By 
Returning home from Liverpool, I’m reminded of who I am.
There has been a reconnection.
And Christmas time is here again. Where did that year go? A lot has happened.
For those looking for Christmas stocking fillers, don’t forget to visit McKowski.com or visit Johnnie at Boneyard records.
There you’ll find various titles by yours truly, including the three albums put out this year.
You may already be familiar with ‘The Spin’ soundtrack, and The GECKØS’ album (with M Ward & Howe Gelb), but there was also a very limited 10” record I sneaked out in Septmeber.
It was only really released in Tucson, Arizona, where it sold out in a day or two. But I did manage to salvage a few copies for back here. The record consists of old Charles Bukowski recordings, where he reads his poetry into a tape machine.
I’ve taken these recordings and adorned them with a subtle musical backing. The result is something I’m quite happy with; the spoken word of Bukowski mixed with the gentle sway of McKowski’s music. For fans of Bukowski (or McKowski) this is a rarity to behold. The last remaining copies known to humanity are available for purchase.
And to give ‘The Spin’ soundtrack another plug, I’ll single out a track to talk about. Each track on the album has at least one musical guest. Some have two or three guests appearing. One such track is ‘Valley’, which features both Jolie Holland and Steve Wickham (of The Waterboys).
Like much of the album, I recorded this one in the home studio. It was back in the glory days of lockdown when I would drive around the outskirts of Omagh, usually around the Gortin Glens area, absorbing the scenery, and I wouldn’t go home until I had a song in my head.
And that’s how this one came to be.
The song remained on the heap for the next while, until several months (or years) later when I was touring with Jolie Holland. We had a few days off in Ireland and decided to record some tracks.
In the middle of writing other songs, I played her ‘Valley’, when she quickly picked up her viola and began playing, and lucky enough I was there to press the record button. Soon after this I sent the track to Steve, where he added mandolin and concertina. And the song was now finally cooked, after stewing for a while in the McKowski library.
Both ‘The Spin’ soundtrack and the Bukowski/Mckowski tapes are available at McKowski.com.
Other titles available are my Christmas guitar album (‘Winter Guitar Hymnals’), THROAT (with Nick Power), GECKØS (with M Ward & Howe Gelb) and my debut, ‘Notes From The Boneyard’. Give the gift of McKowski this Christmas and spread glum joy.
