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Huckaby Junction, Through the Stage Door
Genre: Rockin’ Americana
Simon and Garfunkel made their mark in the Big Apple. But hang on to your Grammys —Socorro now boasts the songwriting duo of Terry Kincaid and Mariam (who goes by his first name only).
Hailing from Socorro, a burg of about 8,000 found 75 miles south of Albuquerque, the prolific musicians have penned more than 100 songs in three years, and share 16 stellar examples on Through the Stage Door. The title refers to their hometown’s Stage Door Bar & Grill, operated by Kincaid and his wife, Denise Eilers-Kincaid, who plays bass guitar.
When Kincaid and Mariam perform in Socorro, or at the Kincaids’ Golden Spur Saloon in nearby Magdalena, they play as part of a seven-piece band, Huckaby Junction. For this disc, the multitalented Mariam superbly plays a wailing guitar and all other instruments, while Kincaid sings driving, husky, blues-tinged vocals that bring genuine emotion to heartfelt lyrics. Denise and Bev Gallaher deliver warm backing harmonies.
This lively, fast-paced CD is loaded with catchy lyrics and toe-tapping melodies, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Several of my favorites —“Streets,” “Bring My Baby,” “Never Be Denied,” “Go On Down to Mexico”—have been licensed for use on TV shows. An upcoming DreamWorks film, not yet titled, will feature more Kincaid-Mariam songs.
In the autobiographical “Last Minute Revival,” Kincaid belts out a resounding, “It’s a last minute revival for the boys in the band / . . . on the road to the city way on down by the Río Grande / . . . back by popular demand.”
In “Go On Down to Mexico,” a bittersweet outlaw-country ballad, Kincaid laments the vanishing roadhouses. To find out more, visit www.huckabyjunction.com.
-- Emily Drabanski