Billerica singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Julie Kinscheck is letting her light shine through the winter cold with a new CD with her band LIFLIGHT. They are officially releasing Let My Light Shine on January 15th 2014, but you can pre-order it on iTunes as of December 18th or grab a pre-release hard copy in the lobby of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium this Sunday, December 22nd at A New England Family Christmas concert where Julie will be performing this weekend!
Many may remember Julie’s last album: Grace With Jazz on Top covered by both Max Bowen and Liana Measmer in this paper; a jazzy inspirational country album that garnered considerable airplay on international country stations. We caught up with Julie in between rehearsals and production schedules to ask about what people can expect from this new project.
Minuteman: How is Let My Light Shine different from Grace With Jazz On Top?
Kinscheck: One thing that really excites me about this new disc is that it is a real team effort! Grace With Jazz On Top was my debut solo CD. I was very proud of how it came out. Many of the songs on it had been personal favorites for years on live shows that I had longed to put out there. I was supported by a great cast of players for sure- but they were all just following my direction. With the Let My Light Shine CD it has been a collaboration since square one. Ralph, my talented keyboard playing husband, and I either co-wrote or co-arranged all of the material. Then we pulled in my brothers Chris (bass) Gibbons and Gray (drums) Gibbons and Jammin’ Johnny V (lead guitar) and re-created the songs further. The result is a unity that you can only have in a band project. Wonderful.
Because of the influence of the band, this disc rocks a lot more than the Grace CD did, too. Ralph does some dazzling keyboard solos- and Johnny’s guitar solo on “Waiting on You” is nothing short of brilliant! Even the country songs rock, like “Nothing Like the Love” (and you should hear Chase Potter rock on that fiddle!)- There are elements or electronica on some songs, too- like in “Trust in you” with Ralph on the vocoder! But not on every song… “Jesus Wept” and “Love is Wild” are just beautiful and “Where is the Boy” might remind you of Sade a bit. And I still love to throw in SCAT solos here and there!
Minuteman: For those who don’t know, what is a SCAT solo? And don’t some fans call you “The Queen Of SCAT?”
Kinscheck: SCAT is a nickname for Vocal Improvisation. A SCAT solo is doing a solo like any instrument like a lead guitar might do, but with your voice. I started imitating saxophone solos in college, listened to SCAT masters like Ella Fitzgerald and even got to do a tv show with one of my improvisational heroes: Bobby McFerin a few years ago! It was my fans Larry and Ann that first called me the “Queen of SCAT”. They especially liked my Vocal Trumpet on my “Coffee Song” from the last CD! Listen for SCAT on “You Are” and “Love Life Like I Should” on the new disc.
Minuteman: What inspired the title of this project?
Kinscheck: Well, originally we were going to call the CD: “Hope Faith Love” but some band members found that too generic sounding for the title, though that is an awesome song on the disc! We considered “Standing On The Rock” for the title (another bluesy number on the CD), but I thought it made us sound more straight ahead rock than we are. LIFLIGHT is more a unique crossover style band. We incorporate rock, country, jazz, folk and gospel. Then it hit me: What are we all about? Spreading the hope we have received from God… “Let My Light Shine” is the title cut of the disc because expresses our desire to make a difference with this passion we profess.
Minuteman: It sounds like your faith is very important to you?
Kinscheck: My faith is what makes me tick and keeps me sane! I don’t know how people deal with this crazy life without a close walk with the Lord. I did it without him till my late 20s and was left lonely and bitter at the music industry, then I found hope in him and never turned back. I owe my great marriage and awesome kids to God’s teaching, too. This hope for families to be healed comes out a lot in our song writing. So many people are hurting; so many children are hurting. I feel I can shine some light into that darkness. God teaches in that I should not hide my light under a basket, but put it on a stand to light the house. Let My Light Shine: There it is. [Smile]
Minuteman: So where can people get Let My Light Shine?
Kinscheck: You can pre-order it from iTunes starting December 18th. After the January 15th release date it will be available everywhere on line: Amazon.com, Spotify, CDBaby etc and of course on my website: www.julieksings.com; but if you can catch up with me at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium at the Christmas concert this Sunday, December 22nd I can sell you a special pre-release copy! The concert will be wonderful for the whole family- Orchestra, band, Christmas carols to sing along with, children’s choir, contemporary Christmas songs and me, singing classical solos from the Messiah! That’s a long way from my CD, but I am really enjoying the challenge. The concert and Christmas service starts at 11am and is free. I hope you can come!
Minuteman: Best of luck with the new release!
Kinscheck: Thanks so much for helping me get the word out!
For more information, booking, blogs, mailing list etc visit Julie’s website: www.julieksings.com or her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/QueenOfSCAT