Kevin Abernathy draws from Van Halen to Van Zandt

The Kevin Abernathy Band

The Kevin Abernathy Band

KNOXVILLE — Journeyman Kevin Abernathy has run the gamut of musical outlets both stylistically and geographically. Hopping from a pop outfit in San Fransisco to a country act in Chattanooga to a hair band in Knoxville to a solo acoustic project in Nashville, Abernathy is back in his native East Tennessee where his masterfully named Kevin Abernathy Band has gone through a number of its own stylistic overhauls. Fittingly for his present location, Abernathy’s sonic foundation is Americana, but for his next release (currently in the works), he hopes to revisit his love of riffy hard rock.

Americana, one of Knoxville’s staple genres, is a loosely defined amalgam of country, folk and Southern rock, hence the common “genericana” descriptor, but for Abernathy’s music, his self-coined term “arena-cana” fits more appropriately. Citing pseudo-classic rock influences like Aerosmith and Van Halen, The Kevin Abernathy Band’s first two albums (2007’s “Rock ‘n Roll Fiasco” and 2009’s “A Beautiful Thing”) show a raucous diversity of lick-centric tracks that could defend comparisons to anything from AC/DC to Van Morrison. It is likely Abernathy’s penchant of writing lyrics that tell stories that draws the Americana references, but other parallels are almost imperceptible as The KAB rocks harder than most other so-called rock bands.

“I’ve done everything from a hair metal band to singer/songer nights in Nashville to the West Coast and back and learned a lot from each phase of my musical life,” recalls Abernathy. “I’m definitely on the right track now. The KAB is what I’ve always visualized. To me it’s the same band with different songs, but I don’t think we were ever ‘Americana’ because those radio stations didn’t want to play us. I am a storyteller, but I’m also a hard rocker with a taste for riff-laden, loud guitar. It’s a combination of growing up in East Tennessee with a lot of gospel and country music and then classic rock before it was classic rock. I’m still into early Van Halen as much as I am Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zant and Dylan. What you’re getting here is folk and blues delivered at a high velocity. The KAB is ‘arena-cana.’”

The album Abernathy and crew are currently recording at Shed 55 promises to deliver even more of the band’s guitar-driven energy. These recordings incorporate more external input on arrangements and instrumentation than albums past, and as a result the trio looks to expand its roster in the near future, adding supplementary members to deliver a heavier sonic wallop in live scenarios. As Abernathy puts it, the band will “get a bigger van and a grander vision” as more tour dates will accompany the recruitment. The KAB expects to complete its recordings by fall and hopes to follow with a winter release date.

“I think these songs are heavier sonic-wise and lyrically,” Abernathy says. “Lots of guitar stuff. I’ve been getting back to my hard rock roots and I’ve never been happier. Really I’m just being more honest about how I like to play, but it’s always been a tight rope, the one side teetering toward flashy and tasteful guitar and the other meaningful lyrics. I don’t want to be clownish, but I do want to rock and have fun.”

SKA-STITUTION: Tonight endangered ska bands from up and down the East Coast gather to toot their own horns at The Longbranch Saloon. The diehard bill includes Best of the Worst, Disregardables, Running on E, Paranoia Dance Party and The Hits. The show is slated for 8 p.m.

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