Chris Kirby is one of those guys who if you don’t know you him, you definitely still know his work. He’s Matt Andersen’s on-stage keyboard wiz, and has worked with what seems like half the east coast including Stephen Fearing, The Once, The East Pointers, Tim Chaisson, Charlie A’Court, Keith Mullins, Brianna Gosse, Beauwater, Quote The Raven and more. His latest single, “Pot of Gold,” is about as funky as all those other projects combined, with Kirby substituting wordplay for foreplay.
It’s been a moment since we last heard from Kirby. His last solo work, his album Wonderizer, was released in 2012. But that’s all part of Kirby’s refinement process. Kirby started recording his new album back in 2016.
“I’ve been saying this is me coming out from behind the curtain, and I’ve been working on this for a long time. Between breaths and projects,” says Kirby.
“For me it was an editing process. Some songs got tossed or reworked until it was all ‘just right. I think, ‘what if this is my last record?’ That motivates me to be picky and critical until I’m confident it’s my best. I approach everything like that, but this record was more pressure because it could be my last, any record could be, but it also felt like my very first since it’s been so long. As I reached the finish line, I felt it even more, ‘is it really ready? Will people like it?’ and so on.”
Kirby drew on influences like Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, Al Green, and “all the great funky soul people” to produce something at sounds like the funk of Wide Mouth Mason meets riffs from Dr. Dre meets Macy Gray meets John Mayer meets Hershey’s Chocolate.
Working with his band – Craig Follett on bass and Mark Marshall on Drums – Kirby’s “Pot of Gold” sounds like a seductive funk hit, but there’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour when you get into the lyrics. Innuendos about rainbows leading to a pot of gold, and melting chocolate paint some colourful imagery that make us want to value the song for its fun wordplay more than anything.
“That line… I literally couldn’t think of anything sexier and suggestive than chocolate slipping through fingers,” says Kirby, “and it’s different and unexpected, which I was searching for…. I like to be as witty as possible.”
What Goes Around will be released in a limited physical form this month, and on all platforms later this Summer.
Tour Dates:
07.04.19 – Halifax, NS @ The Carlton
07.28.19 – St. John’s, NL @ The Jag