{"id":483688,"date":"2019-03-21T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=810853"},"modified":"2019-03-21T07:01:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T13:01:00","slug":"the-roots-captain-kirk-douglas-previews-debut-solo-lp-with-heavy-new-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/the-roots-captain-kirk-douglas-previews-debut-solo-lp-with-heavy-new-song\/","title":{"rendered":"The Roots\u2019 \u2018Captain\u2019 Kirk Douglas Previews Debut Solo LP With Heavy New Song"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI\u2019ve always worked on my own music outside of the Roots<\/a>,\u201d \u201cCaptain\u201d Kirk Douglas tells Rolling Stone<\/em>. The guitarist has been a member of the influential hip-hop group since 2003. But on May 24th, he\u2019ll release his first solo album, Turbulent Times<\/em>, under the moniker Hundred Watt Heart. \u201cReleasing it now comes from just wanting to finish what I started and frankly overcoming my fears of what people are going to think about it. Occasionally people have asked if I would ever do my own record,\u201d the 46-year old says. \u201cSo, I guess this is for them if they are curious. Also, life is short and I\u2019m not getting any younger. I don\u2019t want to be 60 years old wondering what it would have been like if I had gotten over myself and released my own material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas recorded Turbulent Times<\/em> at the famed Electric Lady Studios, backed by fellow instrumentalists Mark Kelley (bassist for the Roots) and Ricc Sheridan (drummer for Earl Greyhound); the three of them have previously performed together as the Dust Rays. \u201cThe space is infinitely inspiring as so many classic recordings that I grew up on have been made there,\u201d he says. \u201cPlus, the walls, the decor, the lighting, even the smell of the place gives it a certain magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

He culled the eight-track set over the last few years, pulling inspiration from personal experiences, looking back as well as reflecting on current times, and emotively expressing them through melodies that range from contemplative, blues-tipped and soulful to raw and raucous. There\u2019s the affecting title track, which builds to mirror the emotion behind the song\u2019s themes that discuss this tumultuous era, and the meditative-turned-soaring \u201cCome Alive\u201d about the 2016 presidential election. Family life is explored on \u201cUma,\u201d its driving guitar contrasted by a tender, fairytale-like storytelling approach about the birth of his daughter.<\/p>\n

His present is addressed on the churning \u201cI Used to Be in the Circus,\u201d premiering at Rolling Stone<\/em>. The song captures the urgent, fast-paced life \u2013 both the highs and the lows \u2013 of being an entertainer. \u201cI\u2019m playing my role\/An immature soul trapped inside this aging of a body,\u201d he sings over roaring, Zeppelinesque riffs. \u201cI push the limits and I\u2019mma give it\/Everything I got before I\u2019m outta time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I Used to Be in the Circus\u2019 is from the chapter of my life that is right now. It\u2019s really my whole experience being in the Roots and being involved with the Tonight Show<\/em>. But from the perspective of me in the future looking back at the present moment,\u201d he says. \u201cI know one day I will probably be talking about these days the way my older people talk about their \u2018back in the day.\u2019 Even though I\u2019ve grown used to the things the Roots do as a band, it\u2019s still a pretty exciting experience to live through. I wanted to attach that sentiment to music that I felt reflected that same excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of being in the kind of circus that involves performing on television led to a fateful night in 2013, which informs his song \u201cLittle Friend.\u201d Prince was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon<\/em> and borrowed Douglas\u2019 beloved 1961 Epiphone Crestwood. As a fan, Douglas was happy to loan it to Prince, but at the end of his performance of \u201cBambi,\u201d Prince tossed it in the air and then it landed and broke apart. Afterward, Prince apologized to a crestfallen Douglas and promised to get it repaired. He made good on his word.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Little Friend\u2019 was actually composed on the guitar I purchased with the money left over from the repair of the guitar he actually broke. I recorded the song with the Crestwood,\u201d Douglas says. \u201cThe lyric comes from the emotion of the moment of that time where I was upset, but in retrospect it\u2019s one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. He\u2019s probably looking down, saying, \u2018I made your old ass guitar way more interesting, paid you for your troubles and gave you something cool to write about \u2026 you\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prince also factored into another song on the album. \u201c\u2018Flesh and Bone\u2019 was from both Prince and [David] Bowie\u2019s passing which happened around the same time,\u201d Douglas adds. \u201cTheir mortality made me think about the immortality of what they left behind. And that made me reflect upon the mortality and immortality of regular people like you and me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the album\u2019s themes range from birth to death, it ends on a hopeful note with \u201cOur Year,\u201d which serves as a seeming commentary on the journey to his first solo LP and bringing it full circle. \u201c\u2018Our Year\u2019 comes from wanting to do something\/anything year after year and never making it happen,\u201d he says. \u201cFinally, you get it together. For better or for worse!\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019ve always worked on my own music outside of the Roots,\u201d \u201cCaptain\u201d Kirk Douglas tells Rolling Stone. The guitarist has been a member of the influential hip-hop group since 2003. But on May 24th, he\u2019ll release his first solo album, Turbulent Times, under the moniker Hundred Watt Heart. \u201cReleasing it now comes from just wanting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-483688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 19:48:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KQZR - The Reel","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}