FEATURE
On Word to the Wise, Bill Kirchen wraps his twangy
Tele around a stunning collection of vocal duets to
deliver the most compelling music of his career.
Since bursting on the scene with Commander Cody and
His Lost Planet Airmen in the late ’60s, Bill Kirchen has
been at the forefront of twangcore and hillbilly rock.
As one of the first to bring the spanky sounds of Tele
pioneers Roy Nichols and Don Rich to the Woodstock
generation, Kirchen has rightfully earned his “Titan
of the Telecaster” moniker by playing a soulful mix of
rockabilly, Western swing, blues, and honky-tonk.
was right for the Lost Planet Airmen, who quickly became
part of the musical mayhem that defined the era, joining
the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and other top
bands on the national concert circuit. The Airmen’s first
two albums—Lost in the Ozone and Hot Licks, Cold Steel,
and Trucker’s Favorites—yielded several classics of the day,
including “Seeds and Stems Again Blues,” “Mama Hated
Diesels,” and the band’s Top Ten hit, “Hot Rod Lincoln.”
BY ANDY ELLIS
Kirchen’s musical journey began in the early ’60s in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, where he was exposed to the burgeoning
East Coast folk scene. After forming a band with several
University of Michigan buddies, including George Frayne
(better known as Commander Cody), Kirchen convinced
his cohorts to migrate to San Francisco in 1969. The timing
Four decades later, Kirchen shows no signs of slowing
down. “Actually, I think I’m getting better,” he says,
“though I don’t take it as a badge of honor. I attribute
this to one thing: I’m an extremely slow learner. I woke
up at age 59 and went, ‘Oh yeah, I get it—that’s how
you’re supposed to sound.’”
