The stars aligned in 2012 when three A-list musicians from the San Fernando Valley — Kirsten Proffit, Manda Mosher, and Aubrey Richmond — joined forces to create the new trio Calico. The group’s name refers to the “California country” sound they emanate. It’s a brew of three strong voices blended into one and mixed with influences of traditional country, pop sensibilities, and rock energy, all set to the backdrop of acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, and a spot-on rhythm section. Imagine Crosby, Stills and Nash playing Hank Williams songs with Mick Fleetwood and John McVeigh.
Their debut album Rancho California, released September 2014, features eight new songs and two inspired covers that were honed in the trio’s two years of nonstop touring. The opening track, “High Road,” reflects the mystique of traveling the dusty roads searching for the dream of the old West. Their winning formula of trading vocal lines and a combined full-throated chorus is on full display for “Dead Reckoning,” a tale of a love that floated off course. The rollicking “San Andreas Shake,” name-checks West Coast towns whose romance pulls at a wondering heart. Pop and old-time country are fused together for the swirling “Fools Gold,” a bittersweet tale of California dreaming. The ladies experiment with rockabilly on the swinging “Break Your Heart,” featuring some hot lead guitar from Steve Burns.
The big showcase track of the album is the anthem “Runaway Cowgirl,’ a finely crafted vision of the American dream with soaring harmonies and dynamic melodic runs from Richmond’s fiddle. This is the type of tune Nashville should be begging for. The trio gives us a dulcet reading of “Wayfaring Stranger,”’ personalizing the classic folk song, and then digs deep in to country roots for the lilting “Lone Ranger.” The lush depth of Calico’s vocal prowess is displayed during the mournful “Never Really Gone.” The album closes with a joyful take on “You Aint Goin’ Nowhere,” a fitting tribute to one of the first country rock bands from California, the Byrds, who had a hit with the tune in 1968.
