Checking Out Pieces

Bruce Von Stiers

Musical talent comes from all walks of life. From fry cooks to wait staff to doctors, you never know who is going to break out to be the next breakout hit of the music world. One of these talented people happens to be Jason Lee McKinney. He has a MBA and a doctorate. But McKinney's real passion is music. It just so happens he has his own band, the Jason Lee McKinney Band.

The band has a brand new album, their eighth. The title of the album is Pieces. Filled with songs that mix things up a bit, the album has rock, Americana, a bit of blues and some other stuff.

Pieces has ten songs and a play time of thirty-four minutes. It was produced by Kevin Houston, who has previously worked with Buddy Guy and Robert Plant. The album was recorded at the Zebra Ranch. All of the songs on the album were written by Jason, along with Sam Berce and Zion McKinney.

The band has five members. Barry Strauser plays piano, organ, keys and does backing vocals. Billy Wright is on bass. Logan Todd is the band's drummer and Sam Berce is on lead guitar. There were additional backing vocals by Susan Marshall, Reba Russell and Vinny Rose. As for Jason, he does the lead vocals and plays both electric and acoustic guitars on the album.

Blues For Bahrain is a cool tune. It has some tough guitar and solid vocals. It also has cool backing vocals and a slick drum beat.

Good Old Soul has a kind of rock backbeat in parts. It has some decent vocals and the backing vocals blend it well. You will definitely be tapping your feet to this song.

The title track, Pieces, is kind of a moderately paced ballad. It's about trying to recover from lost love and picking up the pieces of his life, one piece at a time.

Right from the start of the song, I was bopping my head and tapping my feet to the music in So Long. It is a rock infused blues piece.

New Strings From An Old Guitar is a great love ballad.

Rock infused blues can be found in the music of Groove Is Getting Old.

Thicc has a tough rock groove vibe. He describes this woman who really gets to him.

Slowing things down quite is Cover Town. It mixes a bit of Americana with country. It's about his hometown and how he had to leave for a better life.

Put Up A Good Fight has a bit of blues mixed with rock.

Normal Is Just An Exit is a rollicking, rock infused blues piece.

Until recently, I hadn't heard of Jason Lee McKinney or the Jason Lee McKinney Band. I didn't know about the many albums the band had recorded, nor the large fan base they'd accumulated. But having listened to Pieces, I can see why the band has the fans they do. The album is a great mix of Americana, rock and blues.

Pieces is available now.

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© 2020 Bruce E Von Stiers