The aura that McKenna Kasowski radiates is the same that permerates her music: profound, articulate, spiritual, and empathetic. Her latest album, Prefrontal Vortex, encompasses all that while she “explores who am I” and “knowing who she is.” The album name comes from the part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex which is fully developed around age 25. All of the songs on the album were written by McKenna from ages 18 to 25 while on that exploratory journey of self-discovery.
Many of the stops along the way are ones that we can all relate to in some way. “Loco Motives” is a metaphorical train ride of McKenna’s mental health as she adapts through coping skills and counseling. For anyone who has experienced depression and/or anxiety, the words often hit home: “I’m not proud of how I lash out upon arrival at the last outpost of my mind.” Those who make it through often do because they have “a willing passenger” who “holds firm at your station and takes it in stride.” Loved ones make us stronger. “Terminal C” was written during August 2021, when wildfires raged in the Pacific Northwest and Hurricane Ida in the Gulf. McKenna viewed these from an airplane seat and reflected on the chaos below and how small our lives seem in the great scheme of things but seem so big to us : “Headphones and books to read, morality and diamond rings. It’s so very easy to forget the little things and I’m just a tiny speck.” Witnessing a friend’s burnout and how much one can relate to that very same feeling of imploding is captured in the song “Supernova”: “Wonder when the light left your eyes?,” “Silently, I empathize.”
Long before the songs of Prefrontal Vortex, McKenna grew up in Conroe, TX. Her first musical inspiration was hearing her dad play guitar while spring cleaning. He was a rockstar to her. Her family took her to concerts on weekends and at age 11 got her guitar lessons. When she was 12, she wrote her first song. She attended South Plains College and graduated in 2019 with honors with a degree in Commercial Music with a focus on vocals. She lived in DFW for a little bit and met her future husband and music collaborator, Jordan Tyler Haynes, in January 2021. She moved to Clyde, TX in July 2021. Her earlier recordings were under the name Kenna Danielle. She primarily played the music of her roots: country.
Now she goes by her birth name to reflect that new sense of discovery and the complexity of the music she makes that is not limited to a certain sound. She does not " concern herself with genre, just making art.” The beauty of music is that “everyone can understand a song. Music is innate in humanity.”
McKenna already has her next two records written. One of which is a rock album and another that is Americana. One of the rock songs that she has written is called “riot” about a close friend that took his life. It “navigates the emotions” of shock and sadness of that experience. She said he was the “life of a party” and always “made people laugh.” She wished she had known what he was going through so she could have helped.
Her dream collaborations for the future would be with “local homies” Della Rose and Callahan Divide and as well as with Julia Jacklin, Faye Webster, Lori McKenna, and Jade Bird. She got to open up for Bird in Boise, Idaho last October. McKenna said that Bird is “doing what she wants to do” and getting to perform with her was “a dream come true.” One of her most recent collaborations was with the San Angelo band War Child. She provided background vocals for their song “Life Saving Waters.” She was honored to be a part of this song, written by veteran lead singer Zach Peterson about coming home after war and dealing with all the emotional aftermath. She also has recorded vocals for NeighborHaydn and Jordan Tyler Haynes for upcoming releases from Junk Drawer Records owned by Haynes. McKenna loves working with others, “being part of a whole.” Solo shows can be stifling and its good to hear other musicians. “Creativity breeds creativity.”
Among her musical influences are Merle Haggard and Terri Hendrix. Of Haggard she states he “embodied the artist’s artist” and he “wrote a lot of progressive songs.” She recommends listening to “Irma Jackson” which Haggard released in 1972 that is about his love, who is African American, and how the world doesn’t understand that “love is colorblind.” She describes Hendrix as “one of her biggest inspirations and mentors.” McKenna often says she “wants to be Hendrix when she grows up.” Hendrix is about “not gatekeeping, no redtape, just helping other artists.”
McKenna is taking a break from gigs to focus on being creative and writing more but you can hear her perform at the Women’s Music Museum fundraiser at Grain Theory on October 23 as well as Cassidy Sooter and Terri Knight.
Tickets are available on eventbrite at the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-acoustic-night-benefiting-the-womens-music-museum-tickets-1439779291619?aff=oddtdtcreator
For more about McKenna, visit https://mckennakasowski.com/
Future museum pieces: Prefrontal Vortex Lyric Book and Signed Album
