Page 59 - ION Indie Magazine_JulyAug 2021

KP: You recorded a duet with fellow Texan J.R. Castillo, ‘Give In
To Me,’ which will also be released before the album. How did that
collaboration come about?

Korey: I was the guitar player in his band for several years. J.R. has
been a friend and mentor to both of us over the years. He co-produced
the project (this album), and I thought his voice would sound great on
the track. Turns out, it sounds better than I expected.

Dana: It’s sexy as hell!

KP: How did the pandemic affect Kerosene Drifters and what
adjustments did you make? Are you back to gigging on a regular
basis? Any tours planned?

Korey: We definitely had to pivot. Since we knew most folks were stuck
inside, we decided to bring the show to them by live streaming from our
home. We tried to have fun with it. We even did theme nights; called it
‘Themed Throwback Thursdays,’ and counted down the decades from
the 90s to the 60s, playing songs from those decades and dressing the
part.

Dana: We were in South Padre Island playing a string of shows when
the world shut down. It was wild! We drove 12 hours straight home and
pretty immediately started live streaming. That kept us sane. Later in the
year, we decided to take a leap of faith and put everything into making
this album. We’re starting to see the gigs come back, but they’re still not
fully there. Some places we used to play still haven’t scheduled live
music. Once the album comes out, we’ll be doing album release parties
and looking at San Antonio, Dallas, and Lubbock for those shows.

KP: Here’s a question I ask many of the artists that I interview:
What defines ‘success’ in the music industry for you?

Korey: GRAMMYs and millions of dollars. I’m kind of kidding. I play
music because I love it, but it would be nice to be rewarded for all the
hard work that goes into it. The ultimate goal is to create songs and
record them and be proud at the end of the day.

Dana: Being able to pay your bills while still getting to do what you love.
Connecting with people on an otherworldly level with music that you
create is also pretty awesome and I count that as a successful show.