Karyn Kuhl Band releases new version of ‘Be Your Friend’ for Valentine’s Day

by CINDY STAGOFF
Karyn Kuhl Be Your Friend

ALAN RAND

KARYN KUHL

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the extremely talented Karyn Kuhl Band have released a new version of their sizzling song, “Be Your Friend.” If this song doesn’t motivate you to seduce your best friend or buy red roses for your partner, nothing will.

The new version features a horn section arranged by Jeremy Wilms and recorded by Tom Beaujour, with Mike Kammers on tenor and baritone saxes and Eric Biondo on trumpet. The opening notes get our attention with hypnotic guitars and stirring beats and the horns punctuate and bolster Kuhl’s seductive reasoning, adding another sexy musical tone to an overwhelmingly great song that is more exciting than ever. The horn section adds another voice that embraces Kuhl’s sultry persuasion throughout the piece, including the moment when she reminds her love interest:

You said you need a little magic
You’ve had enough of tragic
To last you for a thousand years
You wanna take some chances
Stop spurning my advances
Why you gotta run away again and again
Come and get all that I can give
Why can’t we just live?

The horn section escorts her out the door when she ends the piece singing, “I just want to be your friend.” I don’t think so. Play this song and I challenge you to resist dancing around your room or daydreaming about romance.

Karyn Kuhl did the artwork for the Karyn Kuhl Band’s “Be Your Friend (Deluxe)” single.

Kuhl is joined in her current band by guitarist/producer James Mastro, drummer Jonpaul Pantozzi and bassist Larry Heinemann; however, on this new version of “Be Your Friend,” Lou Ciarlo, who recently left the band, plays bass.

“We are here to uplift with a three-minute pop/soul Valentine gift before we hit the studio to record our latest and greatest. The song was calling out for a horn section, so we had to oblige,” said Kuhl.

As I have written previously on NJArts.net, this band creates a trance-like state that brings you inside Kuhl’s powerful lyrics of loss, longing and love. With just the right amount of musical intensity, this group is compelling and exciting and will have more to offer after they finish recording their new EP this month at Montclair’s Magic Door Recording, owned by Elk City member Ray Ketchem. The EP will feature four songs: “Hey Kid,” ”The Wheels,” “It’s Over” and “Strong Woman Blues.”

Kuhl said the EP will be released later this year and that the songs all have to do with how she’s feeling now. She played her anthem “It’s Over” recently at Fox & Crow in Jersey City and sang with an unforgettable fierce conviction and warning:

The family tree ain’t what it used to be
And it will never be what it was
We know it’s over and so do you
So three cheers to the new red, white and blue
The end is near and it’s what you fear
Because the future is female, black and queer
You know it’s over … you can’t stop time …
You can’t stop the power of the people’s revolution.

While her upcoming songs mirror my current mood, “Be My Friend (Deluxe)” takes me to a positive place with the promise of new beginnings, romance and passion, just in time for Valentine’s Day. You can download it for free (and there’s a name-your-price option if you want to show your gratitude) from now until Valentine’s Day. Visit karynkuhl.bandcamp.com.

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