The Menards’ Electronic Press Kit
Band namesake Tim Menard is a Chicago veteran. Tim hand-picked a coterie of his favorite players — his fiddle-playing bride, Cathie Van Wert, drum legend Paul Bivans, veteran bass ace Michael Krayniak, guitar master Jim O’Donnell, and pedal steel guru Gabriel Stutz. Featuring Tim and Cathie’s indelible original tunes mixed with some carefully curated covers, The Menards spin aspects of folk, rock, blues and country into a rich web of Americana. After playing together for many years, the band released its first album on January 3rd of this year.
The Menards: “All by Heart” Released January 3rd, 2026!
“All by Heart” Project Details
The Menards’ new album All by Heart is a soulful Americana tapestry — ten tracks that travel from tender love to high-octane escapes, bluesy reflection and moonlit mischief. It’s an album alive with stories: breakups, barrooms, backroads and bright horizons. Every song feels lived-in, heartfelt, and ready-made for listeners who crave real songwriting with truth, texture, and a little dust.
Recorded live by Michael Krayniak in Tim and Cathie’s Chicago home during a long, sweltering June weekend in 2025, the album carries the raw, intimate energy of those sessions. John Abbey later mixed and mastered the project at The Garage in Chicago, bringing the recordings to life.
Album Credits
Tim Menard: Vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Paul Bivans: Drums
Michael Krayniak: Bass, vocals
Jim O’Donnell: Electric guitar
Gabriel Stutz: Pedal steel guitar
Cathie Van Wert: Fiddle, vocals
Produced by Tim Menard and Cathie Van Wert
Recorded and engineered live at Tim and Cathie’s house by Michael Krayniak
Mixed and mastered by John Abbey, The Garage
Design by Cathie Van Wert, DoubleTake Design
Photos by Cathie Van Wert and Bruce Unruh
The Songs
Track 1: “All By Heart” is a warm, roots-inspired love song that traces a steady, time-tested devotion. With honest lyrics and a soulful delivery, it celebrates a bond so deeply known it’s carried instinctively — all by heart.
Track 2: “Autumn Skyline” blends evocative fall imagery with a restless yearning for change. It’s a reflective, roots-tinged track about feeling stuck, holding onto hope and searching for whatever waits just beyond the edge of autumn.
Track 3: “Make Me a Train” is a driving, rootsy escape tune about leaving troubles in the dust. Powered by rolling rhythms and steel-track imagery, it’s a wide-open Americana ride toward whatever’s waiting down the line.
Track 4: “My Life” is a gritty, blues-soaked reflection on a life stuck in motion — rolling through heartache, hard times and worn-in wisdom. It’s a soulful snapshot of a traveler still looking for a place to finally stop and rest.
Track 5: “Lost in New Orleans” is a haunting, voodoo-tinged ride through the French Quarter, where devilish trouble, Mardi Gras colors, and swirling second lines blur into a dream. It’s a hazy atmospheric tale of temptation, music and misdirection as a restless soul tries to find his way out of the Crescent City’s spell.
Track 6: “I’m Through With Lovin’ You” is a fiery, no-looking-back breakup anthem. With driving energy and clear-eyed resolve, it celebrates finally shutting the door on heartbreak, lies and second chances — and stepping into a brand-new, good-time chapter.
Track 7: Danny O’Keefe’s “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” is a soul-soaked, bittersweet classic about dreams that fade, friends who drift away, and the quiet ache of a life stuck between longing and loss. A haunting, timeless tune that hits you right in the heart.
Track 8: “Shameless by the Moonlight” is a sultry, after-midnight escape — an intoxicating blend of desire, freedom and euphoric abandon. A lush, seductive soundtrack for nights glowing with moonlit desire, when anything goes.
Track 9: “Another Glass of Wine” pours out a classic heartbreak haze — raw, smoky and soaked in late-night regret. It’s the story of a lonely barstool confession, where every sip blurs the past but never quite erases the one memory that refuses to fade.
Track 10: "Whistle, Be On My Way" is a bright, breezy folk-inspired escape — an uplifting tune where a bird’s song becomes a guide to joy, freedom and letting life’s worries drift away like summer clouds. A feel-good, carefree tune for anyone craving a little lightness.
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