Interview with Kacy & Clayton
“We treated the recording process as an extension of the tour we’d just finished which, I think, helped to keep our heads in performance mode as opposed to analytical mode.”
Saskatchewan folk duo Kacy & Clayton will be returning with their fourth album “Carrying On” on October 4th. The ten song album was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and recorded by Tom Shick at Wilco’s studio The Loft. The album was recorded right after an extensive two year tour, with the songs being heavily road tested before they got into the studio. We had the opportunity to ask Kacy & Clayton about the new album and their music! Click to below to hear the first single off their new album and keep scrolling for the whole interview + upcoming tour dates and the track listing for “Carrying On”.
Your music is a beautiful and unique mix of psychedelic folk, country, English folk revival and the ancestral music of Southern Appalachia. How did the two of you start blending all these sounds together to create the music we hear today?
We started out playing mostly country blues material and ballads gathered from people like Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie Johnson, and the Carter Family. As we started writing our own songs and touring more and more, we thought it’d be fun to have a band and turn it up a bit. The Kinks and the Band are certainly major inspirations as well as country artists like Roger Miller and Merle Haggard.
Speaking of genres, I heard that you guys live about 250km from the mental hospital that coined the term “psychedelic”, what’s the story with that?
Yes. The Souris Valley Mental Hospital, in Weyburn, SK, was a pioneering facility in the use of LSD to treat certain conditions, and apparently the term “psychedelic” was coined there at some point. -CL
Your new album, which is coming out on October 4th, was conceived and honed on the road. After getting back from a two year tour the two of you started recording immediately. What have fans reactions been to the new songs so far? How did that process affect the recording?
We treated the recording process as an extension of the tour we’d just finished which, I think, helped to keep our heads in performance mode as opposed to analytical mode.
What was one of your favourite experiences while recording “Carrying On?”
Getting to spend time with the folks at the Loft (Jeff Tweedy, Tom Schick, and Mark Greenberg) is a thrill for us. The three of them have such great attitudes towards work and brilliant senses of humour.
The two of you are originally from a small town in Saskatchewan and the themes of Western Canada often come up in your music. What can you tell us about Wood Mountain? How did growing up in that community shape how the two of you sound today?
Wood Mountain is a hilly region of Southern Saskatchewan, that was a wintering home for the Assiniboine, Métis, and later Lakota who came as refugees after the Battle Of The Little Bighorn. We’re both intensely fascinated by the First Nations and ranching history of the area which has certainly found its way into our music. Aside from that connection, I suppose growing up there gave us the space to form strong senses of individuality.
What other Saskatchewan bands can you recommend giving a listen to?
Wolf Willow, Ride Til Dawn, Ellen Froese, and The Windows Up Above are some SK favourites.
The two of you are about to embark on another long tour shortly, playing alongside acts like Colter Wall, Foo Fighters & The Killers. How excited are you for this tour?
Very!
What advice do you have for any other musicians who might also be coming from a small town about following their passions and getting to the level you two are at now?
Try to find a good booking agent and like minded musicians and you will go a long way.
Kacy & Clayton Carrying On Track Listing:
1. The Forty-Ninth Parallel
2. Carrying On
3. High Holiday
4. In A Time Of Doubt
5. Intervention
6. Mom and Dad’s Waltz #2
7. Providence Place
8. The South Saskatchewan River
9. Spare Me Over One More Year
10. That Sweet Orchestra Sound
Kacy & Clayton On Tour:
May 8th – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonder Bar #
May 9th – Ardmore, PA – The Ardmore Music Hall #
May 10th – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
May 11th – Knoxville, TN – Pretentious Beer Co.
May 14th – Nashville, TN – City Winery
May 15th – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall #
May 16th – Bloomington, IN – The Bluebird #
May 17th – Peoria, IL – Monarch Music Hall #
May 18th – St. Louis, MO – The Ready Room #
May 19th – Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theatre #
May 22nd – Tulsa, Ok – Cain’s Ballroom #
July 27th – Division No. 2, Canada – Gateway Festival
September 6th – Sisters, OR – Sisters Folk Festival
September 21st – Franklin, TN – Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
October 11th – Providence, RI – Providence Performing Arts Center *
October 12th – Boston, MA – The Wang Theatre *
October 13th – Philadelphia, PA – Metropolitan Opera House *
October 15th – North Bethesda, MD – Music Center at Strathmore *
October 16th – Baltimore, MD – Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric *
October 18th – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium *
October 19th – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre *
October 20th – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium *
October 22nd – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre *
October 23rd – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre *
October 25th – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre *
October 26th – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre *
October 27th – Indianapolis, IN – The Murat Theatre at Old National Centre *
October 29th – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
October 30th – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
November 1st – Houston, TX – Jones Hall *
November 2nd – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theatre *
November 3rd – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park *
November 5th – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater *
November 6th – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater *
November 9th – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre *
November 10th – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre *
November 12th – Salt Lake City, UT – Delta Hall at Eccles Theater *
November 14th – Spokane, WA – Fox Theatre Spokane *
November 15th – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall *
November 16th – Seattle, WA – The Moore Theatre *
November 17th – Seattle, WA – The Moore Theatre *
November 19th – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
November 22nd – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre *
November 23rd – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre *
# with Colter Wall
* with Ray LaMontagne
you can find more infoo at www.KacyAndClayton.com
