Interview by Kris Peters
Kevin Borich - guitar wizard, singer-songwriter, founder of the Party Boys, The La De Das, and the Kevin Borich Express - has been entertaining audiences worldwide since 1969.
His vocal prowess and extraordinary guitar playing skills have captivated generations of music followers, with countless albums bearing the trademark Borich musical timestamp still on high rotation today.
After releasing his greatest hits album Legacy in 2022, Borich went off in search of another musical milestone, and one which had been gradually taking shape over a number of years.
That record is the recently released Duets, which features artists of the caliber of Russell Morris, Leo Sayer, Suze DeMarchi (Baby Animals), Joe Walsh (Eagles), Ian Moss (Cold Chisel), Tim Rogers (You Am I), Ella Hooper (Killing Heidi), Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo), Joe Camilleri (Black Sorrows), Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool/Mondo Rock), Angela Fabian and John Swan (Swanee/Party Boys).
It is a labour of love that saw Borich writing, demoing and recording everywhere from in the tour bus to hotel rooms, to green rooms to professional studios and also saw him collaborate with a widely eclectic assortment of fellow musicians that has come together beautifully for what could well be the defining moment of a long and illustrious career.
Borich sat down with HEAVY earlier in the week to talk Duets and plenty more.
"It's been amazing," he stressed about the early reception for Duets. "It actually has charted too, which is something I haven't really had since 1979 (laughs). It got to #1 on the ARIA Blues and Jazz charts and the word is out so the reviews we are having and feedback is pretty amazing. There's so many diverse styles on the album. It's a smorgasboard of fuel for you to eat up and your brain to wonder how the hell that happened (laughs). There's a bit of jazz in there that I wrote about Amy Winehouse because I thought she was going off the rails and left us with blues. She took all her colours and died."
In the full interview, Kevin talks about some of the songs on Duets and what they are about, the writing and recording process, the guest artists and how they were chosen, where the idea came from for the album, who dared to say no, his personal feelings on the album, if he would do it again in the future and more.