, harmony vocals) and Paul Kotapish (mandolin) are both members of two beloved Bay Area bands, Wake the Dead and Euphonia, and bring new sounds to Kathy's music. Pedal steel legend Bobby Black sweetens a number of the songs, as do contributions from Bay Area stalwarts Molly Tuttle (guitar, harmony vocals), Patrice Haan (harp, harmony vocals), and Richard Brandenburg (harmony vocals), as well as Seattle's Nova Devonie (accordion). Kathy was surprised by several aspects of the evolution of the Cut To the Chase songs: "My initial response to all three melodies created by Clive was shock. They were nothing like what I expected - which is precisely why I wanted to collaborate with him. I now find them rather thrilling to play and sing. And it took hearing a piece on the radio about 'Broken Token' genre of folk songs -- seven years apart, set in the month of May, the return of the wandering lover, etc. -- to shape the story of 'The Rustler's Girl,' a companion to one of my earlier songs. Of course, it's Kathy Kallick's extraordinary and soulful vocals as well as her distinctive and memorable compositions that make Cut To the Chase a special experience. She combines a patchwork quilt mix of stylistic elements and of subject matter into a satisfying and powerful collection of new songs ... which are also stories. Kathy Kallick has been among the elite of contemporary songwriters and singers since co-founding the internationally-acclaimed band, Good Ol' Persons, in 1975. Along the way, she has won a Grammy and two IBMA Awards for her part on True Life Blues: The Songs Of Bill Monroe; had five title tracks and albums each spend a year in the upper echelon of the national bluegrass charts; performed and recorded with the Frank Wakefield Band; written and recorded award-winning music for children and families; appeared on three high-profile Rounder collections of bluegrass songs by women, as well as noteworthy compilations of songs about baseball, trains, spiritual matters, families, broken hearts, Christmas, and mothers; toured throughout North Am
