“It feels good to be a with a band, after two years of touring, pouring out my heart on stage, living in my own head,” says the thirty-year-old Kasey Anderson from the stage of Portland’s Mississippi Studios. This may seem like a simple statement, but the sentiment behind it has influenced almost every musical decision Anderson has made leading up to his latest album, Heart of a Dog. Anderson seems almost hidden underneath his grey derby cap and blond beard. He stands tall and skinny like an unlit cigarette. His band, The Honkies, silently prepare for the next number and crack smiles in response to still-forming inside jokes.
The two years Anderson was playing solo has given him a comfort on stage, a veteran’s cool and quick wit. Now, he has fellow musicians off which to bounce his jokes and create gritty, near-violent, rock tunes. “Yeah, I like to take all of the players of my favorite bands and lure them in with promises of little money and no future,” Anderson says as he tunes the guitar that he hardly plays onstage. Kasey Anderson writes the songs and sings the words, but he tries hard not to lead.
Before Star Anna had opened the night, and just after a blaring Honkies sound-check, I sat down with Kasey Anderson to see how a bleeding-heart roots singer forced himself out of the spotlight and in a new, louder, “plain ole rock and roll” direction.
Read the interview HERE.
