Name: The Reverend a.k.a. Craig Kinsey
Born a full turn from the white picket fences of America, Craig Kinsey aka The Reverend was raised on Southern lore from a family of moon shiners. His teenage years were spent train hopping, walking, and driving across the country in search of “the old days… Guthrie, Kerouac, and John Lee Hooker.” This seeking out the marrow of life led him into the great silence of a monastery and out again into music’s center stage.
The Reverend is most known for his song writing, penning such songs as Tramps and Freaks, the Funeral Song, and Lady Vodka. Kinsey also has a solo project. His 2008 album The Burdener was called one of the 12 best Texas Albums by the Houston Chronicle along with Willie Nelson and Hayes Carll.
On stage the Reverend is not often still. Jumping from the drum set, playing harmonica on top of a bar or speaker stack, jumping into the crowd and “killing” a chosen female at the end of the song Lady Vodka all of this ads to the fascinating and unpredictable live performance of the Sideshow Tramps which won them the title “best stage show” from the Houston Press.
The Reverend has also played live and on album with these bands:
- Ryan Scroggins and the Trench Town Texans
- Kam Franklin
- The Umbrella Man
- Los Pistoleros De Tejas
- Robert Ellis and the Boys
- Hayes Carll
- Little Joe Washington