KC Armstrong gives you the big kiss-off in his brassy, ballsy and bluesy new single and video I Don’t Care — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The opening tack from the Brantford singer-songwriter’s tellingly titled latest album Finally Crafted, the deceptively upbeat I Don’t Care is a barrelling, barroom blues-rocker that proves Armstrong really does care — about offering finely crafted nuggets that hit you in all the right places.
In the track, our hero has been done wrong by his partner, but isn’t too bothered about it. After all, he knows that two can play this cheating game, so what goes around might just come around:
“Congratulations, you’re the talk of the town
Conversations ’bout you running ’round
My old friends trying not to stare
But if you done me wrong — I don’t care
I don’t care if that’s the way you wanna be
I don’t care the blame is not on me…
Must be someone out there lookin’ for a guy like me
So I don’t care.”
Featuring saxophone by Sean O’Connor, the ivory ticklings of keyboardist Steve O’Connor and soulful backing vocals from MaryEllen Allen, I Don’t Care delivers a gritty but groovy vibe from start to finish. Guitarists Scott Utting and Barry Haggarty also add great work throughout, while bassist Armstrong and drummer Jake Adams hold down the bottom end.
I Don’t Care is a song you could see a craftsman like Randy Newman, Nick Lowe or the late Ronnie Hawkins performing. The latter is near and dear to Armstrong, whose band Cadillac Ranch subbed as The Hawks for the legendary artist back in 2003. (They were slated to back Hawkins at Toronto’s legendary SARStock concert with The Rolling Stones, Rush, AC/DC and more, but sadly, Hawkins’ health prevented that.)
Justifying its handle, Armstrong’s Finally Crafted album took over two decades to finish, as he worked slowly but steadily towards honing his production skills and talents until he could get the songs in his head onto tape. “Another reason for the long delay in completing the album was that I also had to learn how to construct my actual recording studio myself,” he says. “I had to learn to frame, insulate and drywall properly (and to code).”
The musician, who has also shared the stage with the late guitar icon Jeff Healey, wrote nine songs for Finally Crafted. His works often begin as poems, which results in “more interesting melodies” and with few “restrictions of having to fit the lyrics to the melody.”
Watch the video for I Don’t Care above, listen to Finally Crafted below, and spend some time with KC Armstrong on his website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
