The University of Idaho Argonaut

Their single “Ragged as the Road” from the 2008 album Bulletproof made it to No. 1 on the Americana and Texas charts and the first single, “Best Forever Yet” from their new album Somewhere in Time, was released Feb. 1 and is currently No. 4 on the Americana chart.

Tim Basham from Paste magazine said Reckless Kelly makes him think of “beer and blood and guitars.”
I got a chance to talk to Willy Braun over the phone (who invited me to have a drink after the concert) and found that he was kind and really easy to talk to, even though he was in a hectic airport terminal at the time. He said he and his brother love to play in

Idaho and all he hopes for their performance in Moscow is that everyone drinks and has a great time.

Argonaut: Can you give me a brief overview of your musical history and how Reckless Kelly got started?

Willy Braun: “We started in Bend, Ore., 14 years ago, and then we moved to Austin, Texas, and we kinda just grew from there.”

Argonaut: How would you describe your music?

Braun: “I’d say it’s a little in between country and rock. We like to call it ‘a rock band with a fiddle.’”

Argonaut: What are your favorite places and types of crowds to perform for?

Braun: “In Texas there’s this place called Green Hall, it’s the oldest in Texas — it’s been around for over 100 years. Just a really cool vibe.”

Argonaut: Your bio says you guys are respected by a lot of big names in the industry. Why is that?

Braun: “I don’t know, we’ve always tried to stay true to what we believe in as far as music and put out a quality product. When you do things your own way, you can kinda get people’s respect. Some of the guys we’ve met have done it on their own, so us doing that also is a reflection of them liking us doing the same thing.”

Argonaut: What are some things you have set up for the near future?

Braun: “We’ve got a softball game down in Austin on April 25. A bunch of friends come out and we play a celebrity softball game. Some Major League Baseball players come down and then afterwards is a big all-star jam in the outfield. Then, all the money is donated to the Austin Little League and a league called the Miracle League for special needs kids. So we’re really looking forward to that.”

Argonaut: Can you tell me about the Braun Brother’s reunion?

Braun: “It’s a festival my dad’s been doing for over 20 years, in Challis, Idaho. It’s the 2nd weekend in August this year and a bunch of Idaho bands fly in. We basically just take over the town for three days and we have a great time.”

Argonaut: What are the biggest ways your lives have changed since Reckless Kelly was started?

Braun: “You know, we’ve gotten older over the years and that’s something that changes everyone. Reckless Kelly is our main focus and it’s what we love to do. It’s just like goin’ to work every day, you get to know everyone you’re working with better and you just become a family.”

Argonaut: Since you and your family are originally from Idaho and Oregon, does that make the Northwest an especially exciting place for Reckless Kelly to perform?

Braun: “Yeah we love playing up there, Cody and I grew up in Idaho and we’ve always had a great following up there, people seem to like us a lot.”

Argonaut: Moscow is a fairly small town and college community, what made you decide to perform here?

Braun: “You know, we just go where the gigs are and we’re actually in New York City right now and we’re flying to Moscow (Monday night). We love getting back to Idaho, so any chance we get we take it.”

Argonaut: What are you most looking forward to in Moscow?

Braun: “It’ll be nice to see my mom and dad, and a bunch of our friends will come for the show.”

Argonaut: What are you hoping to get out of playing for the crowd up here?

Braun: “That everybody gets good and drunk. It’s been awhile since we played there in Moscow and it’ll be fun to get back up there.”