Collar City Records and myself are pleased to announce the winners of the “Why Kentucky?” Contest!!!! A few folks were close to the mark, but only one person was able to come up with the correct reason why I named my forthcoming album “Kentucky“…

The idea to run the contest was probably a little ridiculous in hindsight, but I believe it served its purpose, which was to incite people to listen to the album. I must admit the answer was somewhat esoteric which is why the “most awesome incorrect” answer clause was built-in. Midway through the contest, a “hint” was offered to the folks at All Over Albany. Hint dissection will occur momentarily, but first…

Patrick C. from Northampton, MA guessed the correct answer to the “Why Kentucky?” Contest! He wrote:

“I think it’s because you’re playing a Kentucky Mandolin on the album. In fact, it looks a lot like the one shown on this page:

http://www.playbetterbluegrass.com/kentucky_km630_2544_prd1.htm

I have to say it’s not very likely that I would have come up with that guess if not for your punny hint on the All Over Albany blog.“

Yes, my friend, you are correct! As noted in the few pictures on my MySpace page, that is indeed a Kentucky Mandolin. I use a modified KM-675 that was set-up by Sten Isachsen who upgraded the tailpiece, removed some of the higher (unnecessary, for me at least) frets and installed an LR Baggs pickup. It’s been quite a workhorse of an instrument over the past few years of heavy gigging with The Kamikaze Hearts.

SPOILER ALERT!!

While naming the album “Kentucky” after the brand name of my mandolin might seem a little trite, it’s not just a tribute to an instrument that was played on the album, it is the instrument that provided EVERY sound (save for the handclaps and vocals) on the album. Yes, everything — any “distorted” sounds were the mandolin through an overdriven guitar pedal, any bass sounds were the mandolin through a Super Octave pedal, any “drum” or “percussion” type sounds were performed by scraping, banging or tapping on the mandolin pickup, looped through a Boomerang pedal.

From the beginning of the project, I felt that limiting my instrument usage to just the mandolin would keep me focused on the task at hand which was to write and record an album in less than 29 days. It was exciting to layer and put together different sounds to make this album and I am very proud of the outcome. Revealing / bragging about the method in which I “limited” myself instrumentally seemed a little forced, so I thought that putting it out to the public to figure it out or at least listening to it without that knowledge would be more rewarding when I did let that information loose.

As far as the “most awesome incorrect” answer? This was a tough call - so tough that I had to enlist the help of the crowd at the CD release show at Amrose & Sable Gallery! It came down to two entries both from NYC residents; Justin M. entered a long-winded theory that involved 1963 (when I was 5 ?!?!?) and affected geese droppings while Nina K. offered:

“The reason that Matthew Loiacono’s new album is called Kentucky is because Barbietucky sounded weird.

I can back this up with proof.“

Classic. The audience spoke, and Nina’s entry won, unanimously.

Patrick and Nina were glad to accept their wins and both turned the $50 owed to them into “other than cash” situations. Patrick chose to donate his winnings to the Grand Street Community Arts folks! Awesome! He apparently lived in Albany for a while before moving to Northampton, MA and is happy to give back to the community. (Grand Street was the location where the We Are Architects #1 event was held!). Nina simply asked for enough copies of “Kentucky” to share with her friends! Thanks!

KENTUCKY HINTS:
1. Included in the .zip file that included the mp3s for the record was a text file for the liner notes and a picture of me holding the mandolin with the “K” and part of the “e” on the headstock showing.
2. The MySpace photo gallery linked above is named “Kentucky Era” — in it were three photos, a fuzzy me, a picture of the Super Octave pedal (with the words “a crucial ingredient” captioned under it), and a picture of the mandolin next to the case. One would have to have a MySpace account to have viewed these pics, so perhaps not the best hint.
3. The AOA post read:

Well, let’s just say it’s probably not what people think it might be and it may take a little snooping to figure it out. There are hints that could be instrumental in helping to figure out the answer zipped up in a few different sources.

OK - “little snooping” = dig harder!!!, “instrumental” = noting that it may just be in what made the record, “zipped up” = look in the zip file, “a few different sources” = urging folks to look around a bit.
4. In Heartstack.Org’s header, I included a meta tag that said “Kentucky Mandolin” (which relates to the “sources” hint in #3 — you’d have to look in the source code for the site to find the tag.)

All right! That is that! Thanks for participating, listening and being a part of “Kentucky“s release!

Speaking of: the album will “officially” be released by Collar City Records on Tuesday, June 3rd. Physical copies will be available through the CCR Store and digital copies will be available at all major download stores (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon mp3 and MORE!) The album will also be bundled together with the three other recordings that will be released by CCR in June! More info on that VERY soon!

(P.S. if you see me on the street (or at work) before June 3rd, I’m sure I could be pursuaded to let a copy of the album slide into your hands…)