The KARNEY arrangement of “HEART OF GOLD” features guest drummer Jim Bogios (Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow), and was the band’s first in-studio recording since Covid. Anna Karney chose this piece for a few different reasons, first of which is that Neil Young is one of her musical heroes. His relentless expression of truth and his brilliance as a singer-songwriter are a major influence in her own music. “It is important to keep his music alive in our national conversation,” says Anna. “In addition, given the rise of racism, gun violence, and division in our country, I think searching for a ‘heart of gold’ is so important in promoting a movement towards a more forgiving, kind, and respectful society. It is a desperately needed message.”
Keeping her mind on social justice and positive messages, Anna Karney’s lyrical content offers a sardonic and sometimes straightforward approach to many of the issues facing people today. Channeling her loneliness, she penned her first love song inspired by all the dear friends she has missed for the past year. All KARNEY really wants is to reunite and to finally “Be Together” with those she loves.
To create the “Be Together” single, KARNEY band musicians worked from individual studios to assemble their parts and build the track. Singer/guitarist Anna Karney, bassist Kevin White (The Chuck Prophet Band), and guitarist James DePrato (The Chuck Prophet Band) all recorded tracks at their own home studios. Drummer Jeff Herrera created rough drum parts in his rehearsal studio and sent them to trumpet player Bill Ortiz (Santana, Tony Toni Tone), who then recreated them digitally. All the tracks were then sent to producer/mixer Michael Rosen, who finished the mix at his East Bay Recorders studio. Even though the single is titled “Be Together,” the musicians never were. Such has been the reality during this past year, but the band is looking forward to reuniting soon after vaccinations, with each other and most of all their fans.
Before the release of the Better EP in 2020, KARNEY released her previous album of original songs titled No Mercy in 2018, which received broad national radio airplay on Triple-A and Americana radio stations, and internationally as well. On that album as well as on previous releases, KARNEY has worked with producers and artists in the SF Bay Area such as Producer/engineer Mark Pistel (Michael Franti, Grace Jones, Chuck Prophet), Producer/Engineer Michael Rosen (Rancid, Tesla, Smashmouth, Santana, and Papa Roach), and Adam Munoz (Herbie Hancock, Dave Mathews, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Chester Thompson, and Lyle Lovett).
Anna Karney’s musical influences include Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Patti Smith, John Lennon, Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde, and Joni Mitchell. As an arranger, pianist, and guitarist, she has worked with artists such as George Clinton, Linda Perry, and Dennis Bovell. Anna Karney has had a diverse musical career, having spent many years composing music for games such as Star Wars Galaxies, Monkey Island IV, Armed and Dangerous, several SimCity titles, Metal Dungeon, Death Jr., and many more.
Visit the KARNEY website for more information: www.karney.org or https://karney.bandcamp.com
To order or stream the “HEART OF GOLD” single on digital services please visit: smarturl.it/KarneyHeartOfGold
To order or stream the “BE TOGETHER” single on digital services please visit: smarturl.it/KarneyBeTogether
For Press and Interview inquiries please contact Billy James of Glass Onyon PR at (828) 350-8158 or glassonyonpr@gmail.com
For Digital Marketing please contact Jerome Forney of Independent Distribution Collective at jerome@independentdistro.com
For Radio inquiries please contact Peter Hay of Twin Vision Radio Promotion at TwinVision@aol.com
Billy James
Glass Onyon PR
828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com