Victoria Bailey’s spin on classic country will scratch your itch for music that’s authentic and relevant to our times. Her debut album, Jesus, Red Wine, & Patsy Cline, is a warm collection of Bakersfield, western swing, and good old classic-style ballads. Bailey, who lives in Huntington Beach, has released a new version of the song “Skid Row.” It’s premiering here on Adobe & Teardrops, and she very kindly wrote to us about this new standalone single. You can listen below, read the lyrics, and presave the song to your favorite streaming service here.
What inspired you to write this song? What is it about?
“Skid Row” is a song deeply inspired by my curiosity of the “Bakersfield Sound” and from digging deep into the history of the country music that came out of California. A lot of people in Orange County (where I live) are always asking how I started playing country music being born and raised here. I feel like country music is really rooted in me so naturally. So many of my classic country heroes all came out of California… Buck Owens and Merle Haggard being two major ones for me. This song also gives a nod to one of my favorite honky tonk bars in LA that rests right in the middle of “Skid Row” called The Escondite.
The original version of this song appeared on your album, “Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline,” that came out last year. What made you want to revisit this song and record a different version of it to release now?
I honestly was really happily surprised that this song resonated so well with people and really seemed to be a favorite off the album for listeners. It was important for me to go into the studio to track a few of the album songs acoustically, because that truly represents who I have been as an artist for the past decade. I have really learned so much and discovered my voice as a singer and writer singing solo, two or three nights a week in local bars and restaurants here. Singing this song solo, in a room with one mic, is the most vulnerable version of myself and was such a beautiful way to put a cap on the year of promoting this record. It also is a really special way of turning the page to the new music I am getting ready to release.
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| Photo by Stefanie Vinsel Johnson |
This song has such a great vibe to it and it sounds like it was fun to record in the studio. What was the recording session like for this song? Did you record it during the pandemic?
Thank you! It was really fun recording it! I do have to say though, after playing it with my band for quite some time now, I sure did miss them and hearing their solos. I recorded it in the beginning of the pandemic and have been in the studio several times since. I feel really blessed to still have the outlet to record and create during this wild time.
You are known for, and praised for, your lyrics. What’s your favorite lyric line in the song? Why is it your favorite?
Oh, my goodness, that is SO kind. My favorite line from the song is “and all this time you thought you had to be from the South, to get a little respect for your country sound.” I really feel so lucky living here in California with my family, and I believe there is a really great pocket of musicians here that listen to and that are inspired by the classic/traditional country sound. It’s not only in the South, like some may assume, and I’m really thankful to be surrounded by friends and musicians who are also inspired by the music history here.
Tying in to that and digging a little more deeply, how do you feel being based in California has factored into the music you make?
Living between the desert and the ocean really has a big impact on my music. My experiences here and the people I’ve met throughout my life are woven into the stories I tell through my songs, and there are so many great musicians in Orange County and LA who have really inspired me lyrically. I’ve pulled a lot of inspiration from visiting Nashville over the years too though, and I pick up little pieces of inspiration traveling anywhere new.
“Skid Row” will be available to stream tomorrow, February 26th. You can pre-save the song here.
Lyrics:
“Skid Row” by Victoria Bailey
Have you ever heard of the Bakersfield sound
Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam’s town
and all this time you thought you had to be from the South
to get a little respect for your country sound
I’m tired as hell Angelenos
But I’m gonna walk your roads
Thank God for that one Honky Tonk Bar down on skid row
It’s where Buck met his friend, that old Dusty Roades
In Bakersfield where he called his car his home
It was 1951, when the Oakies were born
And they were playin that Western swing until the break of morn’
I’m tired as hell Angelenos
But I’m gonna walk your roads
Thank God for that one Honky Tonk Bar down on skid row
We may have lost some of those early pioneers
But I can still hear Ralph Mooney pickin’ that Pedal Steel
I might have grown up in the West
But I still can tack a horse
And I’ll ride her down Sunset Boulevard
I’m tired as hell Angelenos
But I’m gonna walk your roads
Thank God for that one Honky Tonk Bar down on skid row
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