The pictures are here.

As Willy mentioned, “… this is our 8th album and our 8th time we’ve been invited here to perform…” Pretty decent batting average! A store full of fans and well-wishers came out to support the boys, have a Bud (thanks to the kind folks at Budweiser), enjoy some killer new music and get their new copy of the album signed. Of course we were there to document it all with our trusty Canon. Go check out the pictures here.

So, as RK releases its 8th album with a return to its roots (of sorts), we felt it would be appropriate to give D-A.com an updated look and feel. So, welcome. Poke around and see what’s what. Obviously, some things have gone away and there are still some things that we’re working on getting implemented so please be patient…

We have a new way of hosting pictures that we hope you like. It’s quite powerful and we’re hoping we can use some of the great features and put them to good use. But most of all, we’re excited that the update process won’t be sooooo painful. Hopefully you’ll get more frequent updates from us.

So, sit back, put on the new album and enjoy our new digs. Stay tuned for pictures from the Waterloo Record Release party later today. Also while you’re at it, mark your calendar make plans to attend RK’s Celebrity Softball Jam on Sunday, April 25, 2010.

Somewhere in Time is a collection of songs written by Pinto Bennett

In the company of their bandmates—David Abeyta on lead guitar and lap steel, Jay Nazz on drums, and Chris Schelske on bass—they explore their country influences, and re-introduce Bennett’s music to a new generation of fans while placing their indelible, rock-edged stamp on it.

“While this is Pinto’s material, this is very much a Reckless Kelly record. It’s simply a bunch of great songs we thought people should hear,” explains Cody.

“A lot of Texas bands have been pushing country more toward rock,” says Jay, “but to go back to playing real country music turned out to be extremely rewarding for us as a band.”

“It’s not too far a departure from what we’ve done in the past,” adds Willy, “but it reminds me of the old days when we were playing four sets a night, doing a lot more honky-tonk stuff, playing the real dance halls.”

Highlights include “You Cared Enough to Lie,” a honky-tonk masterpiece tailor-made for the stage; the tragic “Ballad of Elano DeLeon”; and “Some People’s Kids,” which updates the kind of rock/country hybrid explored on the West Coast beginning in the late ’60s. Instrumentally, the project kicks up the classic country flourishes—steel guitar appears on seven tracks—but that in-the-pocket rhythm section, Cody’s fiddle and mandolin, the crisp guitars and raw energy are all pure Reckless Kelly.

Much in the way that Waylon Jennings found his narrative voice through the words and songs of Billy Joe Shaver on the classic album Honky Tonk Heroes, Somewhere in Time finds Reckless Kelly using Bennett’s songs as a tool to illuminate another aspect of their true artistic identity.

Bennett himself joined the band in the studio for two tracks (”He did ‘em in one take,” says Willy), as did former Bennett cohorts like guitarist Sergio Webb, guitarist/engineer Rob Matson, and Teddy Ray Jones, who joined Cody for some twin fiddle work. “Even though it’s a little different from our other albums,” says Jay, “it never felt forced, or outside our comfort zone. It always felt pretty natural, and I think you can hear that.”

The project is the perfect gateway to understanding the life and music that have been inextricably bound since Cody and Willy Braun’s boyhood near Challis, Idaho. Their grandfather, Musty Braun, passed his love of music to their father, Muzzie—whose western swing band eventually included Willy, Cody, and their brothers Micky and Gary.

“Our mother was the only person in the family that didn’t play anything,” Willy says, and she served as the band’s road manager. The family act played everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to The Tonight Show. By their teens, the Braun brothers were bringing a host of other influences to their music, and as they formed their own band they drew on the practical wisdom that existed in the very lives of their father and his friends.

“They showed us you could make records on your own,” says Cody. “You didn’t have to have a label. You could make your own records and T-shirts, hire a publicist and do everything on your own. It’s how we started, knowing we could make a living doing it.”

After a period in the Northwest, they settled in Austin, whose artist-friendly atmosphere and egalitarian club scene proved to be the most fertile possible soil. “The college kids and the party scene helped amplify everything,” says Cody. “The live show came around to a real party atmosphere, just having fun and getting people to whoop it up.”

Their 1998 debut, Millican, brought the twang, the energy and the hooks together, earning them four Austin Music Awards for Best Roots Rock act. Each new record swelled their fan base and widened their geographic impact. “With every new album,” says Willy, “we’ve exceeded the sales of the last one, and every time we go into the studio we try to raise the bar on production and the quality of songs. And each time a few more radio stations play our music and more people come to shows.”

With their increased visibility has come the opportunity to give back; 2009 saw the group’s first Celebrity Softball Jam raise $30,000 for Austin charities. In addition to appearances at military base benefits, they have also launched “Reckless Soldiers”, using their website to help military personnel connect with family, friends and supporters.

Whether it’s their dedication to charity work, playing live or the art of writing a timeless tune, Reckless Kelly is tireless in their pursuit of excellence. It’s this attitude and their near-legendary propensity for a good time that ensures their success as artists. The Somewhere in Time project is no exception. “I think this time,” adds Willy, “we did again what we always set out to do… which is to make a record we can be proud of.”

- courtesy of Yep Roc Records

Hear the new album live on Monday at Maudie's in Austin

Preview and purchase Reckless Kelly’s newest Yep Rock Records release Somewhere In Time before it hits stores courtesy of Waterloo Records. Come meet the band and have a “Reckless Rita.”

Maudie’s Tex Mex – 2608 W. 7th @ 5:00 PM
Maudie’s Tex Mex – 1212 S. Lamar @ 6:30 PM

The pictures are here.