Songwriter’s Monthly Presents:
Candye Kane
Candye Kane: Coming Out Swingin’ Candye Kane has a gloriously robust, rattlethe-window-frames resonance in her awardwinning, powerhouse voice. She doesn’t need seven trumpets, she can topple the walls of Jericho on her own. Having been introduced to Candye’s Home Cookin’ CD back in ‘94, and subsequently following her career over the past two decades, nowhere is the true essence of Candye Kane more predominant than on this latest offering, Coming Out Swingin’! On the album opener/title track, Candye’s entrance is heralded by a thunder of drums and the gritty fuzz of Laura Chavez’s choice guitar chords. The singer struts into the song with the confident swagger of a woman who knows she’s all that. However, what makes Kane’s music the bee’s knees is the fact that she surrounds herself with equals. Every player, every lick on this album sizzles with an impassioned and inspired panache. Candye deserves a steadfast spotlight, but she is a band, not a vocalist with backing musicians. Kane takes care to offer a wickedly crafted album of intense, integrated music where the snarl of Laura’s guitar is just as vital as the boom of Candye’s own voice. Coming Out Swingin’ is peppered with deftly covered covers such as “Rock Me To Sleep,” “Darling Baby,” “What Love Can Do,” and the festive “Marijuana Boogie,” but it’s the prime cuts of savory originals that make this offering a succulent smorgasbord of musical indulgence. Candye and Laura are an elite writing squadron of two who can vividly depict a moment with a scintillating blend of pizazz and soul.
“I’m The Reason Why You Drink” takes a diverting romp through some seriously entertaining subject matter. The lyrics, which center around a spirited enabler, for some reason provoke images of Lucy sneakily — and continuously — topping off Ricky’s liquor glass until riotous hilarity ensues. Kane and Chavez are one devilishly clever couple of colorful ladies. “Invisible Woman” is another example of what a wildly imaginative pair these two women can be. The song drifts along like blue smoke in a sparsely populated bar. It catches you unaware and before you know it, you’ve inhaled deeply and find yourself floating away, enraptured by the band’s intoxicating, hazy spell. Laura seduces with an enthralling, languid tone while there is just enough danger in Candye’s laid-back delivery to induce a curious thrill. The star of “I Wanted You To Walk Through That Door” is Laura’s tasty licks. The chug, chug of bass and drums provides a steady locomotive rumbling beneath the guitar’s alluringly wet twang. There’s a sinister crossroads magic undulating from the tips of Chavez’s eldritch fingers on this track. Throughout “Barbed Wire Mouth,” Candye channels exuberant flourishes of Jerry Lee. “Au Revoir Y’all” — closing time in a Parisian honky-tonk? — shimmies, shakes, and smiles with a delightfully snarky glee. The aforementioned, “Marijuana Boogie,” kicks it up one more level at the end to finish with a full tilt celebration that leaves the crowd rowdy and wanting more. Coming Out Swingin’ is a radiant example of what Candye does best! The artist takes her audience by the hand and dances them deeply into her world of vivacious vaudevillian flair coupled with an uninhibited relishing of life. Yeah, this might be blues, but it’s a bold and vibrant shade of cobalt blue. At her core, Kane lifts people up and shuttles them to a better place in their lives. Whether it’s through her dynamic presence, her resonant vocals, or her tireless fight for the
underdog, Candye Kane makes the world a better place, warming hearts and inspiring smiles, one spectacular song at a time. For more Candye, visit: www.candyekane.com www.facebook.com/candyekaneband
Editor’s Notes Back in the 90’s, my life took a 90 degree turn. Maybe even 180, I’m not sure, I just know that things changed drastically over a very short period of time. One day, I was playing covers 6 nights a week in an after hours club on the outskirts of Atlantic City, and, the next, I was . . . a music journalist? Suddenly, the very same record labels that had never once opened my unsolicited demos were now inviting me
out to lunch in Manhattan so they could introduce me to their brand new signing. And sometimes, they even asked for my input on creative direction. In other words, it was like not even making it past the first round of American Idol, then getting a call from Simon asking to be a judge. I’d skipped over some huge transitional section of my life and, consequently, I was having a really hard time feeling confident in my position. Perpetually terrified it would eventually come out that I was a musician, not an interviewer — and certainly not a journalist! — I kept my mouth shut. I told no one that my background was in music, not reporting. Until Candye. Talking to Candye — way back during that first interview with her — it wasn’t about the roles of “interviewer” and “artist,” it was about who we were at our core. It was also about how vital it was to never lose sight of that. Candye urged me not to forget my past, yet encouraged me not to abandon my music just because I was currently earning a living writing about music instead of actually writing music. However, she also made me face the possibility that at my core, maybe I wasn’t necessarily a songwriter, maybe I was more of a storyteller? Maybe songwriting had been my training for journalism? Maybe I could finally stop feeling like I was living a lie every time people called me a journalist? Candye believes that “your higher power” “has already made decisions and already knows what you are capable of, long before you take your first step.” If she is right, that is why she’s been blessed with her many gifts. Candye’s higher power has definitely armed her with the impressive set of tools she needs to be the woman she was born to be.