By Judy Shields
Los Angeles, California (The Hollywood Times) 02/24/2024
With a reputation of creating lyrical content in her songs that are instantly memorable, Liz Kennedy has announced the release of her most recent single “Waving At Trains” which evokes nostalgia and pure delight to the ears and hearts of her listeners. “Waving At Trains” is available for pre-save HERE.
Watch the lyric video on her official artist YouTube channel HERE.
Liz reflects, “This first song from my coming album continues to reflect the rootsy quality that I have been leaning towards, combining acoustic instruments with the rock and blues elements from my own folk background as a young kid in the early 60’s. My producer, Joel Jaffe, has done wonders helping me move my Americana sound forward to its eclectic, modern finish.”
“My sister lives at a ranch right on the ocean. A train rolls past daily. They have this great bocce ball court that looks out at the trains and the sea beyond. Her whole family surfs. They walk under the tracks and out to the beach. I visited with my grandkids once. While there I wrote this song, using some piano keys on my cellphone as I had no other instrument handy,” shared Liz Kennedy. “Young Jamie had just mastered knowing all the state capitols at the age of 6, so I threw in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a kid I would love waving at trains. You don’t see who’s there, always, but hope someone is looking. And as the song says, I’ve always lived near the sea. And where I grew up trains are often sailing right along the beach.”
“Train rolling down the tracks
Sailing by the sea so fast
Little girl sipping on her tea
At the window so that she can see
Heading home to Lincoln Nebraska
It’s the capital you can just ask her
On her way back from her grandma’s
The whole trip she’ll wear pajamas
Mama there’s a girl standing on the waves
I can’t tell if she’ll be ok
Sara she won’t get hurt
That blond girl knows how to surf
Crossing trestle bridge so high
Cliff to cliff how a train can fly
Fly train fly
Like a bird up in the sky…
Produced by Joel Jaffe and Liz Kennedy and engineered and mixed by J. Jaffe, “Waving At Trains” was recorded at Studio on the Hill with Liz Kennedy (vocals, piano), Omega Rae (backing vocals), Billy Johnson (drums), Marc Levine (bass), J Jaffe (acoustic guitar, dobro and BG vocals), Eamonn Flynn (piano), Lorin Rowen (mandolin, acoustic guitar, BG vocals), Hardy Hemphill (harmonica, strings, penny whistle, BG vocals), Tom Rigney (fiddle and strings.)
“Who doesn’t like to ride a train, listen to the horn blow or even watch it out of a moving car window or a front/back window of a home. Liz Kennedy’s song will do just that and take you back to the day you last saw a train and even have you remembering all the memories you might have had of trains. Download it today and take that trip down memory lane.” Judy Shields, The Hollywood Times
Enjoy our conversation about her latest song “Waving At Trains” and things Liz Kennedy:
Stay current with everything Liz Kennedy on her website www.lizkennedymusic.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube Channel for the latest videos.
Music is available on all digital platforms Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
About Liz Kennedy:
After going through a whirlwind of life changes, the San Francisco based singer-songwriter, Liz Kennedy, has come to see songwriting not as a choice but something she has to do. She says music sustains her and offers a way forward. Her decade-plus as a critically acclaimed recording artist has brought her confidence in her ever-unfolding identity as a quirky, often humorous and ever-insightful storyteller committed to honesty and finding something unique to say.
Jaffe, whose credits include Maria Muldaur, Lenny Williams and Magic Christian, is the renowned engineer and producer of Studio D in Sausalito, where legendary artists like Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr and Carlos Santana have recorded. One of the greatest influences on Kennedy’s development since she took the plunge into recording, he has helmed all her previous recordings, “Clean White Shirt”, “A Good Peach”, “Nothing Like an Angel”, “Speed Bump”, and “Hike Up Your Socks”. Jaffe adds numerous string textures to Kennedy’s songs, including acoustic and electric guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and ebow.
Kennedy describes herself as honest and observant and adds, “I sure hope I can easily laugh at myself.” Her songcraft – where the lyrics always follow the music – perfectly reflects that thoughtful self-assessment. The fascinating part of the process is not knowing just where the inspiration will come from. “It’s strange how emotional pain and joy can equally send you racing to the piano to capture something … whether it’s a butterfly or a heavy brick.
After graduating from Stanford University, where she studied anthropology, journalism and communications, she settled in the Bay Area, where she worked for film companies that made TV commercials for many years. Long before reality TV became a mainstream part of our culture, Kennedy specialized in casting real people (instead of professional actors) for commercials. She was also married and raised two children. In her later 40s, around the time she began realizing she had “songs in my head” that had never been recorded, she met Jaffe, who liked what he heard and encouraged her to take her work as a singer/songwriter more seriously. In addition to her growing catalog of recordings, she has performed over the years at such renowned Bay Area hotspots as Sweetwater Music Hall, the Razz Room, the Throckmorton Theatre and many more. Kennedy enjoys performing live and the connection people make to her songs in an intimate setting. Yet before performing there is recording. “There are inexpressibly sublime moments in the studio, listening to what these great musicians bring to my songs,” she says. “I have literally fallen to my knees with the joy of an unexpectedly beautiful touch. There’s no greater moment for me than when we are all listening to the finished product and loving what we hear, experiencing our collective ownership.”
