Article Contributed by Mike
Published on 2026-08-15
SoCal folk singer-songwriter Kaz Murphy has released the single and video “Making Noise,” the title track from his forthcoming album, Making Noise: Songs Of Rebellion & Redemption, out September 18 via Green Monkey Records.
A classic-folk call to arms, “Making Noise” finds Murphy urging listeners to get off the couch and into the streets to stand up for what they believe in. His understated vocal delivery and acoustic guitar are joined by Jacque Grad’s mandolin and accordion and Ben Shaw’s lap steel, giving the track a touch of cosmic country.
“We’ll be skippin’ down the road / Sippin’ whiskey with Tom Joad,” Murphy sings, invoking the working-class symbol from The Grapes of Wrath. “I read The Grapes of Wrath when I was a kid,” says Murphy. “I’ve believed in standing up for the little guy ever since.”
“Silence is surrender,” Murphy adds. “Now, I’m not strident and screaming. I take a more reserved approach, letting the words fall into place gently like John Hartford, David Bromberg or John Prine.”
The accompanying video, filmed by Cole Coonce and Paul Buck during the recording sessions, offers an inside look at the making of the album. Making Noise: Songs Of Rebellion & Redemption was recorded largely live at the 100% solar-powered Goat Mountain Recording in Landers, California, with co-producer and engineer Pat Kearns.
Across its ten songs, the album addresses conflict, resistance, political division and hope through an Americana lens influenced by artists including Phil Ochs and Woody Guthrie. Songs include “Old Protest Records,” “Bad Chief,” “Pacifist Buys Gun,” “Rifle for a Hoe,” “Iowa Ohio Arizona” and the closing “Human Chain.” Fifty percent of the album’s proceeds will benefit Field Team 6.
Murphy has previously worked with producers Tucker Martine, David Vaught and Scrappy Jud Newcomb and has shared stages with Jonathan Richman, Allen Ginsberg, Pete Seeger and members of The Posies, The Afghan Whigs, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Big Star and Fountains of Wayne. His previous album reached #1 on the Roots Music Report True Country Album Chart.
Making Noise: Songs Of Rebellion & Redemption Track List
1. Making Noise
2. Old Protest Records
3. Bad Chief
4. The Hope of a Man in a Bar
5. Pacifist Buys Gun
6. Bloody Hell
7. Rifle for a Hoe
8. Iowa Ohio Arizona
9. Vote for Broke
10. Human Chain
Tour Dates
Aug. 29 — Yucca Valley, CA — Snakebite Roadhouse
Sep. 19 — Joshua Tree, CA — Gram Fest at the Joshua Tree Cultural Center
