The Kennedys interview (photo by Ed Cornish)
Maura and Pete Kennedy create music using delightful vocals and rustic, twangy sounds; and incorporating banjo, a twangy telecaster, harmonica, pedal steel, and 12-string guitar. The results are rootsy and easy to allow to wash over you and enjoy. We had a chance to talk with them about their new album Smoketree – some of its themes of inspirational moments, global crises, the harsh conditions for refugees, and mystical spaces in the world. The way these experiences all mix together has resulted in an authentic and honest feeling album. Here is the conversation.
Americana Highways: Hi Maura and Pete. We’re so happy to have you join us at Americana Highways to talk about your music. You have a new album out in August called Smoketree. Did you go into this planning to make an album and writing with that in mind, or did the whole thing come together more organically?
Maura Kennedy: With some of our past albums, we’d decide on a certain theme or writing technique and then write the songs to go along with that. For Smoketree, we were writing songs and we noticed some throughlines in the writing – I guess the songs just reflect the things that are on our minds lately.
AH: What background information can you give us about the album? Were there any particular inspirations behind it?
Pete Kennedy: Well, making an album, as opposed to simply gathering a clutch of songs together, is like preparing a gumbo where you, the chef, create your own recipe.
Listening to Smoketree, there are two songs, “Like An Angel” and “When A Home Becomes A Castle,” that are about capturing moments of inspiration.
There are two songs, “Without Us” and “Heal You,” that highlight our concern about planet Earth. There are two, “Long Road To Freedom” and “Song For A Midday Dawn,” that deal with the global refugee crisis.
These are blended with two songs, “Girl On A Motorcycle” and “Meant To Do” that are commentaries on baby boomer culture. There are two, “A Star To Guide You” and “Seeds Of Peace,” that address the problem of finding a path toward the light in dark times, and finally there are two, “Puzzlewood” and “Smoketree” that evoke mystical places where we have been in our travels.
So you mix all these ingredients, seeking balance just like you would cooking your gumbo. That’s why we hope our listeners will hear the album as a coherent piece, rather than just randomly asking an online service to “play The Kennedys.”
AH: What kind of themes, overall, run through the songs across the whole collection?
Maura: We’ve always been big on writing songs of encouragement. “Long Road To Freedom” is such a song, directed at refugees fleeing violence. “Girl on a Motorcycle” is a song I wrote about Marianne Faithful, and the feeling of sympathy upon watching her movie of the same name, knowing that, somewhere along the line, someone must have encouraged her to become more developed as a person than the one-dimensional eye candy she was once cast as. That, I guess you could say, is a retroactive song of encouragement. And “A Star to Guide You” encourages one to stay on their chosen path, to search for the light that will guide them out of the figurative darkness.
AH: Which song (or songs) are standout tracks to you and why?
Maura: We purposely kicked off the album with “Like an Angel,” which describes how creativity comes to me. In fact, like some of my other songs, this one came in a dream. It seemed like a good place to start! Pete’s “Smoketree” reflects his creative edge in the mysterious visual imagery he evokes – it’s sort of a mystical, musical companion piece to the third book of his Floodwood trilogy, “Mystery at Owl Canyon,” evoking the climax of the trilogy set in the American Southwest without giving away the ending!
AH: Talk to me a bit about the recording process. How was it recording everything on the album yourselves? How was the vibe, and how did the songs come together?
Pete: We have produced all of our own albums, in a couple of different ways. For “Life is Large” and “Evolver,” we traveled across America on tour, recording in Nashville, Austin, Arizona, Los Angeles, Florida, and Virginia. During the pandemic, we set up our studio in a converted garage in the Hudson Valley. We recorded “Headwinds” there, and with the gear still in place, we did “Smoketree” there as well. Doing it ourselves, rather than booking specific days at a recording studio, allows us to “grow” the songs organically, trying different avenues, not worrying about the clock ticking. It works for us.
AH: What made you choose “Smoketree” as the album title? What does it mean to you and what do you hope it conveys?
Maura: When we first started out, we used to think that the more normal, conventional, accessible songs would be the ones to focus on, but right away we realized that it was the more unique songs that captured our listeners’ attention. “Smoketree” does that for me, and it’s become a great set-closing song during our live concerts. Plus, it’s mysterious enough that it gives rise to curiosity.
AH: How has the creative process in general and your songwriting specifically – both music and lyrics – changed and morphed through the years as you’ve grown as an artist?
Maura: As we’ve gone along, we’ve trained ourselves to notice more. To stay curious. To remember the unique things in life that stand out to us and explore them more deeply. I think our writing reflects that.
AH: How would you describe your music to someone who is not familiar with it?
Maura: I always call it “folk-rock.” That’s a pretty large umbrella.
AH: Do you find inspiration in different or unique places? What kinds of things typically inspire you to write songs these days?
Maura: Pete wrote “Puzzlewood” about one of the most unique places we’ve ever been – a park of the same name in the south of England near the Welsh border. He likens “Puzzlewood” to the mythical mystery village of Nottomun Town. “Smoketree” was inspired by another unique natural environment – the red sandstone Antelope Slot Canyon in the Navajo nation in Arizona. Our “Song For A Midday Dawn” was written after our awe-inspiring experience of spending four minutes under a total solar eclipse in rural Vermont, and the chills we got when the roosters started crowing as the moon slowly moved off the sun.
AH: You’ve collaborated over the years – on your recordings in the studio, performing live, etc. What does working with other artists – besides each other – mean to you, and are there standout collaborations that are special to you? What made them special?
Maura: Well, obviously, I love playing with Pete. We’ve never had an “off” gig together. We are the perfect musical and personal support for each other, and we have a kind of extra sensory thing going on that keeps us in effortless synch. That said, the memory of singing a few of times in concert with Emmylou Harris still gives me the chills. She’s my favorite singer.
Playing on and off with Nanci Griffith for 30 years has been one of the great joys, and sometimes sorrows, of my life. There have been other extraordinary experiences that leave me feeling totally blessed – singing Everly Brothers duets with Jonathan Edwards at the New Bedford Folk Festival, Joining Noel Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow once, many years ago, in a trio that Pete refers to as “Peter, Paul and Maura.” Opening once for Annie Haslam, we shared a dressing room, and when I arrived at soundcheck with laryngitis, she dug out all sorts of potions and lit candles and generally filled the room with her mystic energy, and by showtime she had healed me. I live a magic life!
AH: Tell us about your tour plans. What can fans expect from your live show these days?
Pete: Beginning in late August and continuing through late spring, we have over 30 CD release shows planned, traveling from New Hampshire and hitting almost every state down to Key West. As usual, we play as a duo, acoustic but plugged-in, and always hoping to radiate positive, uplifting energy!
Thank you very much for chatting with us, Maura and Pete Kennedy!
You can discover more about their album and find tour dates here: https://www.kennedysmusic.com and find the music here: https://orcd.co/smoketree
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: The Kennedys “Smoketree”