The Hippy Nuts: Press

"(Kathena Bryant is) from a pool of the finest practitioners of country music in New York”

-Time Out New York

“THE HIPPY NUTS’ Before the Fall of Onions or Tales… is
hands down the best urban roots rock album to come down the pike in a long, long time.” –Amplifier Magazine

“Kathena Bryant redefines the role of women in contemporary popular music
via uninhibited sexual bravado and a distinct, instantly recognizable vocal
delivery. With charismatic performances given to spontaneity, her songs
exude an aching, desperate passion steeped in the blues, classic r & b, and
American rock.”

Her voice dives and twists and soars and even makes jokes, yodeling the “you” in an otherwise wryly low-register line, “I wanna hang out where you hang out.” Meanwhile, her face morphs from Southern belle to Gothic vixen to girlish Dorothy-of Oz.
Kathena Bryant, whose Texas accent happens to be genuine, would give a good show even if she didn’t have great chops. But in the end, it’s her singing that will make her a star.
That, and the fact she’s got an outrageously talented producer/partner/co-songwriter/guitarist in Tim Champion. (Plus virtuoso rhythm from drummer Shannon Ford and bassist Paul Ossola.) Champion provides the ground that lets Bryant travel; while she’s the irreplaceable diva, he’s the one who makes it happen. It’s his sense of musical structure and perfectionism which give Bryant the luxury of doing whatever the hell she wants. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
Their recently released album, “Highway,” marks a debut impressive not only for sheer musicianship but also for its risk-taking; Bryant’s sound is utterly original, darker and twangier than any commercial pop, but carrying too much beauty and humor to appeal to the pretentious.
“I ain’t nobody cool, but I ain’t nobody’s fool,” she declares in the opener, and while you could argue that hey, she is clearly somebody cool, there is nevertheless genuine vulnerability shining through. And anyone who’s attended multiple performances knows that Bryant never sings the same song exactly the same way twice; she hazards the spontaneity of authentic interpretation.
“I’d like to live in the moment/any moment ‘cept the one I’m in,” she croons in “Going Down.” Another singer might let these words lapse into mere irony, but Bryant infuses them with enough true sorrow and self-mocking apology that she achieves a paradoxical transcendence—by confessing failure to reside in the moment, she totally inhabits it.
Bryant and Champion co-wrote most of the songs, which may explain why, albeit confessional, none fall into solipsistic self-promotion. The lyrics are worthy, yet it’s the music that carries most emotional weight, from soulful ballads to funky groove. Her voice and his guitar won’t stop flirting with each other; the listener enjoys being seduced.
One inadequate way to describe Bryant’s singing would be to call it the spiritual/aesthetic lovechild of Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks. But then there’s that Texas soul thang too. And that vampy faux hauteur: “I want to be carried down the street like Cleopatra / and have Mark Anthony laugh at my jokes.” These songs often evoke longing for the past and the impossible, but finally restore us to the plentitude of present: “Sometimes a feeling can ground me / more than any circumstances ever could…. and the thing I’m looking for the most / I find by chance.”

“Ms. Bryant is an accomplished vocalist who raises emotion almost effortlessly."

REVIEWS: CDS
THE HIPPY NUTS
BEFORE THE FALL OF ONIONS OR TALES...
SANDPILE
The Hippy Nuts are a throwback to a golden era wherein substance was more important than style in pop music. Not to say that the gritty Nuts lack the latter. This veteran New York City-based collective, helmed by sassy Texas transplant Kathena Bryant (vocals/harmonica) and guitar slinging Seattle bred ex-patriot Tim Champion (also the producer/engineer) somehow get overlooked in the hip, flavor-of-the-moment disposition of their geographic environs. Yet their sophomore effort is hands down the best urban roots rock album to come down the pike in a long, long time. Drop the needle (metaphorically speaking) on track one side two and be prepared to be blown away by “Pouring Out My So” - a cinematic anthem which embraces soul and country akin to the best Muscle Shoals had to offer. “Watch Your Language” and “Lay It Down” capture the restless Americana spirit of Steve Earle’s Guitar Town or Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by way of a funky swamp groove that percolates slightly behind the beat. Too bad Steve Marriott isn’t around to enjoy the Nuts’ loving remake of “Thirty Days In The Hole” - he’d probably repay the favor with a ballsy reading of the Nuts’ druggy dirge “Lay It Down,” which closes Tales on a satisfying yet ominous note. You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need.
•
AMPLIFIER™, 2007 Amplifier, All Rights Reserved.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A HIPPY TO BE NUTS ABOUT ‘EM!
A wonder breath of fresh air has just wafted down the byways … their music is a Waldorf Salad of Sound … there’s a certain, solid wholesomeness … Tim Champion is a Master guitarist and composer/arranger, Kathena Bryant is a seasoned and very gifted vocalist …carving out a reputation of becoming The Bonnie & Clyde of collaborative teams”

Jeffery Smith, Verve Recording Artist
and Producer, also Radio Host
of SkylineJazz.com

The Hippy Nuts "have a really original sound, unusual these days, especially on MySpace.

"We have a lot of vocalists play here but none of them sound quite like Kathena Bryant"

"When Kathena Bryant plays harmonica she sounds like Bob Dylan on acid."

"THE HIPPY NUTS take the jaded n' faded genre of roots rock and crank it to eleven with soaring vocals, Guitar-God flourishes, and an after-midnight sex appeal."