International group brings distinct sound to Cave Creek

MARC BUCKHOUT ~ MANAGING EDITOR ~6/22/2011

Going into his 11th year in the United States Kym Warner feels more comfortable as a song writer, more confident in his band and more at home in general.
At 9 p.m. on July 2 Warner and the rest of his band The Greencards will be at Harold’s Corral as part of Cave Creek’s 4th of July festivities. The group from Australia is on tour to promote their recently released album, “The Brick Album” featuring country star Vince Gil and mandolin player Sam Bush.
‘When we moved to the States from Australia we got a good bunch of shows in Austin and we were getting pretty good feedback, but when we started touring there was that doubt of are these people going to want to listen to a bunch of foreigners play American music,” Warner admits.
Instead he and his band mates found a receptive audience to their unique sound, with a foundation in roots music that also sprinkles in country, blue grass (what they’ve deemed new grass), rock, folk elements as well as Latin sounds.
“We found that people want to hear original music,” said the mandolin player. “You get some credit if you’re a talented musician, but people don’t just want to see cover bands. We received evidence early on that if we were true to ourselves we could find an audience for our music.”
After four previous studio albums the group is leaning on that belief in their audience even more strongly as they’ve independently produced their latest effort, dubbed The Brick Wall because they accepted donations from fans whose financial contributions were figuratively bricks in building the foundation for the album.
Highlighting the latest album is lead vocalist, Carol Young, performing a duet with Country music star Vince Gill. Additionally Warner gets the opportunity to perform with one of his heroes and biggest influences, Sam Bush, a legend on the mandolin.
“We’re not scared to takes chances,” Warner said. “We pride ourselves very much on our vocals and think our lyrics are hugely important. We draw on all sorts of influences. We’re big fans of the Pretenders, Tom Petty, Bob Dillon. We like all sorts of music.”
Add in the Australian viewpoint and it makes for a band that can come up with a wide variety of sounds not only from album to album, but from song to song. Having lasted for 11 years during which time they’ve been nominated for two Grammies suggests they’ve found a recipe that works.
When it comes to their new album, which was released on Tuesday, Warner said he’s excited to get back out on the road and promote it.
“We’re going to be out all summer,” he said. “It should be fun.”
And as for performing a 4th of July show Warner says in Australian parlance, no worries. “We’ve been around,” he said. “It’s a good time to be out and celebrate with family and friends. I can put down a hot dog and a beer with the best of them. Even a little apple pie works.”
Rondavous will kickoff the music at 8 p.m. with The Greencards following at 9 p.m. and playing until 10:30 p.m. The following night entertainment will get under way with EastonAshe at 7:30 p.m. The group is set to play outside until 11:30 while the band Young Country will be playing inside from 8:30 p.m. until close.
A outside barbecue begins at 5 p.m. as the music leads up to the fireworks later in the evening.
For information on the band go to thegreencards.com. For information on the rest of the weekend’s festivities go to haroldscorral.com.