Gina Barcal
What do KISS, zombie punk and Loretta Lynn have in common? Gina Barcal. For years, the Chicago-reared musician has been a creative Jill of all trades, whether stepping into the very large boots of Paul Stanley in Chicago’s all-female KISS tribute band Slutter or whipping up walking dead surf rock in her original band Venom Lords. But something always felt like it was missing.
“Those projects were fun but I had songs that just never fit with some of the projects and people I was playing with,” says Barcal who secretly dreamed of a country or rockabilly project. On her debut solo EP, Midwest 'til the End, Barcal satisfies that creative itch, entering a new era where Americana and blue blood country rise up to the surface.
“I’ve retired the makeup,” says Barcal. “This is me coming forward as a songwriter and artist. I’m no longer hiding."
Out November 7, the self-released 6-song stunner is a snapshot of roots, reckoning, and real life that calls to mind the outlaw spirit of Nikki Lane, the twangy heart of Margo Price and the alt pop sensibilities of Jenny Lewis. Or, as Barcal likes to sum it up, it’s “caught between the Midwest’s rural edges and rock clubs and dive bars of the city.”
Recording the album in Nashville at Beaird Music Group helped Barcal tap into her sharp-as-nails songwriting roots, where she was able to blend heartfelt storytelling steeped in small-town family heritage. “I’m a nostalgic person,” Barcal admits. “I grew up on country classics like Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and I wanted this record to be a nod to them and a nod to my upbringing in the Midwest.”
All of the songs pull from her own life experiences and paint pictures of the people closest to her. There’s “The Girl From the River Town,” a love letter to her parents and their life together. “It’s the ballad of Jane and Ray,” says Barcal. “I wish they got to hear it. They have both passed on. But I pieced it together from stories they told me about trying to find themselves but instead finding each other.”
The EP’s first single, “Long Tall Lover” (inspired by Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”), tells of a similar journey from Barcal’s own point of view. “It’s about wanting to go out into the world, leave home and then, wouldn’t you know it … a good time comes around and there goes that plan. It’s not such a bad thing, though. Maybe what you were hoping to find is right where you are.”
There’s also “Smoky Mountain High,” which takes a short detour to the South. The song takes cues from the ‘80s country hit “Smoky Mountain Rain” by Ronnie Milsap while telling the story of Barcal’s elopement with her husband Dave. The couple is now based in the Indiana Dunes alongside their dogs, her ‘61 Ford Rachero and their mid-century home, but Barcal says, “We are forever tied to the Smoky Mountains. I wanted to capture it in a song.”
But Barcal’s favorite track is “The Fire Won’t Stay Alive,” which she first wrote 15 years ago and is finally seeing the light of day. “It felt like it came out of nowhere. It pulled me out of the power chord rock rut I was in, and it’s taken all these years to find the right place and time for this song,” says Barcal. “But it showed me where I could go with music. I just needed to keep heading that way. And here I am.”
If there’s any overarching theme to the album, it’s that sense of evolution. “The album is about growing up and knowing you don’t have to leave and go find yourself,” says Barcal. “I always thought I wanted to leave the Midwest in the dust, but it wouldn’t let me go.” Instead, she’s finally made her peace, proud of being Midwest ‘Til the End.