KRISTOFFERSON'S THIS

 OLD ROAD LEADS TO

 PINNACLES

Music Legend Shoots Local

 Music Video 

(Ridgecrest)---During the past 35 years Kris Kristofferson has traveled a long, interesting, and yes, legendary musical road.  The latest stop occurred last Saturday at the Trona Pinnacles, just east of Ridgecrest, CA, as Kris shot scenes for his latest music video THIS OLD ROAD, the title song from his latest album.

.  This beautifully sparse recording, produced by Don Was (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones), puts an emphasis on his fine lyrics and distinctive voice by featuring Kristofferson, his guitar, and harmonica. Subtle accompaniment is added by Was (bass, piano, backing vocals), longtime sidekick Stephen Bruton (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals) and Jim Keltner (drums). The album is so intimate it makes the listener feel as if they are sitting in Kristofferson's living room while he picks and sings just for them.

Kristofferson's story is fairly well known: he had a dream-along with the necessary talent and ambition-to become a songwriter. After turning down a teaching position at West Point, the Rhodes Scholar hoped to get his foot in the door of the music business by taking a job as a janitor at Columbia Records. It wasn't long after arriving in Nashville that he was receiving armloads of acclaim and being hailed as one of America's clearest and most important voices, having penned such classics as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Sunday Morning

Coming Down," "For the Good Times," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Why Me Lord," and many others.

Ridgecrest Regional Film Commissioner Ray Arthur worked with Kristofferson's production company, Parallel 28 Equipe, and its crew of 40 to secure a film permit through the Ridgecrest BLM office for the world renowned Trona Pinnacles.  Arthur noted that this was Kristofferson's second appearance at the famed tufa towers...sort of, "The biggest production we ever hosted was Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES in 1991, with Kris playing one of the primary characters, Karubi.  Over the years many of our local citizens have told me that they are sure they saw Kris here in Ridgecrest during the filming.  Unfortunately, Karubi was long gone before the action got to the Pinnacles."

Arthur, whose radio disc jockey career timeline mirrors Kristofferson's recording career, recalled playing "For the Good Times" during his first day on the air in January of 1971.

Now Kristofferson has reached living legend status, but that hasn't changed or hindered his skills.  THIS OLD ROAD contains eleven gems that explore love, gratitude, aging, war, and his ever-present theme of freedom. "If you took freedom out of the songs, you'd have very few Kristofferson songs," he laughs. 

"If I had to describe it in one word, I'd say it's honest," he says of THIS OLD ROAD.  "It's all pretty close to the bone, about my own personal journey.  It's about what sense I've made of my life up to now."

THIS OLD ROAD, the music video, is expected to begin airing on several TV music channels in later this month.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Attached is the album cover photo of Kris Kristofferson from THIS OLD ROAD.