Photo via Kevn Kinney
Kevn Kinney
Kevn Kinney
“Forty years,” Kevn Kinney says, amazed to think … After leaving Milwaukee in the mid-‘80s, Kinney settled in Atlanta and started Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. When they burst from the Southern indie scene with Scarred but Smarter (1986), Kinney began a long march through 11 DNC studio albums and two live albums. Kinney has also released 10 solo albums and has been honored with Let’s Go Dancing, a four-disc tribute to his songwriting with contributions by Peter Buck, The Black Crowes, Alejandro Escovedo, Todd Snider and a band led by an old friend from Milwaukee, Dan Kubinski’s The Crosses.
DNC’s new release, Crushing Flowers, might be their last.
“I wanted to do one more for Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ fans,” Kinney says. “An album is a hard, expensive thing to do. And I wanted to keep it short—33 minutes long, with one guitar solo!”
DNC won’t stop recording. Kinney is considering releasing singles—maybe collecting that music when there is enough of it onto another album?
He reflects on turning 65, our shared past at ground zero for Milwaukee’s punk rock scene in the ‘70s, time’s passage and the adjustments that must be made …
“This might be the last big tour,” he continues—a sweep beyond DNC’s Southern fan base that will take them across the Midwest with dates in Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Green Bay … and of course, back home in Milwaukee. DNC hasn’t been here since 2019, albeit Kinney has played solo at Shank Hall nearly every winter.
Crushing Flowers Near Summit
If Crushing Flowers is DNC’s final LP, they are ending their run of albums near the summit. “Mirror Mirror” opens the disc with a Southern rock, Drive by Truckers twang. “Why Don’t You Go Around” is like a snarling Stones number from their America-ish Exile period. The title track conjures moody ‘80s alt rock buoyed by an urgent, Yardbirds guitar break. With “Dead End Road,” DNC swing round to country rock.
“‘Crushing Flowers’ came to me—I love the new Cure album and it left me pining for the days of college radio,” Kinney says, adding that Milwaukee is fortunate to still have a real alternative radio station, WMSE. The album includes two older numbers. “The Death of Me Yet” is nearly as old as DNC. “I wanted to finally get it on an album. It was like an old friend, bugging me,” he continues.
Over the years, Kinney has grown into a thoughtful lyricist, a gift in higher relief on his acoustic-oriented solo albums but clearly audible with DNC. Written about his mother’s Alzheimer’s, “Mirror Mirror” could easily be interpreted as a universal reflection on memories and aging. “Crushing Flowers” is a call to turn off the screens: “Break away from the engines / Break away from the machine / Shut down all the signals.” Kinney explains, “Put down your cell phone, engage with books, with eye-to-eye contact with people. Break away! I know it’s hard to do. The algorithms have us stuck. If you mention guitar picks, there’s a guitar picks ad on your phone.”
Crushing Flowers was produced by ex-DNC guitarist Sadler Vaden. The band is currently a trio with Kinney on guitar and vocals, Dave V. Johnson on drums and Tim Nielsen on bass, piano and mandolin.
“Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ is a self-help, quasi-political, garage rock alt country band that likes Sabbath,” Kinney says. “I write songs to figure myself out. Sometimes they’ve touched people. I’m proud that people have shared with me that some of my songs have helped them see simple things in their lives.”
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ perform July 14 at Shank Hall. For tickets, visit https://shankhall.com/
