The five members of The Immediate Family are some of the most-recorded musicians in history.
Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Steve Postell and Russ Kunkel have contributed to thousands of albums from the '60s onward. While they've often recorded together in various combinations, bringing their new collective to life was more than just another gig.
First conceived as a solo album project for Kortchmar, The Immediate Family arrived in the summer of 2020, celebrating the band members' immense contributions to music history. After a single and a pair of EPs, the band unveiled its self-titled debut full-length album this past August.
"If you're talking about the latest album, at that point, all of us were all-in and everybody contributed [to the record]," Kortchmar tells Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke.
Decades of experiences with the likes of James Taylor, Linda Rondstadt, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Phil Collins and many others went into the new album, which was recorded at Jackson Browne's own studio in Los Angeles. The band went about tracking the LP just as it would have in the old days, laying down all 14 songs in about 72 hours.
Wachtel says The Immediate Family might be the easiest being in a band has ever been.
"We've been in the studio with so many incredible songwriters and singers and stuff, when you're doing what you do, first of all, there's more than just the playing involved," Wachtel said. "You're in a small room with people that have a lot on their mind, a lot of egos, a lot of pride. You have to know how to coexist with people to begin with. In this band, we've been in a million situations with lots of different artists, but between [all five of] us we've never had an argument at all..."
Kunkel added: "When we're together playing music, we make each other better. Even though we might disagree on a part, it eventually gets to a place that, when we're done, it's always better because we're all helping each other get better."
Watch the full conversation via the player above!
The Immediate Family is one tour now. For live shows and more information, go here.
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Check out the video for The Immediate Family's song "Divorce"