A worthy 'Burden'

By Rick Koster   Day staff writer  r.koster@theday.com   Music critics and hipster theorists, whose job it is to speculate about such things, have long pondered the question: Did hip hop replace R&B/soul/funk music — or is rap only the latest step in the evolution of those forms? The answer is gloriously on display in "Love Ain't a Burden," the first-ever solo release by WT, also known familiarly in the New London music community as multi-instrumentalist/producer Tommy McKissick. "'Love Ain't a Burden' is all of those things wrapped up together. For this album, I wanted to go back and portray all the music I've played and loved — classic soul, jazz, funk and rock," says McKissick, 66, in a recent conversation. As for the WT moniker, McKissick explains, "My birth name is Wallace Thompson McKissick, Jr. My Dad's nickname was WT and, being originally from South Carolina, my family always pronounced it as 'Dubba T.' My father always encouraged me to pursue my dreams so, in his honor, my stage name is now WT." To give an A-Z listen to the effortless sonics and groove of "Love Ain't a Burden" is to know McKissick did Dubba T proud. As the tracks ease by, it's like standing in the center of a sonic carousel as artists such as Parliament, Hendrix, Bill Withers, Hot Chocolate, Sun Ra, The Gap Band, Sly & the Family Stone, Barry White and Marvin Gaye swirl around you. But the album also contains smoothly integrated rap, a bit of Auto Tune and several rhythmic and production techniques associated with contemporary hip hop and pop. "Definitely, I've also tried to stay current through hip hop. I do think it's all connected, and I've tried to put everything I've learned about rap into the production and feel of ('Love Ain't a Burden'). Plus, last year, I helped my son Ian release a hip hop album under the name Justus Preech." Physical CDs of "Love Ain't a Burden" can be ordered from CD baby and Amazon, and digital copies are available through iTunes and Amazon. Musical cruise "Love Ain't a Burden" works wonderfully as a complete listening experience. An underpinning of warm, mellow funk serves as a lulling foundation over which the 10 songs are constructed. And despite the array of influences and subjects, the album is an ideal headphones experience; to interrupt the flow at any point seems to be an interruption of a pleasant journey. Highlights include "Missing You," a sweetly flowing soul ballad with Auto Tuned vocals. "Get Down" is the song Barry White wishes he'd written. "All Night" is a laidback instrumental with a high-pitched songbird melody floating over gurgling bass and drums. And "Back in '74" has WT looking back with the vibe and presentation you'd expect if Gil Scott-Heron had actual fond memories of high school. But McKissick's muse can't help but also reflect our somber times. And though calling the title track "Love Ain't a Burden" might suggest a romantic declaration, it's more than that. Along with "Listen to Me" and "Million Moons," those three tunes are central set pieces for the recording — and all are pleas for political and cultural understanding. "It seems more and more that everybody's against everything," McKissick sighs. "It gets worse. I have friends I grew up with and I listen to the anger and how dismissive they are of our society. I wanted to just say, 'The world is going to go on, let's take down the rhetoric and think about this. I mean, haven't we learned anything?'" Long time coming Maybe it's fortuitous that McKissick has only recently made his first album of all original material. He says it had always been his plan to do so, but it never worked out. "The reality is that it's been an emotional tug of war," he explains. "You always say you're going to be an original band and try to be stars, but the reality is usually that you end up being a cover band because that's the only way to get work. And you look around and a lot of time's gone by. And I thought, 'I ain't getting any younger.'" McKissick was born in South Carolina and his family moved to New London in the early 1960s. He attended New London High School, graduated from Knoxville College in Tennessee, and earned a master's in public administration from the University of Hartford. McKissick enjoyed a long career in social services, providing home care for the elderly. And, of course, he never stopped playing and taking joy in music. For decades, McKissick has been a fixture in the New London music scene. With friends and colleagues like Andre "Dre" Charles as well as the late Karl Kelly and recently deceased Dwight "The Professor" Baldwin, McKissick played in popular soul, funk and rock acts like The Shades of Joy, The Mpossibles, The Catch as well as his current cover band Undivided. The pandemic finally provided the time for McKissick, who is retired, to focus on his own songs. As a producer and engineer as well as a musician, McKissick has a home studio in his garage, complete with recording equipment and musical instruments. Though he had bits and pieces of some material laying around, McKissick wrote and recorded most of "Love Ain't a Burden" by himself during the lockdown. "Every time I walk into that garage, it's like therapy. I just feel a release and a sense of happiness," says McKissick, who has a resonant voice and is quick to laugh. "Sometimes I have to move my wife's car because that's where the vocal booth is." It was also a pleasure, he says, to reach out to former and/or current musical compatriots for their contributions on the album, as well. Bassists Bert Coburn and Mike Frishman, percussionist Andre Charles, guitarist Tom Perrone and keyboardist Joey Seymour all appear on selected album tracks. McKissick's son Ian, his partner in the Justus Preech project, wrote the lyrics for "We Want to Do It," and Jon Quinn handles the mixing duties on "Missing You." In a particularly bittersweet context, shortly before he died, Dwight "The Professor" Baldwin provided a percussion track. "I love this record," says Charles, who has been friends with McKissick since both their mothers worked in the New London school system. "We were all family and Tommy and I ended up in music. We've been in so many bands together and it's all there on this album — all the way up to now. He's captured it all and it's just like he plays onstage, with heart and passion every time." Ultimately, "Love Ain't a Burden" is an album McKissick couldn't or wouldn't have made earlier in his career when, like so many others, he was young and had dreams of fame. As with many similar artists, reality hits. When two or three decades pass and stardom hasn't happened, there's a quality of self-awareness to those who continue to play and write music. It's the realization that it really wasn't about glory at all but rather the simple purity of a love of music and the brotherhood of making music with people you love. And THEN, when the songs come, they're well earned. "You know, 'Love Ain't a Burden' is in many ways the story of my life," McKissick laughs. "It goes all the way back to when we were kids and we'd look at cars like a Porsche and say to each other, 'One day I'm gonna get me one of those.' Well, I got the Porsche, but not from royalties or whatever. And that's fine. But the music never stopped. It's about desire and attitude, and you can't help but let all the music over the years stay with you and remind you." To listen Who: Tommy "WT" McKissick What: "Love Ain't a Burden" How to find: $10 directly by directly emailing Tmack@mpossiblemusic.com">. For more information: www.mpossiblemusic.com   https://www.theday.com/aemusic/20220213/love-aint-burden-is-debut-cd-from-tommie-mckissick