Quality Americana

The second album by Tony Kamel leaps out of the gate with a force that can’t be denied. “Makin’ it Work” is one of those old school openers like “Memphis In The Meantime” by John Hiatt or “Stomp and Holler” by Hayes Carll. One that makes you ignore all your surroundings and listen to the entire record in one sitting.

Finding the Hill Country

Kamel moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas after a brief stint in Lubbock. He quickly landed a career in the medical industry selling knee and hip replacements and set out for Houston where he was raised. 

“I knew pretty early on in that year that I wanted to come back,” Kamel said. “I knew I wanted to plant my roots in Central Texas.”

The company that took him on out of college was expanding into the Hill Country, and soon Kamel was able to return to Austin. 

“I really enjoyed that job,” Kamel said. “The money was good, I miss that part about it, and the people were cool.”

South Congress Avenue

Kamel first started performing around town with Graham Wilkinson, who now plays with the Pecan Street Preachers.

“He was nice enough to let me join his band,” Kamel said. “I was so green, and that was right before Wood & Wire.”

One unforgettable night, Kamel joined Wilkinson on stage at the Continental Club, an iconic venue in the heart of Austin where he spent so many college nights in the crowd.

“I was still learning how to do anything at all,” Kamel said. “Going to college in Austin and living here, I was completely and totally obsessed with live music. I went to see live music several times a week throughout college and after, and many of those times were at the Continental Club. The reverence I had, and still have for that stage and that room runs so deep. ”

Earlier in the day, Wilkinson and Kamel performed on another iconic stage across the river, the legendary Stubb’s BBQ. It was a carefree show for a private event that went smooth.

“Stepping on the stage of the Continental Club on a Saturday night, my nerves just got the best of me,” Kamel said. “I was just so nervous to be there and it felt like such a big thing. I still have that reverence for that stage.”

He was noticeably shaken and faced the fear of being in a tailspin with a packed house eagerly hanging on every note. 

“I looked visibly nervous on stage and a friend of mine who came out to support sort of gestured at me to calm down, which made me more nervous,” Kamel said. 

His other bandmates told him to treat it like any other gig, which also had no effect. Drummer Josh Blue was at the kit that night, who still performs with Kamel today, and the two often laugh about those early days.

“He’ll be playing with me at the Continental Club on May 16th for the record release party,” Kamel said.

Wood & Wire

Kamel soon teamed up with local musicians Dom Fisher, Trevor Smith, and eventually Billy Bright to form Wood & Wire. The bluegrass outfit quickly made a name for themselves and started to get offers to perform on the festival circuit.

“The other three guys in the band were full time musicians and the band was starting to catch some momentum, and I decided to try and see if I could make a career out of it,” Kamel said. “I knew at the time that we had something special, but I was so caught in this whirlwind of figuring out how to do it that sometimes I kind of forgot how lucky we were to have each other.”

They made it out to Colorado on some of their first out of state tours, and It was a quick rise from the local bluegrass scene to national acclaim in the field.

“I learned so much from those guys,” Kamel said. “They were all some of the best musicians I had ever been around so I had to really practice. I knew almost nothing about being in a band or the music business.”

In 2018, Wood & Wire was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album for North of Despair and the group attended the Grammys.

“We walked the red carpet,” Kamel said. “It was a very surreal experience to say the least… One of the first people I saw on the red carpet was John Prine.” 

Kamel stumbled through a few words with his hero before the ceremony, and at the afterparty he ran into another childhood muse Weird Al Yankovic. 

“I gave him a hug and I don’t think he wanted me to,” Kamel said with a laugh. “I loved his parody records and his polka and stuff. I thought he was hilarious and brilliant, so to see him there standing next to me and have that sort of awkward interaction with him was everything I could have hoped for. To me it’s a pivotal moment.”

We’re All Gonna Live

We’re All Gonna Live is a fresh, and desperately needed album in the country-bluegrass field. One that proves traditional styles can be reinvented through a fresh voice and fierce energy.

The opening track “Makin’ It Work” instantly straps you in for a ride, and makes you drop everything to focus on the work presented here. 

“It feels like this monumental decision,” Kamel said. “How do I rope people in from the beginning? And the truth is there’s so many different opinions, and people like different things, so I just had to go with my gut.”

He consulted with producer Bruce Robison on the listing, who teamed up with Kamel for their second album together at the Bunker, an all analog studio where the tracks were recorded mostly live. We’re All Gonna Live was released on Blue Corn Records. 

“I’m really fortunate to have worked with a really good, small independent label,” Kamel said.

Kamel reintroduced the banjo for his second release, an instrument they left out of the first record in an attempt to step outside the bluegrass genre.

“That was my idea because I was trying to distance myself a little from the bluegrass scene,” Kamel said after almost a decade with Wood & Wire. “Whether that was the right decision or not I don’t know, but I think what we came up with was cool either way. It’s a big part of my solo show in particular, so I wanted to bring it back in.” 

It’s also an important album as the debut solo album included studio musicians that didn’t perform live with Kamel. The group presented on We’re All Gonna Live is road tested and you can see how they recognize where each other are going while playing. 

“I rewrote and pined over the songs like hell,” Kamel said. “By the time we got in to record them I was just ready to throw down on ‘em. It was pretty easy in that regard because I’ve surrounded myself with some really good musicians.” 

They stood in a big circle like the many bluegrass nights they’ve had across the Lone Star State and only added harmonies in post. The feeling you get from hearing a stage ready band is something you can really feel in your soul.

Kym Warner is a standout on the album, furiously picking his mandolin and the rare electric mandolin that many will think is a telecaster. 

“Kym just has like all these cool alternative mandolin-like electric instruments,” Kamel said. “It adds a cool flavor to it.” 

The duo will be performing Thursday for the Old Settler’s Music Festival in Dale, Texas.

Sue

“That song is a gift to her and her family,” Kamel said about the down-home sing-a-long tune “Sue.”

Kamel got to know the late Sue and husband Ken from their son and fellow banjo picker Griffing, who’s now relocated to Northern California. 

“I just got to know him and his family really, really well,” Kamel said about the tour stops they had in Monroe, Louisiana. “No matter what time we rolled in, it could be three in the morning, she’d get out of bed and put out a pot of gumbo and basically force feed us. It was the best gumbo you’ve ever had in your life.”

They’d trade songs with her husband Ken, “who was an excellent banjo player, and when we’d wake up there would be a huge breakfast spread. They just had this really incredible Louisiana hospitality that I think everyone should experience. I think it’s a special thing that exists in the south, particularly Louisiana, and they embodied that.”

Support the Artist

Kamel now lives for the energy of the stage, something they’ve wonderfully reproduced in Robison’s Bunker. His album release show is scheduled for next month at his first mecca the Continental Club. 

“We turn up the volume a little bit on the shows,” Kamel said. “We try to keep the energy high even on the lower energy songs.”

Purchase and stream We’re All Gonna Live here.

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