Longtime Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye has announced that his debut solo album, Goin' Local, will be released on July 17 via Yep Roc Records.
At 79, the punk pioneer and "godfather of garage rock" steps forward with a deeply personal collection written over the course of many years - piecing together a lifetime of experiences and expansive musical language to find his truest voice.
"I feel like I'm a new artist," says Kaye. "I think this album will surprise those who think they know me from what I've done previously."
On Goin' Local, Kaye calls upon several longtime collaborators, including Patti Smith - who co-wrote "Solstice" - continuing a half-century-long creative partnership behind some of their most iconic work, from "Free Money" and "Ghost Dance" to "Radio Ethiopia" and "Southern Cross."
Additional collaborators include jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone, The Jayhawks' John Jackson and multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield.
The twelve song collection finds Kaye fully embracing his expansive musical sensibility, while marking his most autobiographical and introspective turn yet.
"I've always loved the local, its intimacy and camaraderie...I feel that the truest 'Goin' Local' is the privilege to go inside my own head and hear how I sound to me," he says of the title track.
Goin' Local follows Kaye's recent memoir, "Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll (Ecco)."
This spring, Kaye will hit the road with Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore for a string of East Coast dates.
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