Dec 21, 2019

Behind The Life & Music: Honky Tonk Special

Today we would like to introduce you to Honky Tonk Special.

Honky Tonk Special is a band we have been in relations with since we first started Country Underdog. These guys just love music and love playing it. They have this down-home sound that will get you moving on the dancefloor in no time. Keith Kire (Middle) is the frontman and plays acoustic guitar and drums. Joe Khlan is on piano/keys and vocals. Web Sparks plays steel guitar, fiddle and Sax. Jake Smith is on drums, acoustic guitar, and vocals. Tom Kindle is the lead guitarist, and Tracy Addison is on bass. These guys are about to release their first full album titled "Home To Texas". We were blessed with a sneak peek of it and let's just say we were blown away by the hit potential of the songs on the album. It is an expansive move forward into the future of this band. "Home To Texas" will be one of our top albums of 2020.

Interview with Honky Tonk Special

Background

"Honkytonk Special is a 6-piece, traditionally influenced country band based primarily out of the Beaumont, TX area. The band got started pretty much when Keith got out of the Army. He came home and realized that the area was really lacking any “real” country music. There were hardly any bands with fiddle and/or steel guitar. So Keith set out to remedy that. Piece by piece Honkytonk Special was built into what it is today. The best thing about the band is 4 of the 6 members are all military veterans."

Who are you inspired by?

"The group has a lot of varied influences, but some of the more common ones are guys like Keith Whitley, Daryle Singletary, Merle Haggard, and George Strait, to name a few."

When did you first start playing music together?

"The group first formed back in 2013"

What's the biggest problem you have had to overcome?

"Mainstream radio is the biggest issue really. With the state that radio is in, we’ve had some trouble getting our music out there to people outside our area. Thankfully, publications like this one have helped make that easier."

If you could change anything about the industry what would it be?

"I would change the blurred lines between genres. I would make country music actually country music again! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still out there, you just gotta know where to look to find it."

Are there hidden meanings to your music?

"Our music is pretty straight forward, but we do focus on more of a heartbreak/storytelling lyric"

What is one venue you dream of playing?

"That’s a hard one to pick just one. Here’s the top of our list. Luckenbach, Gruene Hall, and Billy Bobs."

Are you working on any new music?

"We have a new record coming out after the new year! It’ll be our first, full length, studio album. We mainly focused on bringing back the 80s/90s country sound. We took about a year and a half to put this record together. We focused on picking songs that ALL have hit potential, we didn’t want any “fillers” on the record. We’re calling back the days where you could listen to a record from start to finish and not skip any songs!"