By GERRY GALIPAULT

(May 17, 1998)

Kieran Kane's second Dead Reckoning album, "Six Months, No Sun" (released April 7), is a contrast in styles. The lyrics are melancholy, but the sound anything but. The Nashville singer-songwriter enjoys that contradiction.

"A review came in the other day," Kane said recently, "where they thought the songs were, not depressing, but dark and suddenly realizing that they were tapping their feet and clicking their fingers along to them at the same time. To me, I kind of write grooves, so regardless of what the tone of the song is, it may be melancholy, but they're usually groove-oriented in some way. They're very simple, melodically."

By design, Kane also took a new sonic route from his last album.

"One of the things I wanted to do," he said, "was record some of the tracks in my own studio, kind of following my demo process, only being a little more careful because when I do a demo, if it's not in tune, I don't even care. I was looking for a whole new, bottom-end sound to the record. I was looking for something with more just rhythms and songs.

"A song like 'J'aime Faire L'amour' reflects that process the most in that it's purely a groove in the song; there are no licks or fills, aside from the string parts. I also wanted to bring in Tammy (Rogers) and have her do kind of a string part playing."

"Six Months, No Sun" is the first Dead Reckoning release of the year, three years after Kane formed the label with Rogers, Mike Henderson, Harry Stinson and Kevin Welch - a small indie alternative to mighty Music Row.

"It's still slow," Kane said, "but we're still in business, and my accountant tells me that's a victory in and of itself. In '97, we only put out one record. We changed all of our distribution relationships; we're no longer working with Rounder, and we have new distribution in Europe, so this album is the first album in the new rearranged way of doing business.

"I almost feel like we're starting over again and, in some ways, a little bit smarter. We've figured out better ways of doing things, and we accomplished a lot in the first three years. We're on a five-year plan, really, and I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel now.

"The big problem is that we have no way of getting heard; there's no serious radio outlet. I mean, it's doing very well on the Americana chart, but that doesn't turn into very much retail sales. The reviews have been tremendous, but reviews don't sell records either."

By GERRY GALIPAULT

(Nov. 25, 1993)

If it weren't for a few nearsighted 7-Eleven clerks who ask for his driver's license when he tries buying a six-pack, Kieran Kane would never know he's not getting any younger.

The boyish-looking singer-songwriter, once one-half of the popular duo The O'Kanes, is hitting his stride in his mid-40s at a time when most veteran performers would consider throwing up their hands to the new breed.

"I don't envy in any way the sort of rash of younger successful country artists," Kane said from his Nashville home, "because I realize at this point how quickly that bright flame can burn out. ... I wonder sometimes when I see a lot of these younger guys and women how they will be able to sustain over the years.

"Sometimes that rush of adulation can become pretty heady stuff. It's easy to take it for granted. You develop an invincible feeling about yourself."

There's no chance of that happening with Kane, who knows the pitfalls all too well. With his heralded debut Atlantic album, "Find My Way Home," he's approaching his third time around at country fame with caution.

In the early '80s, the New York-born -and-raised Kane took his first shot at a solo career and saw limited chart success with an album on Elektra and a few Top-10 country singles. He and Elektra soon parted amicably, disagreeing over what direction he should take.

In the mid-'80s, Kane teamed with fellow Tree Publishing Co. songwriter Jamie O'Hara to form The O'Kanes, noted primarily for their flawless Everly Brothers-like harmonies. After three records for CBS, The O'Kanes disbanded in 1989, and Kane went back to his bread and butter: songwriting.

A few years later, Kane took demos he and co-producer/drummer Harry Stinson put together to the head of Atlantic's Nashville office, Rick Blackburn, the same man who signed The O'Kanes to CBS.

Kane's second solo try has some critics calling it one of the year's best country albums.

The persona of "Find My Way Home," buoyed by the leadoff single "I'm Here To Love You," is of a man who admits he's made some mistakes and is trying to make amends. The track "Forgive and Forget" says it all: "To live in peace, to be free of the past/To close my eyes in sweet dreams is all that I ask/But if I die and peace has not come yet/Write on my stone I tried to forgive and forget."

"As a writer, I think everything, in some way, is personal," Kane said. "It's hard to avoid it. It may be just an immediate flash of something, an emotion you're feeling at the time.

"I've known a few writers who write songs and say, 'Well, that song isn't really about me,' but there's always some element of it that's about you. Maybe it's an element you're trying to suppress.

"I don't think I regret much. Everything one goes through is a learning experience. The negative things are probably more a learning experience than the positive ones. Sometimes you look back on things and say, 'Gee, I could have done that differently,' and in the future you may take that information along with you when the next time you're confronted with a similar situation."

Kane has learned from the experiences in his three-part career, the good and the bad.

"One of the things I've learned is that I'm not too concerned what it is the record label wants," he said. "Quite frankly, the thing for me is, if I'm happy and pleased with the work that's done, then that's the ultimate satisfaction.

"And after that, it's pretty much out of my control. There's a great freedom with that realization."