Kaz Murphy plays in Arcadia October 18

“With his Lee Hazelwood-esque vocal growl, an ear for melody, and a nod to 60s and 70s roots-pop, Kaz Murphy has created eleven songs that tell tales ofordinary people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances.” - Miles of Music

The nomadic body and soul of singer-songwriter Kaz Murphy settled in Los Angeles for a little over two years to write and record his third solo album, Home for Misfits, a rootsy homage to a classic rock/pop album. Slated for release on October 30th, one can instantly recognize Kaz’s gift for storytelling as his warm and distinct voice reaches out to you, puts an arm around a shoulder and draws you into his colorful world.
“After you’ve been around the world a few times, you start to drink in the flavors of all those places. I touched the sad and lonely side of things, but I also wanted the stories to be somehow uplifting. I figured I had to sit in one place for a while and spit them back out giving rise to songs that had rebellious lyrics hiding in pretty music.” – explains Kaz Murphy about Home for Misfits

Kaz’s deeply toned vocals, toe-tapping melodies and honest lyrical portraits of troubled lives tinged with hope make for a richly flavored, no-nonsense collection of 11 tracks that echo life’s eternal harmony. In the song “Anything She Wants”, Kaz paints a portrait of a once vibrant Hollywood actress who has drifted into delusion. He sings, “Somewhere back in the fifties she almost made the silver screen/Became a friend of the movie stars and one night says she made love with James Dean/You know her by her purple dress, talking to herself and all the rest.” In the track “Below the Skin”, Kaz presents a glimpse into the melting pot of Los Angeles in the line, “A gorgeous senorita/A mariachi man/Walking through the traffic there/His bass in his hand,” and caps it with his trademark worldly wisdom, “The surface is harder than below the skin/If you know where you are now/It doesn’t matter where you’ve been.” Everything about Kaz Murphy’s Home for Misfits fits like a favorite hat, every time you put it on; it retains the original shape of its owner, and gets more and more comfortable with age.

Home for Misfits boasts a cavalcade of talent, as Murphy and co-producer Rich McCulley enlisted support in the studio from Murphy’s long-time band members Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy), John Skibic and Sully Sullivan (Ivy, Twilight Singers). Kaz’s wife Jacqueline Grad also performs on the album, joined by McCulley, Amy Farris, Kip Boardman, John McDuffie and Duane Jarvis. This dazzling array of talent, coupled with the sparkling honesty and illuminating spirit of Kaz’s words and music, makes for an album that will stand the tests of time.

Where: Arcadia Blues Club 16 E Huntington Dr. Arcadia, CA 91006
When: Thursday October 18,2007 at 8pm
Cost; $5.00