{mosimage} Most of us know the story - Brothers and fellow band members Cody and Willy Braun grew up in Idaho and, along with their two younger brothers, Gary and Micky (both of Micky and The Motorcars), played in a family band lead by their father, Muzzie Braun, as Muzzie Braun & The Boys.  They released a few records and traveled the country performing at fairs and festivals, and on such popular stages as that of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The older boys started a band in high school and later moved to Oregon where they met a drummer that became the third (and last ‘original') band member, Jay Nazz (Jazz).  The three then adopted Casey Pollock on guitar and Chris Schelske on bass and started Reckless Kelly - named after a fearless Australian outlaw and bankrobber that met his fate with a round of gunfire in 1880.   In 1997, the band relocated to Austin, Texas, and recorded their first record, Millican, with its famed "hick rock" sound.  In 2000, they put out their only live record, Live at Stubb's, and, after replacing Casey Pollock with guitarist David Abeyta, put out their third record, The Day.  By 2003, the line-up had been revised a second time with Jimmy McFeeley (Jam) replacing Chris Schelske on bass.  The fourth Reckless Kelly record, Under the Table and Above the Sun, was released, this time under the Sugarhill label.  The band has been touring relentlessly since the release of the fourth record, performing live across the United States and in Europe, and even at the two most recent presidential inaugurations. So what are these hick rockers doing nowadays? {mosimage} On February 8, 2005, Reckless Kelly released their fifth record (number two under the Sugarhill label), Wicked Twisted Road.  The title track, which was written about four years ago, has sat on the shelf, appearing only intermittently to a few lucky fans… until now.  The much-anticipated release has been a huge success thus far, with a video for its first single, Stick Around, soon to appear on CMT, and Wretched Again being used as theme music for CMT's Wide Open Country.   For their release party on February 18, the band performed at Austin's own Antones.  When the guys bumped into John Popper, singer/songwriter for Blues Traveler, the night before the release party at a local lounge, he gladly agreed to join them on stage for a few songs.  Now, not only was the record receiving rave reviews, but the record release party was, too! {mospagebreak title="Page 2"} The new record is filled with admittedly strong songs with complex lyrical content (such as Wicked Twisted Road, Stick Around, and Baby's Gotta Whole Lot More) that make you think in order to get the whole story, providing more of an inspiration to deep thought than a bottom-line lesson in the hardships of love.  When asked what song on the record was the weakest, Willy expressed some mixed feelings over the lyrics to Wretched Again, which was rewritten multiple times.  "I kept trying to make it smarter…  Every time I did that it seemed to take away from the tune in kind of an anti-stones kind of way.  The simpler, almost more stock / generic lyrics were working a lot better than anything too complex.  … I really like the way it rocks but then some times I think it could have been a little stronger lyrically if we had worked on it a little longer." Two of my favorite songs on the record are Sixgun and Wicked Twisted Road Reprise. With the fated bankrobber getaway story reminiscent of the band's namesake (Sixgun) and a song that provides whatever it is the listener is looking for (Wicked Twisted Road Reprise), I wondered why it was decided to give these two powerful songs what I considered to be an anti-climactic fade-away ending.  Willy said that for Wicked Twisted Road Reprise, the fade-away lets you ride "off into the sunset," giving the listener the sense that it's not really over.  If folks like to listen to the record twice in a row, it provides a "constant looping feel" like the record doesn't end.  With Sixgun, they knew they "wanted to have a long extended jam" on the end of it.  Willy thought, "We'll rock it out until it falls apart and then fade away where we feel like it loses momentum."  That leaves them open to a pretty intense jam at their discretion during live performances. {mosimage} Because Sixgun is "still really fresh" and leaves a lot of room to explore, it is Willy's favorite song to perform right now.  "Sixgun is a lot of fun" he smiled (alright, I couldn't see him but I could hear it in his voice).  They've been opening their live performances with it and, as long as the crowd is into it (what?!) and the venue allows it, they'll do a several-hour-long set, kicking the excitement off with an eight- or 10-minute jam at the end of Sixgun.   Although the rock shows are a lot of fun, many songs on Wicked Twisted Road lend themselves to an acoustic performance, and the band has been doing some of those in the smaller rooms.  "[It is] tougher to fill a big room with an acoustic show, plus we like to rock out [when we have a big stage]."  Some of the songs on this record are not classic Reckless Kelly rock or acoustic stylings.  This record shows some of their style variation, as do their live performances. With all the rockin' shows, intimate acoustic sets, and variation in classic Reckless Kelly style, why not broaden the skill set of those that may otherwise have been pigeon-holed?  