KaneWelchKaplin

Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin L o s t J o h n D e a n ~ ( ( Compass 4429 ) )This remarkable group melds folk, country, & blues when singing & playing string instruments with a jazz musicians spontaneity & freedom. - DOWNBEATAs songwriters, performers, innovators and founders of the influential Dead Reckoning record label, Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch have made a career of letting the song lead the way. In the process, they midwifed a new genre of American roots music, blazing a trail for other artists to explore and develop. Yet their modus operandi remains the same to craft and compose with no goal other than to let the song realize itself.In 2003 they joined forces with Fats Kaplin, the renowned multi-instrumentalist and this generations Ry Cooder, to create an Americana super group that makes music with roots parameters but in the spontaneity and vibe of a jazz recording. Whereas the trios debut (You Cant Save Everybody May, 2004) gave us a record shining with a subtle, elegant radiance, their new album Lost John Dean rattles. Strings snap, feet stomp. The sound is simultaneously sparse and towering, echoing the plaintive modal sound of traditional Appalachian balladry while rich with Kane and Welchs uniquely contemporary sense of poetry. The albums energy level benefits from an uncluttered production with much of the record cut live giving Lost John Dean a timeless swagger. Lost John Dean, which held the ..1 spot on the Americana chart for 2 weeks & garnered the trio a nomination with the Americana Music Association for best duo/group of the year, is the next and best chapter in their story and confirms their continuing role as three of the most active and influential practitioners in the Americana genre.Kane, Welch, & Kaplin all live in Nashville with their families.