AustinExperience.com - Kirk Wheeler

Kirk Wheeler

Kirk is a transplant from L.A. to the Austin music scene, bringing with him a wealth of talent and an arsenal of songs. Having released several previous CDs, some under his own moniker and others as 'Honey People' and 'Jitterwheel', Kirk is no stranger to the music industry. In addition to being a musician, Kirk works professionally mixing sound and has produced work for a number of other artists including L.A.'s Louden Swain.

Kirk's release of Good Company is both a showcase of his writing ability and skill behind the mixing board. Generally, the CD could be most closely compared to a Wallflowers release. When you break it down, each song on the CD has it's own unique flavor potentially due to the wide range of instrumentation used. Flood is accented with the bass clarinet and tenor sax. Rocket Girl employs the use of a ukulele, while several other songs are enhanced by the use of violin and cello. At the same time, nothing overwhelms Kirk's vocals or becomes distracting. This is where Kirk's mixing talent really shines through.

I never really realized the complexity of the songs until I made a point of trying to pick them apart. There are countless elements that come together to form each track. Everything is so seamless, though.

Initially listing to the CD, I gravitated strongly to a couple of songs. In no time, I found myself skipping forward to Rocket Girl and El Matador so that I could sing along. El Matador shows signs of influence from the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper and later). Fortunately for Kirk, it's just as addictive for the listener. Once I worked that out of my system, I focused on the lyrics, not just the hooks, and found a few gems. For example, these lines from Never Run Dry:

You can lose your way a million times
I don't need to know why
You can fall apart in any key
I will always hear a lullaby
My love will never run dry

To sum up, I give Kirk Wheeler's Good Company a thumbs up. But, you don't need to take my word for it. Kirk's website has a number of MP3s that you can check out. Decide for yourself. I'm sure you'll agree that Kirk is a welcomed addition to the Austin music scene.

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