Kyle LaLone Arrives At His Musical Destiny With A Blend Of Classic Country, Alt-Country And Folk On His Second EP 'Somewhere In Between' April 24
The Los Angeles Sideman-Turned-Frontman Delivers A Twangy Set Of Americana
“…filled with classic-sounding country-twang." - JP's Music Blog
“Berklee graduate with experiential grit amongst his songs, throat, and Tele.” - DC Larson’s Jukebox Jury
Being a working musician is never an easy path and usually it’s not a very straight one. Having bounced from upstate New York, to Boston, NYC and now LA, Kyle LaLone feels fortunate to be a working musician and to have played with many talented folks in many different genres. The Berklee College of Music graduate is an accomplished session guitarist, songwriter and music educator who has recently added solo artist to his resume. “I have performed, toured, and recorded with dozens of artists of nearly every style in just about every setting you could imagine,” he points out. “From dive bars and clubs across the country to large outdoor festivals in the UK and Canada.” LaLone has toured the US several times, had residencies with different bands in both NYC and Los Angeles and has even toured Alaska. “It’s been a struggle to stay afloat at times but I am proud and grateful to be making a living as a musician.”
In 2016 LaLone released an eponymous instrumental EP influenced by classic guitar driven albums from the early 60’s. He is now set to release Somewhere In Between, a 5-song collection of country-tinged music. “The last few years I’ve played lead guitar with several different country and Americana artists,” LaLone describes. “It felt like a natural progression to write and release my own music within the genre.” A few of the notable Los Angeles Americana artists that LaLone has performed and recorded with include: Rose’s Pawn Shop, Elijah Ocean, Dawn & Dupree, Ben Bostick and Doug C and The Blacklisted.
Somewhere In Between showcases LaLone’s singing, guitar playing and songwriting with honesty and authenticity. “My main inspiration for these songs was moving through a breakup, getting sober, and reconnecting with myself through that process.”
LaLone co-produced the record with Adam Popick who engineered, mixed and also played on the album. LaLone then took the project to grammy-winning engineer, Hans DeKline (Lisa Loeb, U2, Pixies) for final mastering. Popick and LaLone met through a mutual friend from Berklee when LaLone was looking for someone to play bass on his first record. The two have been working together since. “One of my favorite memories with him is playing at a blues festival in Ontario, Canada where the headliner was Randy Bachman from Bachman Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who.” The other player featured on the record is Bob “Boo” Bernstein who plays pedal steel and who LaLone has gigged together with on the L.A. country music scene for a few years.
The record kicks off with the upbeat honkytonk sounds of “Think Myself To Death” and moves into the more time-honored country sound of “Our Love”. “I wrote this song starting with the line ‘Our love ain’t what it used to be,’ and finished the lyrics before picking up my guitar,” said LaLone. “The music seemed to write itself after I did. My goal was to write a very classic sounding country song in the vein of Hank Williams or Buck Owens.”
“Warning Signs” is LaLone’s breakup song while “Always Trying To Quit” and “Not Gonnna Drink Over You” are songs about the aftermath and LaLone’s journey of getting sober. “I said the phrase, ‘I’m always trying to quit’ to a friend in regards to smoking cigarettes and thought it pretty much encompassed my journey with trying to get sober over the past 5 or so years,” he says. “Another song that began with the title is ‘Not Gonna Drink Over You’. I wrote this as a sort of pep talk to myself when I was still hurting and healing from my breakup.” These songs started a writing process for LaLone where he comes up with a title or line and finishes the majority of the lyrics before setting music to them. “I’m not going to stay down, ‘cause I’ve got things to do | I’m not going to drink over you.”
LaLone is originally from Watertown, NY, a small town 1 hour north of Syracuse and 45 minutes south of the Canadian border. “Although I didn’t grow up listening to a lot of country music, I think growing up in the country has influenced me gravitating towards roots music in the last several years,” he muses. “I hope to write songs that depict the lives and tell the stories of those who grew up in small towns across the country, their struggles, heartaches and triumphs. I am trying to be as honest and vulnerable as I can in my music and in general. I hope to inspire others to do the same.”
Somewhere In Between will be released April 24th, 2020.
You can pre-order this mighty fine EP in digital format from here.
