Kenosha Kid - October Book –

For nearly 20 years, Athens, GA-based guitarist and composer Dan Nettles has fronted the ever-changing post-genre collective known as Kenosha Kid, named after an elusive trope from Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity’s Rainbow. Spanning from electric jazz, indie rock, country, folk and abstract sound-design to points far beyond, the music of Kenosha Kid reaches another level of expressive, exploratory richness with October Book.

Facing deep and long-brewing dilemmas about how to make, share and find fulfillment in music, Nettles turned inward from the shut-down world and cannonballed into an immersive task — to write and demo one new song per day throughout October 2020, 31 songs in all. The final result is three LPs of new instrumental music, an epic song cycle woven around two contrasting ideas: “What can I do alone, all by myself?” and “What can I do to reconnect with my community?”

In making October Book Nettles flourishes in both respects. He distilled a wealth of new material plumbed from introspection, and in the follow-through reunites old friends, high-school chums, current neighbors, ping-pong partners, bandmates from European touring projects, and veterans of previous Kenosha Kid incarnations into a veritable connect-the-dots of Nettles’ career, past and present. In effect he assembled a succession of dream bands, until the music spanned a wondrously wide gamut of sounds and moods: a richly melodic procession of guitars, keyboards, strings, reeds, brass and rhythm section, structured yet flexible enough to encompass improvisation in all its freshness.

Along the way we hear from Marlon Patton (Lonnie Holley), Jason Nazary (Anteloper), Seth Hendershot (Kishi Bashi) and Jamison Ross (Snarky Puppy) on drums; Neal Fountain (Col. Bruce Hampton), Robby Handley and Roland Fidezius on bass; Peter Van Huffel and Greg Sinibaldi on saxophones; Jacob Wick on trumpet; Rick Lollar (Jimmy Herring Band) on guitar; John Neff (Drive-By Truckers) on pedal steel; JoJo Glidewell (of Montreal) and Thayer Sarrano on keyboards, and so many more. Finally, Canadian producer Daniel McNamara, another distant friend, embraced the herculean task of mixing, providing big-picture framing and focus.


Frequently Asked Questions

Wait, is it one record or three?
It’s three vinyl LPs (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).

What inspired you to do this?
After making the previous Kenosha Kid album, Missing Pieces, I was unsure I would make more records. I had these questions, not exactly about the value of my music, but rather its place. Where does it belong? What’s the genre? Which venues should stage it? Where is its home? To me, much is obvious when you listen. But listening isn’t ever how this seems to work, and I felt stuck explaining what is good about the music, or changing it to seem more desirable, or spending endless hours making it “look pretty.” Eventually I felt I was always making excuses for my art.

This, among other uncertainties, was partly my reluctance to write more music. I also pondered how many great songs already existed, and plenty of good ones I had written also, so why make more? No one is really asking me to. It doesn’t solve any of the world’s problems, and 
honestly, being the sole force behind this project separates me further from much of normal life.

All these feelings swirled around in me.

And then, a pandemic began.

At first, it was ironic seeing so many people facing the tremendous isolation and uncertainly that many independent artists wade thru any month of any year. It was ironic to possibly be paid more to not play, not make records, not tour than I would ever earn otherwise. I fell into an introspective period of practicing old music. What songs would I ever want to play again from Projector? Do I still remember any of the score for Steamboat Bill Jr.? Do solo guitar versions of Inside Voices and Outside Choices stand up on their own? There were riots in the streets. Police were killing people. The leadership of this country was a malignant tumor. I felt powerless. But I thought, “At least there are these songs I had written over the years.”

Then, a teenager from Antioch, Illinois became a killer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Some terrible, despicable right-wing websites named him the “Kenosha Kid,” and tried to attach some of my music to their cause. Suddenly certain tracks were getting thousands of plays, and never before had my own music felt so dirty to me.

“So... now what?” I thought. I can’t change the world, I can’t go play, I’m more isolated than ever. What am I? Am I a writer? Ok, If I am a writer, then I should write... I can shelve everything... my own fears, my existential lack of belonging, the pandemic, the politics, the riots in the streets... and just write. For one month. For October.

Why 31 songs?
I wrote one song a day in October. Thus, 31, and the album title.

Who performs on the record?
I missed seeing all my favorite people, playing together and talking incessantly about music. Everyone was home and equipped to record, so I thought, what a great opportunity? The songs are each so different, with different needs. I dreamt up bands that served each scenario and then I got on the phone. It felt like my birthday every day, with new tracks arriving from old friends and colleagues, near and far. And it was a true joy to spend part of every day working together to create something.