David has recently been singing the Texas Tornado song, Guacamole.  Willy says they might leave this one in the show for a while and, although David has written a few tunes with Willy, we'll have to wait and see "how adventurous he gets" in his role as a singer… The latest and greatest is that the guys just finished filming the video for Stick Around, the new record's first single.  Filming took place in a Georgetown prison and some scenes were a knock-off from the classic western movie, Cool Hand Luke.  The video has an overall "prison escape vibe" and should begin rotation on CMT in the next week or two.  Willy recalls that during the making of the video he had to run through a muddy creek five or six times to get the ideal shot.  They also had to act like they were digging on a chain gang for about three or four hours in the hot sun.  When it came time for the scene with the chick, they shot it twice and "the whole thing was over in five minutes.  I was like damn, ya know?  I spent five or six hours running though a muddy creek, four or five hours on the road digging in the hot sun, and five minutes with the girl.  Next time we're going to work on the schedule a little bit." Speaking of schedule, the guys are swamped with live shows, public appearances, radio spots, interviews, filming, traveling, etc.  They are maximizing their time and doing everything that they can possibly fit it.  So we're all wondering what's next, and if we can expect to see more publicity (e.g., in the form of videos) and less live shows.  "No, not so far…  Rock touring is our bread and butter and I don't see the end of that any time soon."  He explained that, although it might be nice to be able to schedule a little more time off, he is just happy to be working because not a lot of people have the opportunity to work as much as they do.  They're busier than they've ever been and the future will likely hold more of the same with some additional highlights, such as performances with Dwight Yoakam in Las Vegas this July.  Their tour schedule and booking agent can be accessed through their website: http://www.recklesskelly.com.  From their site you can also get the hottest news on the band, buy merchandise, check out the Club Millican message board, and enjoy rktv, the latest in independent short skits. {mospagebreak title="Page 3"} For those of you that are new to Reckless Kelly, Willy suggests starting on the ground floor and buying Millican.  That's where it all began, and what a beginning it was.  Millican is still one of my favorite records.  Once you have your fill of it (not likely), you can collect the other four (just buy them all at once!).   There is a secret phrase on Wicked Twisted Road, a secret word on Under the Table and Above the Sun, a secret song on Live at Stubb's, and a bonus track on Millican.  I assumed that the secret phraseology was part of their plan for world domination so when I asked Willy if there was a secret something on The Day that I was missing, his reply surprised me.  "I don't think so; nothing that we intended to put on there anyway.  The secret word on Under the Table is totally just off the mic and none of us knew it was going to be there…  We didn't notice until somebody pointed it out on the website."  For all you Red Sox fans out there, you'll be happy to hear the secret phrase (recorded backwards) on the new record was "Reverse the Curse."  Willy is happy to have contributed to the breaking of such a long-standing oppression. {mosimage} … which brings me to a political question.  As previously mentioned, Reckless Kelly performed this year at the inaugural celebration for President Bush (they also performed in the same capacity after the last presidential election).  Although David was sporting a pro-Kerry button last fall, and most of the band members seem to err on the side of liberalism (versus conservatism), Willy is "not too politically-inclined on the stage.  When people come to see us play I'd rather they just be able to come watch a rock and roll show and not have to worry about any political bullshit.  We'll play for anyone who wants us to play.  We'd have played for Kerry, too, if he'd [won the election and] asked us." And last but not least - Although Willy doesn't know about "settling down," he hopes that if all goes well he will "definitely end up back in Idaho one of these days."  In fact, if he weren't blessed with the amazing talent and skills that keep him gainfully employed in the music industry, he would probably live in Idaho and "fall back on" building log homes.  "I like to build stuff."  If music wasn't his main, time-consuming passion and he didn't need to support himself, he would undoubtedly be spending his days skiing and golfing.  As wonderful as the aforementioned livelihood and hobbies sound, I think we are all thankful that the members of Reckless Kelly have the talent and drive to pursue their passion, following it wherever it takes them in contrast to leading a nine-to-five lifestyle.  We should all be so reckless! Thanks to Willy for the honest interview, and thanks to David, Cody, Willy, Jimmy, and Jay for letting the fans name that van!! Purchase Wicked Twisted Road Visit http://www.RecklessKelly.com