MUSIC
Jeremy Pinnell (center) and band P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY I V P R
‘Goodbye L.A.,’ Hello Northern Kentucky Local countrified Roots musician Jeremy Pinnell ditches the melancholic songwriting in exchange for some upbeat Honky Tonk on his latest album BY JAS O N GA R GA N O
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Big Ol’ Good,” the first track on singer/songwriter Jeremy Pinnell’s latest record, Goodbye L.A., opens with Honky Tonk shine — a jaunty backbeat and tasty slide guitar set the scene before Pinnell’s signature soulful voice kicks in, cresting with the refrain,
“I get by ’cause my baby found a good fishin’ hole/I get high on that Rock & Roll.” Pinnell elongates the notes on “hole” and “roll” with uncommon flair, the sound of a seemingly satisfied man eager to shake off whatever demons might have plagued him in the past. And then there’s “Night Time
Eagle,” an even jauntier tune that features a soaring solo from guitarist Junior Tutwiler and lyrics about the bittersweet joys of touring: “I hit the road with a four-piece band/Missing lines like I don’t give a damn/I don’t even know what day it is/But, honey, I just miss your kiss.” You can almost picture the smile on Pinnell’s face as he sings. It’s a somewhat surprising shift in tone for those familiar with the Northern Kentucky native’s brand of countrified Roots music, almost all of which burns with brooding, melancholic intensity on 2015’s OH/KY and its follow-up, 2017’s Ties of Blood and Affection. “It was kind of like I was so tired of hearing all these songwriters that were just so miserable,” says Pinnell — including himself on the list — by
phone from his home on a recent Saturday morning. “People are just so fucking sad, and I was like, ‘I am over it, dude.’ Like, ‘Quit crying about the fucking girl who ran away.’ Who gives a shit? I just got tired of it.” Of course, Goodbye L.A. wouldn’t be the same without one of Pinnell’s darkhued journeys into self-reflection — the atmospheric, slow-burning “Red Roses” cracks with emotion as he sings, “The roses aren’t as red as they used to be/ But they are in my memory.” Yet most of the record is infused with an earnest playfulness, as the title track attests, a likely nod to Pinnell’s current homelife as a husband and father: “A man once said, I wish they were all were California girls/But he ain’t seen my woman with long hair and curls.” The chorus seals the deal: “Hello,
NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 23, 2021
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