Like many musicians, Ted Russell Kamp found himself with time on his hands and songs in his mind churning to be finished while stuck at home last year. One of those, “Path Of Least Resistance”, earned a position on Ted’s latest album, Solitaire, set to release this Friday. The song was written prior to the pandemic, but the theme of taking a step back and not letting events you can’t control run your life is very topical. Add to that the instrumentation is just Ted himself on acoustic guitar and bass and you have the perfect shelter-in-place musical statement. We’re so very pleased to be able to offer you the premiere of that tune. Here is “Path Of Least Resistance”.
The theme of solo performance clearly runs throughout the entire album. With just a few exceptions, Kamp plays all the instruments on the record, including his first bluegrass number, “Lightning Strikes Twice”. Ted being Ted, the songwriting and vocals had to include friends and musical co-travelers. Those vocal harmonies play an important part on the folky “Western Wind” and “The Hardest Road To Find”. Co-writes include the aching “Exception To the Rule” (Ed Jurdi of Band Of Heathens) and the funnest song on the album “You Can Go To Hell, I’m Going To Texas” (Vanessa Olivarez and Elizabeth Elkins of Granville Automatic).
Like all of Kamp’s records, there is a musical style somewhere on Solitaire that will appeal to just about everyone. And while you’re waiting for Ted to play live somewhere nearby, you can get a quick fix on Saturdays by tuning in to his Facebook page.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.