Veteran musician Kim Rancourt has led bands and been on a clutch of records, but plum plum is the first one to be released under his own name. The album was produced by Don Fleming, known for his work with the Dictators NYC, Teenage Fanclub and Nancy Sinatra, and features an all-star band that includes drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, etc.), Fleming on guitar, and bassist Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult).
plum plum is an album that loosely references New York then and now. There’s a song about no wave icon Pat Place, and “She Got Hit” is a side-door tribute to Lou Reed—it’s “Sister Ray” for the era of the Second Avenue Subway. “Leave Your Light On” was written, Rancourt says, for Dolly Parton to sing, and she should, too, preferably greeting a boat of new immigrants at the Statue of Liberty. Kim says “Arkansas is Burning” is his favorite song, a pink pussy hat of a protest against political stupidity. Some protest songs don’t get dated.
Rancourt wrote all the words, and he and the band wrote all the music. Starting with Don Fleming, the guitarist (formerly with B.A.L.L., Gumball, Velvet Monkeys) and the deal-maker who assembled this gang.
“Don knew in his head exactly what he wanted,” says Kim. “Don put the band together. Of course when he mentioned who he wanted to bring in I said, ‘uh yeah.’ He felt that we didn’t need any guest stars on the record—this band was great enough.”
Joe Bouchard, founding bassist of the Blue Oyster Cult and studio savant, may be the most valuable player. “The album was mostly made live in the studio but the genius is Joe Bouchard—he is one hell of a musician and one hell of a nice guy,” says Rancourt.
Also in attendance is fellow Michigan native Steve Shelley: “I think it’s the best drumming he’s ever done. It’s snappy!,” Rancourt cackles. Two guitars—Fleming and the always in motion Gary Lucas (besides Beefheart he’s worked with Jeff Buckley, and led Gods and Monsters for many years) laying a carpet of flowers and fuzz over everything they touch. It’s glorious. “It was so much fun to see Don doing the Ron Asheton thing and Gary Lucas putting flamenco flourishes on top of the cake,” Rancourt says.
plum plum is being released on Clown Heroes Records May 12th, and today Glide Magazine is premiering the standout track “Claudine”. The song is a groovy rocker and Rancourt’s spaced out cadence feels almost like spoken word poetry, serving as a proper vehicle to showcase his eccentric, observant songwriting.
Reflecting on the song, Rancourt shares a colorful story:
I wrote “Claudine” for a Broadway Show I was writing with Andrew WK…it was about a fantasy play about a fun relationship between a young girl and Abraham Lincoln…the song is really about Mary Todd Lincoln…she was interesting and cool. It turned into Claudine somehow…I had a sense as how it would maybe sound like and Don Fleming said “you are right” and he sent it into 000uter Space…just like I was thinking!
LISTEN:
Kim Rancourt releases plum plum on Clown Heroes Records May 12th.
