Press

Country Update - Australia's National Country Music Magazine
By Denise Torenbeek - MARCH 2012
www.countryupdate.com.au

Kristy Cox’s last album Breaking New Ground was excellent in my humble opinion, but I have no reservations in saying the newly released Miles and Timezones is world class. Ms Cox’s soaring vocals and arresting delivery mark her among an elite handful of Australia’s foremost female singers.
Primarily Bluegrass in style, abounding with trademark high lonesome harmonies Miles and Timezones is therapy for the ears. Instrumentation is wonderful, accented with lots of light and shade – giving an elegant and simply realised sound that transports every song right to the heart of the matter. The vocals issue honestly and beautifully, natural as any songbird, eloquent and expressive.
After serving Kristy a coffee courtesy of a jar of Robert Timms at the outset of our interview, I was somewhat red-faced to learn her ‘day gig’(apart from studying for a Bachelor of Business degree) is as a Barista-trainer for Gloria Jean coffee chain, training around 300 aspiring baristas at 46 stores around Melbourne and country areas. Putting that gaffe aside, I assured her the CD was certainly my ‘cup of tea’ and we proceeded.
Kristy:“I went to the IBMA (Int. Bluegrass Assoc in Nashville) in 2009 and met Jerry Salley there, and long story short, ended up asking him if he would produce an album for me. Bluegrass is his forte and his first love, although he has had over 350 songs recorded by all manner of straight country (yes, even George Strait!) acts from Garth Brooks to Brad Paisley-(and Elton John to Reba)”
“We did all the co-writing and pre-production planning online and decided on the final eleven tracks, then I went over to Nashville and spent a month doing showcases and fine-tuning the vocals. Recording and finishing the album miraculously only took four days.”
Kristy and partner Lachlan Davidson co-wrote four numbers including the jaunty ‘Find Out By Myself’ and heartsore and haunting title track ‘Miles and Timezones’, ‘Life is a Mystery’ and ‘Keep On Loving You’
Does she have a favourite song on the end product? “Has to be Miles and Timezones’ the title track. That came up when Lachie was on tour in Europe and I was home working, and we were unable to talk for the whole month or more he was gone - there were constant issues with time conflicts or non-existent phone service. It was like a bizarre conspiracy plot, or a comedy of errors! I was pretty pleased to see him when he got home I can tell you!”
“For‘Her Past Is Looking Brighter’ Jerry sent the demo with just him and guitar, insisting that he needed to record a proper demo, but I said’ No I’ll be the demo because I want that song no matter what.’
Now it’s another sleepless midnight/ in her New York city high rise/ as she rubs those swift decisions from her past/
Cos this dream that she’s been living and all the things that she’s been given just can’t compare to what she doesn’t have.
She dies a little more each day/ living with the choice she made/ when she traded love for things that shine
I saw where‘Keep On Loving You’ won the Bluegrass section of the recent TSA Awards?
“How cool was that? One of my goals was to write a traditional sounding Bluegrass track for the album, so having that validation only three days after the album is released is pretty satisfying.”
Tamara Stewart is listed as a co writer on ‘Sure As the Devil’
“Yes, Tamara wrote it with Jerry on her first trip to the US and when I contacted her to ask if she had recorded the song in the meantime, she’d forgotten all about it. Oh and also, the publishers demo was sung by Gretchen Wilson so I had to live up to her mark too.
I was immediately grabbed by the song ‘Hard Secret to Keep’. It is a new slant on a done to death cheating theme, yet it manages to sound brand new done in alternating hers ‘n his parts.
I stay up late and read a lot at night and lately he’s begun to wonder why
He dont’ know I’m scared that I’ll start talking in my sleep – you’re a hard secret to keep
One slip up of the tongue is all that it would take/ just one little note I forgot to throw away
The slightest trace of makeup/ on a shirt that won’t come clean – you’re a hard secret to keep
“Yes, I love it too. Mark Chesnutt had done a version of ‘Hard Secret’ and I wanted to record it with Jerry for the pure fact that it is my favourite Jerry song of his entire catalogue. It had never been done as a duet and Jerry was doubtful it would work, but after we recorded it he said it should have always been a duet!
Jerry Salley had a hand in no less than five songs and as we’ve come to expect they’re all memorable stalwarts – strong with a trademark hook and country to the core. Starting with ‘You Won’t Find That Here,’ a back-handed take on a break-up-sifting through the sorting and reclamation of joint possessions by ex-lovers.
“Little bit of Wonderful’ is the first single and the video clip is in the can so look for it on CMC very soon. That song just suits who I am as a person and defines the whole album. I’m in a very happy place in my life. I think it’s really important for the first single to define the package. To signify what the album is and the mood of it and who the artist is as a person. The video is a stop-motion clip with stills and its a bit like a flip book, produced by an indi guy from Melbourne called Hamish Bassett who’s done a lot of alt-country work and wanted to get into the country music scene.
On that topic, Kristy was co-incidentally Duncan Toombs’ first video clip subject.
Future objectives? ”In a dream scenario I would like to be based in both the US and here at home, and I really want to continue down the bluegrass pathway. It would be amazing to get recognition over there for my music and show people here what today’s bluegrass is. The Davidsons do a fantastic job of enhancing the image of the Bluegrass genre, and the more people that do that the sooner it will find a better acceptance.”
“I just want people to hear the music and I would love to tour with a bigger act and have access to bigger audiences. The dream is to quit my day job and make enough from music to live happily ever after!
Kristy has a return trip to the US in Sept and her album is currently being shopped to labels over there through Jerry’s contacts, and fingers crossed something good will eventuate.