In his band Shinyribs‘ latest release, Leaving Time, Kevin Russell looks back at his life with poetry, depth and soul. This Saturday, May 31, Shinyribs will celebrate with an album release show at The Heights Theater with their beloved former shiny soul sister Alice Spencer as the opener.
Houston is a special place for Russell and his band as the home of the birth of Shinyribs, a historical marker yet to be placed in front of Under The Volcano where Russell began his solo project way back in 2007.
“There’s been many times people have left me and it hurts and I’ve left other people. There’s a lot of leavings in everyone’s life and that’s kind of the theme of this album, all different ways of leaving, of coming and going and the feelings that go along with all of that,” says Russell.
“But that’s part of life,” he adds. “We are humans that have these souls and we fall in love because our hearts were made to be broken, it’s just true. Your heart is going to be broken by many people in your life. The people you love the most break your heart. That’s what happens and it’s supposed to happen that way. It doesn’t make any sense but that’s what happens,” he says with a warm chuckle. “I don’t know why I’m laughing about it.”
As the old saying goes though, sometimes one has to laugh to keep from crying and Russell has always known how to laugh. Previously known for his work with The Gourds, who recently reunited for a big and successful Austin show, Russell consistently been able to pull in an audience and start a party, a huge element to the success of Shinyribs.
For Russell, Leaving Time sees him leaning into a new light as a frontman, the conversationalist poet, a side he has always had and most recently is exploring publicly on his Substack for fans to experience.
“I am struggling because my instincts are to do a show and to get people as riled up and excited as possible. That’s what I do but this show is not about that. I’m trying to settle down and remember that this is about talking, it’s a different vibe but people don’t know what to expect.”
Fans should not worry though as Russell will always know how and when to include a good conga line or up the energy. The Houston show will feature the full band including the Tijuana Train Wreck horn section.
Leaving Time began for Russell with the track “Leaving Louisiana Blues,” a song that despite being heavy in theme still manages to have that uplifting je ne sais quoi and sweet humor that Russell’s voice and lyrics always carry.
“That is the song that sort of precipitated the whole project,” says Russell. “I really love that song. It all came out at once and I was like this is great, where in the past a song like that would come through my purview and I would decide well that’s not really stylistically what I do.”
Leaving Time saw Russell not only writing new songs but revisiting some old songs he had written in his pre Gourds days, many songs carrying a weight that may leave listeners wondering if he’s okay.
“I’m okay,” laughs Russell. “But back then I was not okay. Now I’m okay, I can look back at these songs and it’s not going to re-aggravate those scars. I’m all healed up now but that was a heavy moment in my life.”
For this project Russell relied on his bandmate multi-instrumentalist Mason Hankamer who also served as producer along with David Beck. The album was recorded in Beck’s cozy home studio in Martindale, Texas.
“I love playing music in a small room with great musicians. Acoustically, there’s really nothing better than that so recording that way seemed ideal,” says Russell of Beck’s set up .
Hankamer, who formally studied music at The University of Texas, provides Russell with a sort of yin to Russell’s yang as Russell is a self taught musician who was schooled in the ways of performing in the Louisiana and Texas dive bars.
“It’s a different record for me,” says Russell. “I definitely feel different creatively and where the muse has taken me is what I did. I wanted to do this kind of a record. It was just a musically thematic album. I wanted to lean into my songwriter side more than my song and dance man side so that’s always a balance,” says Russell admitting that throughout the years and through Shinyribs he has leaned more heavily into his role as a big show band leader.
Through reflection and the overarching message of losing and finding relationships of this album, Russell relates it all not only to the natural cycles of life but for him personally and more recently the shifts he has experienced through the loss of his father and his now rejuvenated friendships with The Gourds and Alice Spencer respectively.
“I just write songs,” explains Russell as the themes of old songs continue to hold relevant messages to the present time. “They just come out of me, I don’t really think about them a whole lot. I just do it. I am just a vessel really and truly and I think about it later. Poems and songs are like puzzles in that way, they change meaning over time.”
Leaving Time is available now. Shinyribs will perform with support from Alice Spencer on Saturday, May 31 at The Heights Theater, 339 W. 19th. Doors at 7 p.m. $32.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
