THE JACKSON COUNTY KILLS

HONKY TONK BEAST WEAVES A TALE OF DEVASTATION AND LEAVES A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION.When Matty Charles returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon it was not the triumphant victory he had imagined. Gone were the days of being a respected member of the New York City music scene. Gone were the opportunities he had worked so hard to establish. Gone was his wife and his record deal. In their place, a bed in a room in his estranged fathers small house and a reckoning with a fractured past.Honky Tonk Beast, the debut album by the Jackson County Kills, is a road trip from a town called the Big Time through a hollowed out Americana landscape that depicts a loneliness worthy of Hank Williams and a poetic storytelling reminiscent of Kris Kristofferson. Charles understated delivery and the excellent musicians in his band pull the listener close with songs that sway and swing and then land a resolute blow upon the unsuspecting emotions.This album is the story of a restless soul in search of meaning, running from a nightmare with nothing to hold onto but a dream. When he is confronted with the prospect of losing everything, he begins a journey down the long road to sanity.This story is told in the language of the working class world that Charles grew up in. Smokey bar rooms, neon signs and country guitars make the perfect backdrop for tales of desperate measures taken by people with few options.Charles spent a tumultuous youth in the all ages music clubs of Portlands seedy downtown where he learned to play guitar and write songs in the many bands that hes formed. The DIY culture of this environment instilled a skepticism toward the mainstream and a desire to maintain control over his artistic output. These attitudes, affirmed by the growing Anti-folk movement in New York and San Francisco, inspired Charles early Lo-fi recordings.Charles spent decades in both cities taking refuge in rough neighborhoods with people on the bottom rung of society. His songs come from the hard knocks that many artists emulate but its his lack of pretense that make Charles song-stories so powerful and devoid of judgment.The Jackson County Kills have developed a reputation as one of Portlands best live acts. Their Honky Tonk and Country Soul sound combines a depth of lyricism with a musical swagger evocative of CCR and early Lucinda Williams.Despite an antipathy for the ambitions that motivate many artists, Charles has released several albums that have gained him a dedicated following. He performed a musical cameo in the Hal Hartley film, Meanwhile. He also scored the soundtrack for director Sal Interlandis debut film, Charlie. He has toured North America and Europe performing his songs.