art by Justin Kemerling
Johnny's Speakeasy in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a fruit cellar with a few stories to tell.
In the early 20th century, the space, which once housed an orchard's produce, became part of a home as the massive, barrel-vaulted fruit cellar was converted into a basement. During prohibition, workers, police, musicians and other folks would turn the space into a speakeasy, thus planting the seed for the part-time music venue it has now become.
In December 2012, a native of Nebraska turned Michiganian made Johnny's Speakeasy into a recording studio. Kill County's Ringo played songs new and old, songs he'd written, songs by his bandmate Josh James and traditional songs rivaling the age of the house they inhabited.
Ringo suggests listeners use headphones to hear concertgoers "shifting in their seats, beer cans opening, folks singing along, little coughs, sighs and whispers."
No, this album doesn't feature inebriated screams, hearty laughter and loud clinks of glasses. Johnny's Speakeasy encourages active listening. The shows are BYOB with a cover charge of $10 that goes directly to the bands.
“It’s set up as a listening room, not a bar,” Ringo says. “You can drink, but if you talk loud, you’ll be asked to leave. It’s way more intimate. It’s somebody’s private home, and it’s set up for community and for the experience of live music.”
photo of Johnny's Speakeasy by Michael Smith
Ringo’s performance was recorded by Tracy Webb who is in The Webbs, a Detroit band.
“I wasn’t entirely sure what to do (with the recording), and then I had this idea, ‘Oh, we give it away and work with Bold Nebraska.’”
Bold Nebraska is a community group devoted to instilling political equity in “The Good Life” and has worked to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline since its inception. Bold’s mission is to “change the political landscape and restore political balance.”
Born and raised in Wayne, Neb., Ringo (who prefers to go by one name only) feels attached to the mission of Bold Nebraska and is devoting his profits from the recording to the organization.
He doesn’t believe the Keystone XL Pipeline is only a Nebraskan issue.
“It affects us all no matter where we live,” Ringo says.
Support for Bold Nebraska isn’t coming only from record sales, though. Ringo said it’s also to “continue the dialogue and continue the platform.”
“It’s our own humble way of saying, ‘We’re with you,’” Ringo says.
art by Justin Kemerling
Separating art from the artists is something Ringo finds difficult. While Kill County doesn’t preach politics in their lyrics and music, Ringo thinks the person behind the music and their beliefs can shine through in some aspects of their music.
“I think it’s important that our music isn’t necessarily about social justice or climate change, but as people we represent those things as kind of an extension of the art,” he says. “Even if I don’t approach songwriting as a political thing, it’s important that I at least personally attach to what I think is my moral and ethical responsibility.”
He didn’t grow up on a farm, but in rural Nebraska, agriculture is important. With farming in the family and an adult life full of farm labor and sustainable agriculture work, Ringo said he “feels very strongly a responsibility to doing what we can as a society to protect soil, air and water.”
Along with the current charitable endeavors, Kill County is also working on releasing a full-band album this April called Dust In Wire. Kill County’s third album features a slew of backing musicians and has generated $2,717 from 67 backers.
“(Dust In Wire) is getting pressed on vinyl as we speak, and the art is being worked on,” Ringo says. “It went through all the mastering and editing.”
When describing Kill County’s musical style, Ringo says “it seems like every band is their own genre. But we’re clearly a sort of country and folk band.”
Kill County tends to showcase simple, folky guitar, a banjo and harmonies pairing Ringo's voice with his huskier counterpart in Josh James.
Ringo said Dust In Wire will be different from previous recordings in that this album is recorded digitally, and it will be bigger with more electric guitars, but still incorporates “some really classic Kill country stuff,” he says.
“I felt kind of nervous, because in a Kickstarter, you feel pretty exposed and vulnerable,” Ringo says. “If it doesn’t work, you kind of fail in a very grand gesture. However, we were really excited by the response on the Kickstarter, and we’re putting the money to good use so hopefully we break even.”
Ringo said Kill County never expected to get to their third album, so from now on he says “everything is a bonus.”
“It’s not like we think about quitting, but we also don’t know where we’re headed,” Ringo says.
Without a particular direction and living in separate states, with members in Lincoln and Austin, Texas, Ringo says, “We’re just like anybody else, man. We’re just trying to pay the bills and be good people.”
Ingrid Holmquist is a Hear Nebraska intern. She supports Bold Nebraska and encourages you to visit their site here. Reach her at ingridh@hearnebraska.org.