by Adam Aiken
The Kris Barras Band will be in Norwich this week when they roll into town in support of new record Death Valley Paradise.
The show at the Waterfront on Wednesday, March 23, is part of their biggest headline tour so far.
Death Valley Paradise – which saw Barras collaborating with writers such as Jonny Andrews, Bob Marlette, Blair Daly and Zac Maloy – takes the band in a heavier and darker direction, with the misery of the pandemic playing a large part in the album’s formulation.
“It sums up the journey I’ve been through,” said Barras.
“As a musician, you were put into a place where it was hard to survive, and you had to do different things to keep it moving.
“For 18 months the world stood still and we realised that we didn’t have control of ourselves anymore. I had some really dark times. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to do anything. It was tough not knowing if I’d ever be able to do this again.”
He added: “I went through a cycle. At first, I tried to take it positively and then reality set in. I’ve been fortunate in my life in that I’ve been sad but never suffered from anything that I would count as depression – until last year.”
But writing the new album “was a bit of a game-changer”.
The former cage-fighter said: “More than ever, this album is me on an LP. I do think I’ve gone a little bit darker and deeper on it, writing songs about topics I haven’t done before.”
The current tour follows a sold-out UK jaunt with Black Stone Cherry, which included a show at the Royal Albert Hall.
Click here for tickets.
