Texas-based country rocker Marcy Grace unveils her new single and music video, “Knockout,” a track from her upcoming debut long player, Tear It Up, slated to drop on August 22. Tear It Up was produced by Kenny Lane Schwartz of Red Fox Recording in Bandera, Texas.
“This album is all me and my band,” explains Grace. “We did bring in Aaron Castilla on fiddle for ‘Heavens to Betsy’ and ‘Mr. Lonely Eyes,’ and Tina Turner’s fiddle on ‘Look Who’s Countin’ and ‘Mason Jar.’ We also brought in John Macy on pedal steel. I’m so proud of this group and what we created; it’s everything I hoped for. And getting to record a song I wrote with my dad, Patrick Camacho, makes it even more special.”
Talking about “Knockout,” Grace shares, “I’m a huge sports fan and boxing is like top three for me, so when the title ‘Knockout’ came to my mind, I knew I could do something cool that blended the imagery of boxing and the dancefloor. I started writing lyrics and melody, and finished the rest of the song with my co-writer Patrick Dodge out of NY and TN.”
Grace began playing drums at age 5, an instrument she kept at through high school and college. She started playing guitar when she was 11 years old. “My dad was taking guitar lessons at the time, and he could come home and teach me what he learned.”
According to Grace, “I wrote my first song when I was 13, it was a total rip-off of another song, ha-ha. It took until I was 15 or 16 in high school before I really started taking songwriting seriously.”
She goes on, “My main guitar is a Fender Thinline Tele—it’s got the twang and bite that fits perfectly with my country rock sound. I’ll also break out my rebuilt Martin Stinger during shows when I want to switch things up. For acoustic, I play a Taylor 416ce, a 2012 Fall Limited Edition with a cedar top that gives it a warm, rich tone.”
“Knockout” rolls out on growling guitars riding a potent rhythm. Grace’s luscious, twangy vocals, vaguely reminiscent of Dolly Parton jacked on steroids, imbue the lyrics with wickedly swaggering flair, the kind of brazen allure that crooks its finger at you, inviting you into her domain. Carefully controlled yet blistering licks add scorching heat to the solo.
An unbridled and swashbuckling demonstration of the songwriting chops of Marcy Grace, “Knockout” separates her from the pack. The woman can sing! And she makes her guitar sit up and howl.
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