Written By Peter Gerstenzang // American Songwriter
Its the photograph
There she is, standing imperiously behind a silver trailer at the Joshua Tree desert, where Gram Parsons’ dead body was set on fire but didn’t burn, and countless other chemically-altered rockers went looking for UFOs. She is tall and thin, a blue do-rag and black hat covering her head, leaning on an acoustic guitar. Kara Grainger’s whole vibe seems to say, ‘Tread very carefully around me.’
Then you talk to her. And instead of her calling you vato in a low ominous way, Grainger is actually quite friendly. She tells you all about her musical roots, the pleasure she took in making her new CD, Living With Your Ghost, and how she’ll miss her Labradoodle when she goes on tour. It’s also impossible to miss the upbeat Australian accent (she grew up in Sydney). So you find it’s really quite a tonic talking to this singer-songwriter. Who woos you in-a sunshiny Olivia Newton-John kind of way.
She plays funky soul music, which these days you’d probably label Americana. But took a circuitous path getting there.
Kara Grainger Steps Into the Spotlight
Kara Grainger - Living With Your Ghost
BY JON KLEINMAN - No Depression
Kara Grainger may have grown up in Australia, but the singer, songwriter and guitarist has a natural feel for blues and American roots music. In addition to three previous studio albums, Grainger’s resumeincludes opening shows for heavyweight acts like Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang and Taj Majal.
Naturally drawn comparisons to Bonnie Raitt. Astute listeners may notice that touches of Susan Tedeschi’s raw power and Beth Hart’s sultry warmth also find their way into Grainger’s rich, expressive vocal style.
Recorded in Austin, Texas with Anders Osbourne in the producer’s chair and Ivan Neville on keyboards,Living with Your Ghost is the perfect showcase for Grainger’s range as a performer. The title track and Man of Soul are both energetic pieces of blues rock with catchy choruses and a dose of airplay-readypolish. The grit and mileage in Grainger’s voice allow it to cut through the mix.
Propelled by crunching guitar chords and a kick ass rhythm section , Favorite Sin is a blistering piece of three chord rock and roll.
Groove Train is a track that more than lives up to its name. Neville’s keyboards and a guest appearance by the Texas Horns add a healthy dose of southern grease into the mix. The funky rhythm section and free-wheeling guitar solos recall Little Feat at their prime. Like Susan Tedeschi, Grainger uses her deep, dynamic voice to hold her own alongside a crew of seasoned ensemble players.
The stately ballad Nowhere To Be Found is one the album’s most powerful tracks. Grainger’s beautiful acoustic slide guitar mixes with Neville’s delicate piano riffs to create a grand Americana sound that will bring back memories of The Band. As a vocalist, Grainger has the rare ability to make even the most heartfelt performance seem effortless. As she sings the deeply personal lyrics about lost love, it feels as ifshe’s having an intimate conversation with the listener.
She’s a talent deserving wider recognition – let’s hope that Living With Your Ghost and the upcoming North American tour propel her into the national spotlight.
“I always loved to sing,” says the L.A. resident. “As a young girl, I listened a lot to my parents record collection and learned about 200 songs. From albums by Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez. I started to play guitar and sang all these tunes like I was in music class. I was very serious about it all.”
Probably not as serious as Joan Baez. But who is?
Then, the apprentice took a break.
“I felt after that intense education, I need to stop doing covers. At least of Folk. In Sydney there’s a great deal of interest in blues and r&b. Especially on vinyl, And also lots of clubs. My brother Mitch and I had a band, Papa Lips, that use to gig a lot. I was listening to Erma Thomas, lots of Stax stuff and I think that’s when I really found my voice. Singing live. You can experiment. And you learn so much.
You speak to her about experimenting; that’s how Grainger approaches songwriting. One way is freestyle, the other more academic. But they both work for her. From her beginnings, right up to the songs she conjured up for ‘Ghost.’
“I have a couple of different tricks I use when I’m writing,” Grainger says in an almost-whisper, like she’s telling you the secret to life or her PIN number. Which are, these days, kind of the same. “One is to sit with the guitar and just sort of freestyle. As I strum chords, I sing anything that comes to mind. Bits of melody, syllables, words that don’t necessarily go together. That often unlocks a song. If I’m really stuck, I have this other exercise I do. It’s an assignment really. I just pick an object, any object, like a clock and write a song about it. It’s the opposite of the free-form style. It’s very deliberate. But they both help me to write songs.
Ah, the songs.
Grainger is the first singer-songwriter you’ve heard in a while who doesn’t whimper about her problems while politely strumming her guitar. Maybe, like a superhero, the hat and scarf wrapped around her head imbue her with special powers. But once the woman plugs in and starts playing she pretty much incinerates everything around her. Whether it’s the title song, “Man With Soul” or “Favorite Sin” (dig the crazy sound effects here too), it’s hard to believe this badass has ever even heard of Joan Baez. Whether she’s playing bottleneck or making with the Chuck Berry licks, Grainger makes you sit up straight the minute she drops the needle. Then there’s that band. You need help to be this funky. With the ever-dependable Ivan Neville on keyboards, bassist Dave Monsey and drummer J.J. Johnson, our girl has all the support she needs. Throw in producer/guitarist Anders Osborne (Grainger co-produced) and the ambience of Austin’s Wire Recording Studio and you have got one great sounding record.
Things aren’t perfect however. Sometimes the writing can be a bit generic and her vocals, despite some real nice notes borrowed from Tina and Dusty, can occasionally sound a little bit too Blues Mama for my taste. But the gal is just about there. Just bursting with great ideas. Just full of musical things too say. Just about to be a giant.
Toward the end, you discuss a few more disparate things. Grainger’s slide playing (“I learned a lot about tuning from the Mel Bay book”) and how she “hasn’t been getting to the beach lately.” Still, Grainger sounds anxious to go out and tour. If she has any real regrets, it’s that she has to leave Waylon, the aforementioned Labradoodle, for a while. That makes her sound genuinely sad. But after a few seconds she steels herself self against such difficult emotions. She straightens her back and says she’ll get through it. So who knows? Maybe Kara Grainger is pretty tough after all.
Vent Magazine -Patrick O'Heffernen,
Blues from down under? Who knew? I didn’t, but when I hear Kara Grainger’s new album Living Your Ghost, I was sold. A solid album – 12 tracks, and every track addictive. No filler, no easy outs, no compromises. Living With A Ghost shows the tremendous growth of an already super-talented artist and wall-to-wall extraordinary music.
Kara put her heart and soul into each song and it shows. She kicks off with the title track’s acoustic downbeat and big guitar sound that takes you through a deep-in-your-heart journey with a slide guitar and wailing electric lighting up the road signs. But once you are there, she turns you right around and takes you back in “Working My Way Back Home”, her urgent voice highlighted by B-3 sharps and more big, big guitar blues notes. “Man With A Soul”, written with Trevor Manear, dips into country blues with a danceable backbeat and in-your-face vocals with a touch of seduction and Grainger’s glowing guitar riffs.
Things lighten up with “Nowhere to Be Found” and “You Are in New Orleans” which take us to the country blues/Americana side of Granger. The most intriguing song on the album is “Reason to be my Verse”, self-aware in the lyrics and a gentle heart tug in the melodies – except for the curl in her Down Under voice that keeps the tension just below the surface as the melody soars toward the final verse. My favorite is “Favorite Sin”, written with Julia King and guitarist/producer Anders Osborne, a song that starts out with an almost punk high energy down-low strum and shifts into a rollicking, dance-inducing blues-rock powerhouse. Listen on earphones with a long flexible cord and lots of space around your body.
“Nobody But You” brings us back down to introspection and love, motivated by J. J. Johnson’s precise delicate drumming, then morphs into the equally romantic but more beat-centric “Love Will Get You Through the Door”. Easily the most addictive song on a very habit-forming album. The song follows blues-rock form but Grainger’s determined yet feminine voice pulls you in to each verse and her restrained guitar pyrotechnics at the end of the lines keeps you there. Wow!
Grainger leaves you wondering and vibrating with the final track, “Freedom Song”, her slide guitar creating a mysterious environment that swirls like dark smoke as she conjures the freedom to come and go as she pleases, even in love. If she hadn’t told me differently, I would swear she sold her soul to the devil at a country crossroads to summon the guitar spirits that inhabit this song.
Astonishing.......
Jim Hynes… Making a Scene
Australian Kara Grainger has graced the international blues and roots circuit for a decade now. Originally hailed as mostly a guitar slinger, for her adept picking and slide skills, Grainger proves to be a formidable singer-songwriter on this, her fourth album. Her sultry vocals combined with her incendiary guitar playing is on full display on the opening title track but as the album unfolds she renders some tender ballads and infectious roots material too.
Around a year ago Grainger headed to Wire studios in Austin TX to make this album, co-produced by Grammy Award winner Anders Osborne whose guitar and vocals are all over the record. The album was engineered by Grammy winner Stuart Sullivan. Suffice it to say, Grainger wasn’t fooling around. Additionally, a top-notch band supports with Ivan Neville on keys, J.J. Johnson on drums, Dave Monsey on bass, as well as the Texas Horns.
Grainger described the music this way, “The music is going to be as diverse as ever. A little bit of blues, folk… some personal introspective songs, some funk and some rock ‘n roll.” Osborne, in turn, had this to say about Grainger, “I love Kara’s voice! She has that rare quality that evokes a distant warm memory and connects you with her personally as well as musically. A fantastic guitar player and beautiful songs! A treat to work with.” Grainger wrote six of the dozen songs herself, four with Osborne, one with Trevor Manear and another, “Broken Record” from another co-writer team.
Thematically Grainger reflects on the past as you may glean from the title track as well as “Nowhere to be Found.” “Working My Way Back Home” talks about love and life on the road as a traveling musician. Even at a relatively young age, Grainger has played almost everywhere, including India, as one of the first blues artists to play that country. Two of the Osborne co-writes have the flavor of home town, NOLA – “You’re in New Orleans” and “Groove Train.”
One of the album’s stinger songs is the John Hiatt like ballad penned by Grainger, “Reason to My Verse.” This kind of tune showcases her wonderful vocals, as she’s backed by keyboards and tasteful guitar. Her penned “Nobody But You” is done at a similar tempo, offering a break between the two rocking collaborations with Osborne, “Favorite Sin” and “Love Will Get You Through the Door.” She concludes with her six minute “Freedom Song,” punctuated by reverberating slide and sustained notes that just seem to linger around her bluesy wail.
Grainger has always been worth the listen for her guitar chops and siren-like voice. This one has some great songs, making it her strongest album yet.
Jim Hynes… Making a Scene