Vietnam vets, songwriters team up for meaningful CD
By Gayle Worland, July 25 2021
Originally published in Wisconsin State Journal
“Seawolf 7-6, the mesmerizing Rightley-Martin song, is one of 14 powerful and moving performances on “The Last Thing We Ever Do.” Rightley weaves together the magical revelations of Martin, who, he writes, “came back to a country that didn’t understand me.”
In Vietnam, Martin the magician had astonished the local children, one of whom went on to save his life. For years after that, he had to revisit a dream that returned again and again, set during a military conflict when his helicopter was about to be shot down.
“I labored over the lyrics,” said Rightley, a multi-instrumentalist who won the 2018 Madison Area Music Association Award for Country/Bluegrass Album of the Year.
He met Martin only through long-distance calls to hear his story. The two continued to confer by email and phone as the song started to take shape.
“It is one of several interesting projects I’ve done, but it also made an impact on me because I’ve never heard a story like that,” said Rightley, whose song was engineered by Landon Arkens at Blast House Studios. “I wanted to get it right.”
Musicians and veterans join forces for catharsis on ‘Warrior Songs’ album
By Cameron Cieszki, July 24 2021
Originally published in The Cap Times
"Seawolf 7-6 is a melancholic, jazzy track performed by singer/songwriter, educator, and classically trained musician Kyle Rightley, based on the testimony of U.S. Navy veteran Bill Martin, founder of the Veterans and Patriots Performance Group."