Keith Dion has had one hell of a stint as a musician, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker.
He has played in New Zealand’s classic cult band the Ponsonby DC’s as well as San Francisco groups The Ophelias, 3:05 AM, and Corsica.
He has also played or recorded with notables such as members of The Kinks, Thin Lizzy, Santana, The Counting Crows, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Teaming with Diana Mangano (former lead vocalist of Jefferson Airplane), Keith has created quite the artistic statement with Reno, Nevada and Other Songs of Vice, Gambling and Betrayal by Great American Robber Barons.
First thing worth noting, Keith has never written his own lyrics before.
After both of his parents died in Reno, Nevada, the San Francisco-based artist discovered a whole new dimension to his musicality. “Their deaths made me face a lot of stuff, and I keep peeling back the layers and finding these dark aspects inside of me,” Keith says. “Every song on the album is about gambling, vice and betrayal, and we really mean it.”
This album is an outstanding display of Keith’s creative abilities.
On top of an album worthy of staying on repeat, the CD is bundled with a DVD that includes “videos spanning Keith’s esteemed music biz career, including treasured visuals from his past with Noel Redding from The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Ophelias, 3:05 AM, Corsica and others originally produced and broadcasted on Television in New Zealand in the late 1980’s”.
Much of the audio and visual artistry is based on archival footage from his father’s personal collection with editing input from filmmakers Pablo Vazquez, Stephanie Gwyn-Brown and Vivian Vosu.
Keith’s lyrical content is nothing to take lightly. He covers topics such as the 99%, the atrocities of war as well as animal and women’s rights. Keith also dives into his own persona exploring the complexities of growing up as a child of a Vietnam veteran.
All 16 tracks on Reno, Nevada and Other Songs of Vice, Gambling and Betrayal flow together like tributaries of knowledge and experience streaming through the dark corners of the mind to deliver a dark but enjoyable album.
This is where you go grab your copy.
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