Sometimes legendary talent can play tug of war with a person’s demons, and that was the case of the late, great Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Albuquerque-based singer-songwriter Kàsh Mojo offers up a ballad of the hopeless idealist, reckless drunk, and universally-admired star for his debut single “Galveston Gone.”
Named after the location of Townes’ notorious psychiatric ward stay, Mojo’s booming baritone croons soulfully about the love, opportunities, and memories lost in Townes’ tumultuous life, accompanied by a catchy bassline, baritone sax, and guitar that builds up to a gorgeously fuzzed-out and wailing lament. A mournful chorus of “Slow down, please, slow down” contrasts with mounting and breaking waves of sound, frayed at the edges with Mojo’s palpable empathy, as he tries to undo what’s already been done:
If you keep drowning your spirit with spirits
Don’t you know it will always haunt you
Like the shadow that does not depart
Revealed in the light of the sun
For this single, Mojo is backed by an all-star crew from Austin, Texas, including members of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. The song was produced by Bryan Ray (Lonely Child) and Grammy Award winning engineer Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes, Modest Mouse).
When he’s not making music, Kàsh Mojo works as an attorney in Albuquerque – yes, you read that right. He’s not the famous television attorney you’re probably thinking of, but a real person who, when not donning a suit and tie, sports an acoustic guitar and a vintage Western shirt. A stranger-in-a-strange land storyteller like Lee Hazelwood, Jim Sullivan, or even Neil Diamond before him, Mojo plaintively speaks and sings while his band serves up dynamics that alternate between big and bombastic, and relaxed and pastoral. Mojo’s baritone lends a signature, almost Pavarotti-like theatricality that pairs beautifully with his band’s deft instrumentation. His debut LP, Buried or Replaced, drops in 2023.
His single “Galveston Gone” is available now.
