Kendra McKinley at The Fillmore June 1
In October of 2017, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kendra McKinley was invited to a month-long residency at the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur. During that time, she wrote, arranged, and recorded an EP called, “Henry Miller Memorial Library Sessions.” McKinley will be releasing the EP, and a video for its single, “Face to Face,” June 1 at The Fillmore with The Brothers Comatose.
McKinley, known for her melismatic, songbird vocals and elaborate looping harmonies, took her time at Henry Miller as an opportunity to separate herself from city life and find her voice in the woods. Though she grew up in Aptos and Santa Cruz, she’s spent the last few years in the city grind, working to make ends meet while living in San Francisco.
“This residency was the first time in my life that I got to really focus on songwriting, and nothing else. It was my dream job,” McKinley shared in a recent interview. “I got to finally just be a person. I hear it from so many other musicians who have managed to stay in San Francisco. They are constantly working, and as a consequence, they don’t get to enjoy the real work of making music, which was the reason why they’ve committed to this job in the first place.”
Just four months earlier, Big Sur had been hit with heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides that cut it off from tourism, reducing the population to just 200. While the area was cut off from the outside world, Kendra lived slow, bonded with the locals, and rode her bike down Highway 1 without fear of traffic. She spent a warm, rain-free October living in a tent and making music on guitar and piano. When they reopened the Pfeiffer Bridge, the tourists returned with their plastic and cortisol.
The songs Kendra began to write were meditations on her relationship with urban living. The EP’s first single, “Face to Face,” gets right to the heart of the matter: “I’m face to face with my longing to belong to a place.”
“I hit a mental block before I wrote ‘Face to Face,’” Kendra shared. “I caught myself trying to make something good, which really limits the creative process. I decided to write about how I actually felt. Face to face is the moment where you’re not putting on a show or occupying a role, you’re just there with your desires.”
Scott McDowell, an engineer from Hyde Street Studio C, joined her in Big Sur with microphones, a bass guitar, and a vibraslap. They recorded the EP over two nights and one day, while the library was closed, using only one take for each track. McKinley’s fearless, layered vocals float over the rhythm of pulsing guitars, making the EP sound full and textured. This is an astounding feat, especially considering the limitations. McKinley is so masterful in her delivery and arrangements that the songs carry you along, holding you in their rawness.
McKinley’s return to San Francisco life was jarring, but she is excited to share this new music with the world. Her set on June 1 at The Fillmore will progress in the style of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, starting with just her, a guitar, and a looping station. Singers and instrumentalists will join her on stage until the sound swells into a rock ’n’ roll reverie more in line with her previous release, Treat. McKinley glides through genres with ease, and “Face to Face” is a tender, focused picture of her time in Big Sur.
