Daniel Kirkpatrick and the Bayonets

Its those first few music experiences you have as a teenager that impact you forever. For singer-songwriter-guitarist Daniel Kirkpatrick, performing classic rock tunes for a senior project made an indelible impression on his creativity. No matter how he tried to hide from that formative musebe it exploring esoteric indie rock or leaving music all together and joining the corporate worldthe allure of 1960s rock n roll beckoned. With Daniel Kirkpatrick and The Bayonets debut, Alibis, hes masterfully crafted an authentic album of prime modern-vintage rock n roll.

Calling the album Alibis stems from the fact that I looked for every reason to run away and not pursue this dream, says the Washington-based artist with a weary laugh.  Music felt like an uphill battle because I hadnt found myself as a songwriter. With this record, Ive finally conveyed what I needed to put forth.

Kirkpatricks transformative music moment occurred in high school when he had to organize a charity event for a senior project. As a budding blues-inspired guitarist, he decided to put something together on the life of Eric Clapton, and organized a 12-piece band to playSlowhands classic repertoire. The show was a huge success and pulled in over a thousand ticket buyers. Though Daniel would go on to explore abstract indie-pop, the purity of expression he found that night in playing classic rock n roll made a lasting impression.

After his indie band folded, he took a 9-to-5 job, and with no outside pressure he began to enjoy music again. When you listen to music by yourself, the truth comes out, and I started thinking: If I was in a band again, Id do something like Roy Orbison or Elvis Costello, Kirkpatrick recalls. Thus began Daniel Kirkpatrick and The Bayonets.

The band features Daniel Kirkpatrick (vocals, guitar), Jordan Cassidy (bass, vocals) and Spencer Booth (drums, vocals). Both sidemen were former music associates handpicked to be Bayonets. Cassidy is from Kirkpatricks indie band, and Booth has a storied history with Kirkpatrick. As a 13-year-old musical prodigy, Booth sat in with Kirkpatricks high school classic rock band on keyboards, playing The Whos Won't Get Fooled Again with a spirited elegance that belied his teenage years. But by the time Kirkpatrick tapped him to play drums for The Bayonets, Booth was recovering from a period of drug and alcohol abuse, years in which hed become a sad clich of lost-promise childhood virtuosity. People kept telling me to write him off, Kirkpatrick recalls.

The Bayonets became a shot at artistic redemption for Booth, and a second chance opportunity for Kirkpatrick in rediscovering his muse.  At the time, Booth lived two hours away and didnt have a license to drive, so he would hitch rides to make rehearsals.  It was made all the more moving by Kirkpatrick and Booths childhood musical bond. I dont feel that all the events of our lives are preordained or mapped out in advance, but I also dont believe in mere coincidences, Booth says.  I think the people that enter our lives do so for a reason, and the timing of such events is a notable factor in how I choose my path.

The trios debut is rife with emotionally direct lyrics, tightly-arranged classic songwriting in the mold of 1960s British and American rock n roll, with expansive dynamics and sensual guitar solos. The urgently anthemic This Way is rich with details like shimmering organs and jangly guitars that propel the track along to the soaring chorus. The smoldering Emerald Blues is powerfully spare with a transcendent teardrop guitar solo and a pleadingly impassioned vocal.

Kirkpatrick is an introspective writer artfully grounded with his wordcraft. The songs are earnest without being cheesy, and poetic without being overly wordy or cerebral, explains Cassidy. The poignant Someday juxtaposes a Motown-esque groove with weighty subject matter. That song stems from finding out three people I went to high school with passed away," says Kirkpatrick. When youre in high school, you feel invincible and that song is about the frailty of life. The lyrics are mourning their loss, but the music celebrates their lives.  Here, his lyrics are graceful and vulnerable, he sings: Well mourn again, gather our friends in years to come/Lay down our grief, have strength to believe in/where we come from/But what have I done?/Who have I become?/The skin that were in, its fragile and thin/Here and gone...

The band will be touring in support of their release throughout 2014 across the US.