Cathy’s Person of the Week is the Deep Voice of Warren County, Country Crooner Don Kincaid

Don Kincaid, a musician from Independence, admits, “I wasn’t a natural born singer, guitarist or songwriter. But I’ve worked hard at it.” He first picked up a guitar at a young age, and began to take it seriously about 20 years ago with the purpose of writing, recording and performing. Over the years, he’s performed as a solo artist, then shared the stage with Mike Foli on harmonica, and now, with a full band, he’s taking his show on the road as Don Kincaid & The Wait (a reference to Tom Petty’s song “The Waiting”).

Kincaid’s first CD came out a couple years ago, with a CD Release Party at Roy’s Hall in Blairstown in April 2017. To some listeners, Whiskey and Women has an Alt-Country/Americana flavor, to others it’s more Outlaw Country. Don himself defines it as part Americana and part straight country. However it’s tagged, he remains true to his “straight country” roots. He notes that “outlaw/alt country artists are super-intelligent, singing about real things that happened, with no place to hide and no candy-coating, very honest and very true.” That’s precisely how he composes his music, adding that “everything I write and sing comes from some sort of life experience I’ve had.”

Early on, Kincaid was exposed to a lot of different musical styles. He grew up listening to Pink Floyd and Yes, along with The Allman Brothers. Then there was old country like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Eddy Arnold. He also “likes simple rock and roll because it’s fun to play and fun to listen to.” Be sure to include Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson when citing his influences.

Although Don considers today’s “country music” mostly pop with a lot of auto-tuning, he isn’t entirely dismissive of the genre, and so he definitely steered the conversation in a less charged direction. Miranda Lambert is among newer generation country artists whom he respects. 

Others whose music Kincaid holds dear are Jason Isbell, who has a great “country guitar sound and country lyrics” and Sturgill Simpson, who “plays country music with modern day lyrics.” Simpson composed “Sugar Daddy,” the theme song for the 2017 HBO series “Vinyl,” which is also a dream of Don’s – to write a movie or television soundtrack. He also highly recommends listening to Simpson’s take on Nirvana’s song, “In Bloom.” Additionally, Kincaid gave a tip of the hat to Cody Jinks along with Jamey Johnson, who “really paved the way” for what Don wanted to do.

Kincaid points out he often “listens to music to be inspired.” He particularly enjoys Blackberry Smoke, a Southern rock/country rock band from Atlanta, known for their country/blues/folk/classic rock numbers.

He laughed about the first time he heard one of his songs played on the radio. He was sitting in his truck with a coffee and a cigarette. The song “Honey, I’m Home” came on. He listened to it, partly with a critical ear and partly with a giddy elation. Now that it’s been transmitted over the airwaves, he quipped that the song lives “in the ether” for eternity.

Don is also a talented and respected tattoo artist with 20 years’ experience, currently working at First Place Tattoo in Hackettstown. When asked if he ever draws or paints on paper or canvas, he replied that he does occasionally, although “I never saw a painting that made me cry, but I’ve heard plenty of music that has.”

Don Kincaid will perform an acoustic set with guitarist Paul Collins on March 8 at Roy’s Hall in Blairstown, opening for Jason Eady, from Fort Worth.

When it comes to the people and happenings of Warren County, you can count on award-winning photographer Cathy Miller to be there to record the moment.