Gift Horse

Massachusetts rockers Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers -- Kit “Goose” Karlson (keys, bass, vocals), Brian “Boots” Factor (drums, vocals) and Sam “Steamer” Getz (guitars, vocals) — return this fall with Gift Horse, their second studio release on Vanguard Records, available on October 11th. Produced by Mark Weinberg, Gift Horse brings the rich legacy of rock & roll into the present tense with 11 real-life narratives about love, family, and what it means to be an American today.

　　Stephen Kellogg chose to title the album Gift Horse for a clear cut thematic reason. “There’s the old saying, ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,’” Kellogg says, “which translated as showing appreciation for what you have.’ That’s exactly what this record’s about - appreciation that I have a job right now in 2011, with all that’s going on economically in our country; appreciation for my family, because there’s nothing that I value more; and appreciation of America in general.”

　　Nowhere is this theme more apparent than on the first single and opening track, “Gravity.” Kellogg writes, “Gravity you’re knocking me out/ You’re shakin’ me up till I twist and I shout/ Oh, Gravity it’s okay in the clouds/ But I love it right here with my feet on the ground.”