Kris McKay

Following the dissolution of Austin roots rockers the Wild Seeds, co-lead vocalist Kris McKay struck out on her own for an intermittent recording career as a rootsy acoustic troubadour. A onetime drama student at the University of Texas, McKay had joined Michael Hall's Wild Seeds — essentially an Americana band before the term came into vogue — in late 1987, just as the group was wrapping up work on their first full-length album, Brave, Clean & Reverent. She served primarily as a backing vocalist on the follow-up, 1988's Mud, Lies & Shame, but was showcased as a lead singer on the album closer "All This Time." When the Wild Seeds disbanded in 1989, McKay scored a solo deal with Arista, and released her debut album What Love Endures in 1990. Filled primarily with covers, the album failed to find an audience, hurt in part by the fact that adult alternative radio was not yet a widespread format. Arista dropped her, and McKay endured some long, lean years, working sporadically as a session singer while continuing to perform in the Austin area. Finally, in 1996, she resurfaced on the Shanachie label with her second album, Things That Show. A mix of seven covers and four originals, Things That Show featured a duet with Matthew Sweet on "How Cool," as well as a distinctive reading of the English Beat's new wave classic "Save It for Later." McKay continued to work as a session singer and remained active around Austin until moving to Los Angeles; still, she played at Austin's South by Southwest Festival in 1998 and 2000.