Album Notes

Singer/songwriter Kevin Brixius grew up on a sharecrop farm in southern Minnesota. After completing a B.A. at the U of M, he went off to see the world. Over the next dozen years, he traveled in 26 countries and hitchhiked over 10,000 miles, writing songs all along the way. "Desperate Act of the Powerless" reflects this diverse background, with songs that range from the joyful ringing of 'Evangeline' to the playful roll of 'A Member of the Rabble', to the driving foreboding of 'Easter Island'. There is the mysterious bounce of 'Bicycle Rider', the tension of 'Karen Calls'. Then again, there's 'Favorite Cow', a song which probably needs no explanation, nor warning. Brixius' songs ride musical emotion like a broncobuster. (His favorite composers are Bob Marley, Neil Young, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Go figure!) Recorded with Ben Durrant at Crazy Beast studio in NE Minneapolis, the songs are a rich mixture of Brixius' guitars and bass, keyboard by Theresa Horan and drums by Jamie Farnum, with vocals by all three. Some songs feature the soulful Scott Johnson on saxophone, others the violin of VioVoom's amazing Jessy Greene. Plus there are banjo parts, a harmonica, a dumbek and the haunting flute of Bobb Fantauzzo. Though a theme album, "Desperate Act" plays like a compilation. Every track is a new adventure.