Kensington Hillbillys
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Kensington Hillbillys

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""It'll go down well with whatever you're drinking.""

The notable presence of local twang scene ringers Burke Carroll, Chris Quinn, James Gray and Clive MacNutt on the Kensington Hillbillys' new Bones In The Backyard disc may lead some to wonder if Steve Ketchen and crew are straying from their freewheeling approach to roots country. They've gotten tighter, maybe, but not slicker. Signing up for string-bending duty with these Hillbillys seems to bring out the hayseed in everyone. On Bones In The Backyard -- piled high with solid originals -- the skilled support adds a little zip while maintaining the loose rockin' charm of their beer-parlour frolics. It'll go down well with whatever you're drinking.
-- Tim Perlich, September 15, 2005 - NOW Magazine (Toronto, ON)


""Great songwriting and musicianship make this just the thing for your next jamboree.""

Four years is a long time between releases, but Bones in the Backyard by Toronto's Kensington Hillbillys is well worth the wait. Eleven originals in the tradition of the honky tonk music of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard and a fantastic cover of the Clash's Straight to Hell. Led by vocalist Steve Ketchen, the seven-piece Hillbillys provide a whole variety of country textures with pedal steel, mandolin, fiddle and banjo. Highlights include the knees-up instrumental THX-138 and the weeper Memories of You. Great songwriting and musicianship make this just the thing for your next jamboree.
-- Dave Clarke, September 24, 2005 - SCENE (London, ON)


""...playing up a storm, steel and fiddle riding the rhythm creating a joyous noise.""

Toronto’s finest honky tonkers second album. Highlighted on the recent Loose Records compilation “Start Your Own Country” with a fine take on the Clash song “Straight To Hell”, this seven piece band range from straight country to space age twang instrumental rock with a nice line in honky tonk between. Starting off with fiddles and pedal steel “Country Road” is a straightforward old-fashioned swing tune, the playing’s great and the guitar wells up in fine fat form. Leader Steve Ketchen’s vocals have the requisite drawl and manages the asides as if he was born to the Opry stage. “Days of my life” continues in this vein with the band playing up a storm, steel and fiddle riding the rhythm creating a joyous noise. “Bones In the Backyard”, the third song, is a slower ballad, again tapping into the roots of country although on this occasion the template is the likes of Butch Hancock and dusty tales of rural life and death. Next up is the Clash cover, the only cover song on the album and fine it is too. With a backbone of loping mandolin and fiddle, Ketchen carries this off with some panache, sounding at times like Ron Kavana (with the associated Pogues do Clash connotations). The last two songs on the album “Dyin’ Is Just a Part of Livin’” and “The Spirit and the Will” are world wearied ballads, the former dying to be heard in a tearstained Nashville tavern. Instrumental track “THX-138” (George Lucas fans, heads up here) is somewhat out of place here with a compressed space guitar sound leading into a fiddle solo, it probably works better live. Overall there’s a good deal of promise here; Ketchen’s writing is solid with a firm handle on the various styles portrayed. He’s supposed to be coming over to the UK in 2006, should be worth a visit.
-- Paul Kerr, December 24, 2005
7/10 - Americana-UK.com


""Ketchen seems to feel at ease at once in almost every genre he touches.""

They may have changed their band name from Steve Ketchen & The Kensington Hillbillys to The Kensington Hillbillys tout court, their musical concept stayed pretty much the same. The Canadian cowboy and his compadres still deliver that same infectious mix of honky-tonk, pub and country rock, Americana and – occasionally even – bluegrass, they already caught our attention with long ago with their previous album “Steve Ketchen & The Kensington Hillbillys”. Ranging from a couple of foot tappers steeped in tradition to some ballads nearly drowning in their own misery to a bunch of easy-going (country)rockers, Ketchen seems to feel at ease at once in almost every genre he touches. The most remarkable of their efforts this time around without a doubt is their country gone Eastern adaptation of the Clash classic “Straight To Hell”. (Which is by the way also featured on the new Loose Records compilation “Start Your Own Country (New Sounds Of The West Volume 4)”.) Of their own songs especially “Dyin’ (Is Just A Part Of Livin’)”, a ballad balancing on the edge of a serious depression, immediately got us hooked.
-- Benny Metten, November 2005
3,5 stars out of 5 - Ctrl. Alt. Country e-zine, Belgium (www.ctrlaltcountry.be)


"Old country with character..."

"Steeped in the Great Tradition of old country with character, liveliness and originality."
-- EYE Magazine - EYE Magazine, January 2000


"Quality exists in every genre..."

"The hayseed thunderclap of these trad country pickers reinforced the fact that quality exists in every genre. You just have to look around."
-- NOW Magazine, CMW, April 2001 - NOW Magazine


"Genre's giants..."

"Ketchen has a firm grip on the genre's giants"
-- Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide - All Music Guide


Discography

Bones in the Backyard
The Kensington Hillbillys
Three Feathers Music
released September 2005

'Start Your Own Country'
Loose Music Country Compilation 4
Loose Music (UK)
released October 2005

Steve Ketchen & The Kensington Hillbilllys
self-titled LP
Three Feathers Music
released 2001

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Bio

In September 1996, Steve Ketchen and Mikey McCallum began a residency at Graffiti's in Toronto's Kensington Market. Billed as Honky Tonk Tuesday the duo performed country classics by music legends such as Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. As the Tuesday gig grew in popularity, so did the band.

After releasing their first album in 2001 the Hillbillys underwent a couple of line-up changes before settling on the current seven-piece in the summer of 2005. And as summer 2005 came to a close they released their second album - "Bones in the Backyard." Recorded at the Rogue studio in Toronto and featuring musical guests such as James Gray and Burke Carroll, the album showcases original yet traditional songwriting and a stirring interpretation of the Clash classic 'Straight to Hell.'

The Kensington Hillbillys' live shows are engaging and vibrant, showcasing the many talents within the group. Setting the tone with their own compositions, and moving freely to a Johnny Cash dust-up or a Hank Williams classic. An undeniably entertaining band with a long trail of converts, Kensington Hillbillys are used to getting the best audience accolade a country band could hope for: "I don't like country, but I like you guys!"