"You could consider the sound alt-country, but then you would be leaving out a lot of stuff: bombastic beats, rock riffage, punk attitude. Watching Collin Herring perform live, its hard to take your eyes away from the stage." And now this Fort Worth Weeklys critical darling is set to break out his own unique brand of dark, haunting music that defies categorization with his dynamic sophomore CD, "The Other Side of Kindness". Springing from his love of his homeland and its people, Collin is set to crash through Texas borders with a daring new album that at once embraces Southern traditions, yet also bravely defies them. Leave your expectations at the door. . .Collin Herring has arrived.

Collin Herring has been playing guitar and writing his own compositions since the 8th grade. Growing up in a musical family, Collin was exposed to essential rootsy singer-songwriters like Willis Alan Ramsey, Tom Jans, Steve Goodman and John Prine by his father, Ben Roi Herring, who very much influenced Collins own craft. But after a stint away in school in Durango, Colorado, where Collin worked in a CD store, he was turned on to an eclectic variety of music that included Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo, Richard Buckner, The Jayhawks, and Drive-By Truckers. It was this vast blend of influences that has come to shape and define Collin Herrings own diverse musical style.

After leaving Durango and returning to Fort Worth, Collin began assembling his eccletic mix of a band. Ironically, he had asked his father to become a part of the group based on one critical stipulation. Sure, Ben Roi could sing harmony and play keyboards, roles that he had easily filled in the past. But this time he had to learn to play the pedal steel if he wanted in on his sons antics, an instrument that daunts and frightens even the most grizzled of session cats and road vets alike. "I wanted a rock band to get my songs across, but I pay attention to anything with steel in it, so I needed that as well. I didnt know any steel players, so I asked my dad to learn, not thinking that he would take it on. Next thing I know, hes got three of them and is cutting tracks not only my record but on friends of mines albums, too!" In addition to Ben Roi, Collins core constituents include classically trained bassist Jeremy Hull, high school friend and guitarist Austin Barker, and drummer Billy Walters, who collectively captured Collins unique sound and assembled the debut album "Avoiding the Circus".

Recorded entirely live so that Collin could achieve the "unproduced sound" he sought, the record was produced and engineered by Matt Pence (Centro-matic, The Polyphonic Spree, American Music Club) at his secluded studio south of Denton. Acclaimed by Harp Magazine as "one hell of a debut," Avoiding the Circus was declared Album of the Year by the Fort Worth Weekly, and Collin himself was simultaneously named Best New Artist (2003). The Star Telegrams Malcolm Mayhew also listed the album as one of the Top 5 Local Records of the Year, and his songs have been featured on compilation albums for the Midpoint Music Festival, Miles of Music and the North Texas New Music Festival.

Ironically, Collins biggest musical frustrations came from the very state he loves. More often than not, Collin found himself playing darker, more introspective music than the bands for which he inevitably would be opening. As such, Collin realized that the challenge for his band would be to produce an album that would separate him from the Texas scene, while still remaining true to the homeland of which he so much remains a part. Collin had songs in his head that had been stewing for some time and they touched on loneliness, heartache, distance and alcohol-fueled regret...classic country themes all, but sonically he wanted enough crunch-laden guitars to put a knife in and the pedal steel to twist it.

In order to accomplish this, Matt Pence hooked Collin up with acclaimed producer Stuart Sikes (The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, Loretta Lynn), who agreed to produce Collins second album after hearing his debut. Whereas "Circus" was recorded by a new band full of friends (and one parent) anxious to get their sound on tape, "Kindness" proves to be a more layered and sophisticated affair, one that could only come from a band thats played hundreds of shows together, tightening and honing their sound but also absorbing influences that only a few broke down tours and life lessons can provide. With Sikes at the helm, the new album organically came together in less than two weeks. Included on the 10 track release are 5 tunes originally recorded by Collin in his apartment on a four-track Tascam, a virtual relic by todays recording standards. The recording was entitled "The Christmas Sweater EP" and was given to family members and friends as a Christmas gift from a "financially challenged" artist. Little did Collin know at the time that those tunes would become the heart and soul of "The Other Side of Kindness", and it would be the intimate eclecticism of that home-spun project that Stuart Sikes would recapture to showcase the uniqueness and diversity of styles that Collin pulls off so effortlessly.

"The Other Side of Kindness" is very much indicative of Collins life and experiences since the release of his debut album. On top of the extensive touring, the band played SXSW and at Bostons equivalent festival, NEMO in 2004. Currently preparing for his second appearance at SXSW, Collin is spending his daytime hours as a gallery attendant at the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art in Fort Worth, keeping evenings open for rehearsals and performing. "Its the simplest job Ive ever had; its cool because Im surrounded by art all day, and about the hardest thing I ever have to do is tell the occasional visitor that wed prefer that they stand at least 12 inches from the paintings." Ever the writer, he of course keeps pen and notebook handy and is currently crafting a new collection of work based on the variety of art which surrounds him.

Collin Herring is a Texas artist who loves his home and all that it represents - but his soul and his music extend much more universally beyond those borders. And now, with the release of "The Other Side of Kindness", Collin Herring is ready to break out and show the rest of the world his beautiful and singularly passionate talent - one that comes from a true labor of love - for music, for family, and for the sheer simple joys of life.

Profile courtesy of the artist and Gorgeous PR.