Victor Krummenacher, the San Francisco-based co-founder of indie rockers Camper Van Beethoven, has taken time away from the still very active band (two albums and tours in the last year and a half) in order to record a solo album titled Hard To See Trouble Coming.
Set for release Jan. 6 via Veritas Records, the collection of ten original songs highlights his love of the blues, country rock and folk traditions.
Co-Produced by Victor and renowned pedal steel player/long-time collaborator Bruce Kaplan (of American Music Club), Hard To See Trouble Coming showcases Krummenacher in the role of pensive lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist venturing beyond the bass and for the first time in his long and distinguished solo career, playing guitar—Fender Strat, Martin D18 & Jazzmaster—throughout.
The songs are a vivid distillation of decades of artistry—from the freewheeling CVB punk aesthetic to a Graham Parsons-like exploration of “cosmic country.” Joining Krummenacher (bass, guitars, vocals) and Kaphan (steel guitars, keyboards, mandolin, percussion) are Paul Olguin (bass), John Hanes (drums), Loralee Christenson (vocals), Rich Kuhns (accordion), Chris G. Miller (guitar), James Sasser (vocals), Jonathan Segel (mandolin) and Katy Sloan (violin). Krummenacher will tour with a full band in 2015.
The title of Krummenacher’s ninth solo effort effectively captures the initial spirit of the project as it was taken from an old radio interview with The Band’s Levon Helm. When asked how he reacted to the suicide of keyboardist Richard Manuel, Helm replied “It’s hard to see trouble coming.”
The title of Krummenacher’s ninth solo effort effectively captures the initial spirit of the project as it was taken from an old radio interview with The Band’s Levon Helm. When asked how he reacted to the suicide of keyboardist Richard Manuel, Helm replied “It’s hard to see trouble coming.”
A dark jumping off point for what would become a series of highly personal, moody musical ruminations written throughout 2013 and recorded in a succinct and inspired two sessions. Hard To See Trouble Coming touches on such heady subjects as love gone wrong, burnt out friends, enduring love, drunkenness, paranoia, dogs, spaceships, Jacqui McShee, Tennessee Williams and the genius of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.
Says Krummenacher: “Astral Weeks is the kind of work that makes us as musicians realize we’re in a specific headspace being transformed through the experience. I felt that way making Hard To See Trouble Coming. For me, it was realizing that the world is overwhelming me but I can’t escape it. The album is all about feeling ready for change and transformation. It’s an honest statement of what it’s like for me having just been through a hard emotional time and wondering how much more I’ll have to go through – and will it be okay in the end?”
Track listing:
1) Hard To See Trouble Coming
2) If I Could Only Close My Eyes
3) An Angel Who Sings Just Like Jacqui McShee
4) Chemtrails
5) All Of This Is Mine
6) If You Won’t Break My Heart, I Don’t Stand A Chance
7) Tennessee & Pancho
8) An Act Of Kindness
9) The Love Of My Dreams
10) The Kildalton Cross
Says Krummenacher: “Astral Weeks is the kind of work that makes us as musicians realize we’re in a specific headspace being transformed through the experience. I felt that way making Hard To See Trouble Coming. For me, it was realizing that the world is overwhelming me but I can’t escape it. The album is all about feeling ready for change and transformation. It’s an honest statement of what it’s like for me having just been through a hard emotional time and wondering how much more I’ll have to go through – and will it be okay in the end?”
Track listing:
1) Hard To See Trouble Coming
2) If I Could Only Close My Eyes
3) An Angel Who Sings Just Like Jacqui McShee
4) Chemtrails
5) All Of This Is Mine
6) If You Won’t Break My Heart, I Don’t Stand A Chance
7) Tennessee & Pancho
8) An Act Of Kindness
9) The Love Of My Dreams
10) The Kildalton Cross
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