Drivin N Cryin founder Kevin Kinney says, “It’s a lot to be me right now,” but in a good way.
Kinney has recently led the band to a new album, “Crushing Flowers,” which came out in April and is the group’s first in seven years. Concurrently, his wife, Anna, is curating a series of tribute albums featuring other acts’ take on Kinney’s songs. Meanwhile, he’s forming a new band called Let’s Go Dancing that will, in turn, perform those tribute versions of his material.
“I’m trying to move forward, and my past is actually going forward, as well,” Kinney, 65, says via Zoom from his home in Atlanta. “It’s ongoing, new, and new ongoing. It’s a crazy vortex. But it’s really fantastic.”
All of this, however, is altering Kinney’s view of Drivin N Cryin, which formed in 1985 and had peak success with the 1991 album “Fly Me Courageous.” “Crushing Flowers” — which features guest appearances by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck (a college classmate of Kinney’s) and possibly the last recording by the late Todd Snider — was designed to be “kind of a classic approach, just a record Drivin N Cryin fans could like.”
But, he adds, it may also be the last album he makes with the band.
“As far as albums go, yes. As far as creating, no,” Kinney explains. “I’m 65. I’m running out of time. So instead of spending all that time it takes to make an album, I’d like to do (singles) — like, something new, immediate, maybe work with different producers on each (song). I don’t know how to sell singles yet, but that’s the way I feel like I want to go.
“And then if I get five or 10 singles, I can maybe put them together and put that out, but it won’t be made like an album. That’s where I’m leading to. I think that would be more fun for me, and maybe give people more music that way.”
Drivin N Cryin and Laid Back Country Pickers perform Saturday, July 11, at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.