The Kaytonsville 8’s EP presents three songs of alternative-rock-flavored Americana, with the songs written and initially focused on acoustic guitar, vocals and lyrics. But there is definitely a full band sound here – including synths -- while Kenny Cummings’ production tugs the songs into a slightly different aesthetic that takes advantage of the angularity, dynamically and sonically, of digital recording. Hints of Southern swamp – with a finish of a CBGB power guitar band. (Thinking here, not coincidentally, about lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Are’s (Roberson) previous New York City band, Cruel Story of Youth, which had an album out on Sony/CBS/Columbia Records in 1989).

What’s with the name, The Kaytonsville 8? Well, there aren’t 8 members and there isn’t any town in America called Kaytonsville (at least with this spelling). But lead singer/songwriter/guitarist John Are says that the name seemed to fit his music, both in terms of the sonic and protest associations. And this can be heard on the first song of the EP, “In Re DJT (Their Liberties Be Damned).”

“In Re DJT (Their Liberties Be Damned)” is an updated take on the protest songs of the 60s, inspired in part by Are’s early 2017 visit to the Newseum’s exhibit “Louder than Words: Rock, Power, and Politics.” (The Newseum is a now-defunct museum in Washington D.C., that was dedicated to the freedom of the press). Are explains that, “I was listening to Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth’ in one of the exhibit’s headphone booths, and it was a revelation, especially the power of the two-note harmonics that ring during the verses. “ (There’s a tip of the hat to that effect (albeit replaced in part by synth drones) in the verses on “In Re DJT.”) Are left the exhibit inspired to pen his own protest song. Still, he proclaims that he’s curious as to why, in the last three years, there have been few anti-establishment (i.e., Trump) songs, particularly since it is such a target-rich environment: “Where the hell is a good protest song against Trump?” In any event, he’s thrown “In Re DJT” into the ring for consideration. And, Are says, “Once I wrote the song, I felt I had an obligation to put it out into the public sphere; I’m an American and I believe in free speech, so I wasn’t going to keep the song locked up in my attic.”

Lyrically, the song takes on the problem of Donald J. Trump and his ultimate replacement of the values embedded in the Statue of Liberty with those in a Russian nesting (Matryoshka) doll – as alluded to in the song’s final verse.


The second song on the EP, “I’m An Alabamian,” was written by Are with a few things in mind. First, as a general background issue, Are says the song was inspired in part by the movie “Muscle Shoals,” which details how a small town in Alabama with a few recording studios became the point of fusing soul and rock, black and white, musical influences – and musicians – in a way that went against the prevailing milieu of Alabama in the 60s and early 70s. (And early in his music career Are made two trips to Muscle Shoals to record demos of songs he had written). Second, the song describes the journey of a failed musician (“Come back home after four years of a lost cause, with a broken amp, guitar and a pair of jeans”) while also alluding to the fall of the Civil-War-era South. And in the face of these defeats, unrepentant defiance, which becomes synonymous with the phrase “I’m An Alabamian.” And Are adds that, to anyone who interprets this song as in anyway condoning or excusing racism (in accord with certain aspects of Alabama’s history), they’ve got it all wrong.

The third and final song on the EP, “I Won’t Deny Who I Am,” is Are’s take on an addict’s conversation with God, seeking forgiveness on one hand while admitting his flaws, yet recognizing at the same time that he’s likely “gonna wreck it again tonight.”

The EP was produced by Kenny Cummings, who has worked as a keyboard player with notables like Elvis Costello, Aretha Franklin, and Patti Labelle; and he programmed synthesizers for Saturday Night Live. On the EP, Kenny played the synth, added some drum programming, mixed, and provided overall music direction.

Are performs all of the guitars and lead vocals, joined for harmonies on two of the songs, by guest vocalist Elaine Caswell. Other guest musicians include Washington bassist Scott Masoner, an old friend of Cummings from his days in Seattle, and New York City drummer Glauco Tamaso, who plays drums on “In Re DJT.”