Alt.country heroes Lone Justice’s career burned fiercely but all too briefly during the post-punk era, the band releasing two essential studio albums before splitting in 1987. Charismatic lead singer Maria McKee subsequently became a successful solo artist.
Viva Lone Justice, the quartet’s first album in nearly 40 years, is a raucous set that covers everything from traditional hillbilly tunes to The Undertones, Dolly Parton, MC5 and George Jones. It’s a fitting elegy to drummer Don Heffington, who died in 2021. We caught up with McKee to find out more about the album – and whether it’s the first step of a reunion.
How did Viva Lone Justice take shape?
Don Heffington’s passing brought so much grief, because he was the heart and soul of the band, the most unique, wonderful man. So Marvin [Etzioni, bassist] and I were catching up and consoling one another. He said: “I’ve got these tapes that we did during You Gotta Sin To Get Saved [McKee’s 1993 solo album] and they’re really great recordings, with you and me and Don. I’m going to clean them up. Do you want to release them as a Maria McKee album?”
But that didn’t appeal to you?
As far as my solo career goes, I don’t really want to look back. But I told him if we could get Ryan [Hedgecock, co-founder] to overdub guitar and add some vocals, then it’d be a Lone Justice record. He was like: “Great, I’ll call him!”
So it’s not technically a reunion?
No. After Ryan played some guitar, we added a track that he and I had done a few years ago, Jenny Jenkins. So it became a kind of cut-’n’-paste Lone Justice record. It’s not a reunion, we’re not getting together and writing and recording a new album. And we’re certainly not going to tour. But we’ll always be family, and we’ve got some great tracks lying around. So in that sense it is a new recording, because nobody’s heard it before.
Is the cover of The Undertones classic Teenage Kicks a thank you to their former singer Feargal Sharkey for covering your song A Good Heart in 1985?
Maybe there’s a bit of a nod and wink to that, because Feargal basically changed my life. I’m able to retire because of that song becoming such a ginormous hit everywhere. But Marvin and I are old punks at heart. We formed Lone Justice as a country band to be subversive in the era of post-punk and new wave. I love the fact that our version of Teenage Kicks wasn’t an Americana or country track. It’s just a full-blown punk cover. And now, living as a queer woman, I love the soppy lesbian take on that song.
Looking back at Lone Justice’s career, are there any things you wish you’d done differently?
I can’t live my life thinking like that. It’s a treacherous journey dealing with the corporate music business. We were sort of chewed up and spat out, but that’s the story for many bands. I think it was a lot harder on the boys than it was on me. When there’s a bright, charismatic frontperson, the band members are often used as pawns to gain control of the lead singer. So my heart breaks for them. But I still have some trauma around that too, which is probably one of the reasons why I don’t really pursue a career per se. I’m happy to sort of be on the sidelines and make great art once in a while.
Viva Lone Justice is released on October 25 via Afar.
