The desert’s Pat Kearns continues to add to his music career. After rockin’ with his band Blue Skies for Black Hearts and producing The Exploding Hearts‘ critically acclaimed Guitar Romantic album in Portland, Ore., he came to the desert to craft folky acoustic ballads alongside his wife, Susan, under the name The Kearns Family. The duo’s debut album, Together and Alone, released on Jan. 31, is filled with Western storytelling jams, perfect for a drive up the high desert into nowhere. Kearns also is the host of the Local Music Showcase, a weekly radio show on Z107.7, and owner/engineer at Goat Mountain Recording.
What was the first concert you attended?
Very first, when I was too young to decide what I was doing for myself, was the Beach Boys. They played a set in between doubleheader Portland Beavers baseball games. The first real concert that I chose to attend was The Del Fuegos at Starry Night in Portland. I was about 14 years old, and the club was 21-and-over, but my friend’s sister was friendly with the owner. They served us pitchers of Budweiser. It was my first rock ’n’ roll experience. I was hooked after that.
What was the first album you owned?
With my own money, I bought Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ I Love Rock ’n Roll. I rode my bike to Fred Meyer, our local grocery in Portland. They also sold clothes and electronics and had a record selection. I bought my first singles there, too, by The J. Geils Band, and Hall and Oates. I was 11 or 12 years old.
What bands are you listening to right now?
I’m hooked on the song “Defense” from the forthcoming Panda Bear record. We have the Carter Family playing at home quite often. Bob Dylan is a staple, too. I recently had the pleasure of mixing an album for Johnny Franco and His Real Brother Dom, and the songs from it are constantly playing in my head when I’m between sleeping and waking. I look forward to the day that album is released, and everyone else can experience it, too. Chalino Sanchez is a favorite, and Townes Van Zandt is always in the shuffle as well.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
The latest Beyoncé record, Cowboy Carter, but I’m not ruling it out. Sometimes I don’t connect with something when I hear it until much later. To my ears now, it’s a jumble of confusion trying to hit all of the so-called mainstream country marks along the way. It’s like channel-surfing without having a remote control. Frustrating.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
The Beatles or Led Zeppelin, not a rehash. I would do anything to see the original lineup of either of those bands.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
I’m going to have to say 1968-1973 bubblegum music, stuff like The Archies, 1910 Fruitgum Company, the Ohio Express, and Ron Dante. I also love all of the music for commercials that behind-the-scenes bubblegum impresario Joey Levine wrote. Who doesn’t remember “This Bud’s for You,” “Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut” or “Oh, What a Feeling. Toyota.”
What’s your favorite music venue?
I like great concert sound and good sight lines to see the stage. I haven’t found that yet where I live in the high desert, so we tend to go see music at the smaller and more local venues like The Palms and FurstWurld. When the weather cooperates, an outdoor show at Pappy and Harriet’s can be nice.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
I’ve been mesmerized by Bob Dylan and The Band’s “Clothes Line Saga” lately. That man, Bob Dylan, is simply brilliant. Who else could write a song about doing laundry and chores, and make it entertaining, strange, funny, uniquely American and musical?
What band or artist changed your life? How?
Elliott Smith. I began my career as a recording engineer at the same time he began making solo albums. He demonstrated that you didn’t have to rock hard all of the time. Elliott co-founded Jackpot Recording with Larry Crane, where early in my recording career, Larry took me on as a house engineer. That studio and my experiences there taught me skills I use every day now.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
That’s a tough one. I imagine I would be tongue-tied if I ever met any of my idols, although I have met Roly Salley, and we’re friends. I usually ask him what he’d like to drink.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“I’m a Pretender” by The Exploding Hearts, from their album Guitar Romantic, feels appropriate to me. I engineered, mixed and produced the recording. It changed my life and continues to have an influence on me, and I imagine they’ll be waiting for me on the other side.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Any Dylan record between 1963 and 1967. You can pick it! That’s an astonishing seven-record run.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
I would love it if you would listen to “The Funny Thing About Keeping Moving” by The Kearns Family. It’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever written and recorded—a seven-minute epic about a drifter running the dark towns of America, betraying and being betrayed, and possibly even being redeemed at the end.