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Kable...Kay Bonya has been making her
own brand of music since the 90's...oscillating between guitar-driven rockish cuts, psychological explorations, storytelling
and dreamscapes...you never know which instruments are going to build the song but as each cd progresses, they flesh
out into a complete work, encapsulating the many moods of Kable. A Kable history written by
Kay..."Kable's beginnings in June of 1994 were somewhat of a fluke. I was asked to check out a piece
of used equipment that was just purchased for Deep Dot Studio. It was a Tascam DA88 recording deck. In the garage apartment
living room, i looked around for sound-makers to record to each of the 8 tracks. I grabbed a cheap little Tascam
M-06 mixer and an autoharp that had most of its strings and strummed a few chords. Good, track one seemed to work. Track by
track, i added sound and checked out the new machinery. Seven tracks later, Redo Makeshift came by to check
the progress. "works great-one track left for you!" Redo added some organ and the first Kable song, "Hazy"
was born. You might be thinking, "Why not just use the recording studio down the street?" But Deep Dot was
having a busy year in '94, so off to Deep Dot went the DA-88, and back to the apartment came a Tascam reel to reel analog
TSR8 recorder that wasn't being used at the studio anymore. Now I had recording-fever so i set up in the living
room and started recording the first Kable cd, Chlorophyll. My technique on this cd was crude.
The goal was to start and finish each piece in one day, very limited overdubs, focus on creating sounds more than songs, just
spit it out and run. A technique you can only get away with in the beginning, and so i did." Fast
forward 12 years and 5 cds later...the Kable sound and technique have progressed somewhat but the focus is
still on "making a mood", and the varied instrumentation aspect will probably never change. When I get
ready to record a piece, I usually have a starting instrument in mind, and if it doesn't click I scratch the notion and try
something else until a mood falls in place. And then there's live Kable shows, which have even a different twist and enrgy
when adding in long-time friends and bandmates Redo & Ardo... What am I up to these days?...finished
recording and mastering the 5th Kable cd, "The Hand" now available from Deep Dot Records, dreaming up ways to make
new sounds, fiddling with some experimental recording techniques, leading a Tuesday night Gospel singalong with Redo
at a local campground/RV park, teaching guitar to children, growing some year-round tomatoes and peppers, taking lots of wildlife/flower
photos, still riding my bike................
Kay Bonya's band history before Kable..... SPLATTER 1987-1991 Rockin outfit with Ronnie(Ron
Kenya)Brandon on bass, Jeff(Grave Largo)Walker on drums, Redo Makeshift and Kay Bonya on guitars for the first couple of years
until Ron left the band and Redo switched to bass. Jeff Walker currently drums with Texas band Ben Beckendorf, and the
whereabouts of Ron Brandon are unknown until someone reads this and lets me know. (Recent Update: Ron Brandon reports that
he is living outside of Austin) RETARDO AL DANTE 1991-1995 More rock/psych with Jeff(Ardo
Odra)Bobbitt and Kay making the guitar machine, Redo Makeshift on bass & sometimes keyboards. This outfit was
usually drummerless except for a brief and wonderful era when John Kennedy(Mo Shuffles) added his drum/percussionality
to the group. John's timing was good because at least he was able to be with the band during the "80's for Aids"
fundraiser at Numbers in Houston. After all, you almost have to have a drummer to cover 80's music, right? J.A.
Bobbitt later went on the work in Overlight/Underdark for a while and is now about to release not one but two
cd's of his music. Check him out on myspace J A Bobbitt). John Kennedy moved to New York City...not sure who he's working
with but I'd like to know if anyone knows...(Recent Update: I've heard from John and I'm listening now to his CDR "If
and When" (now available) http://www.magneticpitch.com/... great music!) Says Kay, "All these guys were
great musicians and excellent band-mates...."
John Kennedy at Magnetic Pitch
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In December of 94, the folks at Lazy Squid Records put out a compilation of Houston bands,"Risk is Just a Part of
The Game", as a follow-up to Deep Dot's 1992 compilation, "Great Big Pile." The Kable cut caught the ear
of Kurt Brennan, founder of Fleece Records. Finding out that Kable was the work of Kay Bonya, he realized this was the
same Kay who used to work at his music store, Record Exchange (now Sound Exchange) several years back. He invited
her to release "Chlorophyll" on Fleece, which turned into a long term partnership with the release of the subsequent
discs, "Tardy all the Time," "Kable 3," and "Boar of the Forest".
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Blurbs
from months past.... Sept 2011: THE HAND has arrived!! Oct 2010: Wow,
my first release without the wonderful, but now defunct, Fleece Records. But, The Hand is ready so now i am looking for a
new label to call home...oh that it would be like minded in art and spirit... Summer 2010: All done
with the production of the new disc, "The Hand". Would like to start some new recording, but hesitate until
The Hand is released. Otherwise I might feel like I need to add whatever new pieces I make to the disc and start messing with
a project that is completed. OK...maybe with some self control.... May 2009: Deep into mixing &
mastering the new cd...i like automated mixing...I remember when I didn't want to switch to computer based recording. I said
"I like standing in front of the mixer and the stability of a free standing recorder." And I do like those
things, but this has a whole new visual dimension, seeing the tracks, the look of waveforms. And there's so
many ways to experiment with mixes. January 2009: Wow, hurricane
Ike last fall really put a damper on recording momentum, but thankful to still have a home to live in. Deep Dot was spared
quite the trauma. A large tree with 2 main trunks grew at the north end. When it succumbed to the north wind, one trunk went
to the left and one trunk went to the right, straddling but not touching the studio wall. Very thankful indeed! Anyhow, things
are almost back to normal and it's time to get back to work on Kable 5... June 2008: Much further into the
recording of Kable 5...now it seems to have a stronger drum overtone and less folk sound than previous discs. Whatever the
case, they have been fun recording sessions! December
2007: thought i might round out the year with a lively bluegrass type recording in the kitchen...but the instruments
and ideas didn't feel inspired...then the project moved into the dining room and ended up being a percussion festival with
dishes....who knew that Corningware could have such pure and lovely sound? Anyhow, it's time to give those tracks a listen
and see what sounds are in store for overdubs...till next year.... October 2007: Still the slow healing from wrist surgery...archiving
lots of recordings of stuff from the vaults of Deep Dot Studio. Trying to get all DAT masters off the tape
format. This should keep me busy for some time. Check out the new Deep Dot page here at the site. It's a work in progress--I'm
trying to list the bands that recorded there during its run from 1990 to 1997. If you worked at Deep Dot, go the page and
send me any pics, info , links etc. that we can post. thanks! Aug. 2007 ....now
recovering from wrist surgery, and cautiously holding a pick, learning the true art of restraint... may
2007: Kable show at lined up at Diverse Works-Houston!
Check it out at on July 20th with Jana Hunter and Hearts of Animals. Wrist surgery postponed till
after...
march 2007: Started
work on the 5th Kable cd, which is sounding very mandolinish. A bump in the road (wrist surgery) must be dealt with early
this summer and then it's back to work I imagine... jan
2007: Well, the 4th Kable cd "Boar of the Forest" was
released on Dec. 8, 2006. "Boar" continues on with the varied
Kable style of many different instruments and home-made sounds, and it seems that this disc has more of a guitar overtone
than some of the others.
| Concert in July with Jana & HOA |
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