Bakersfield California holds a special place in the hearts of country music fans. It was in Bakersfield that country music first collided with rock and roll – the city of Merle Haggard and the outlaw sound of Dwight Yoakam, among so many others. Bakersfield’s country music is raw, hard, and passionate; it’s country played with an electric guitar, with lovelorn lyrics and the sound of a swinging saloon door. Epitomising this sound comes Truxton Mile, who keep the Bakersfield flame alive with their new single, ‘California In My Mind’.
The very name of the band reflects their origins; Truxtun Avenue is the broad busy street separating the wide residential areas of southern Bakersfield, from the bustling and noisy downtown district. Likewise their sound is the perfect homage to their origins, a fusion of country sincerity and a grand rock swagger, with singer Ryan Coulter serving as balladeer and storyteller, while guitarists Taylor Unruh and Alec Olivieri add the country colour, and drummer Jonathan Weinmann brings with him a rumbling thunder.
‘California In My Mind’ doubles as a serenade for an ideal woman, as well as a love song to their home state. The accompanying music video shows this love, specifically for Southern California, but not just the beaches and mountains that everyone knows, but also the farms, the great stretches of desert, and the waterways that snake throughout the central valleys.
You can find out more about Truxton Mile on their official website, and watch the video for ‘California In My Mind’ below: