Troy Campbell

In 1999 Troy Campbell issued his first solo album, Man Vs. Beast, via the independent M. Ray imprint he founded after serving as frontman for the Austin roots-rock band Loose Diamonds.

Born to a Kentucky truck driver and a Korean mother, Campbell took up the guitar only at age 21. He and bassist brother Mike launched the Dayton, Ohio, group the Highwaymen, whose sound reflected the approach of Texas outfits such as True Believers. The Highwaymen moved to Austin in 1989, enlisted guitarist Judd Newcomb, and adopted the name Loose Diamonds, borrowed from a Jo Carol Pierce song that Campbell would later produce. The band cycled through several drummers, maintained a busy touring schedule, and released multiple albums of dynamic roots rock; The New York Times later listed the group’s Fresco Fiasco among the ten most overlooked records of 1996.

On Man Vs. Beast Campbell collaborated with Americana figures including Ray Wylie Hubbard and Jon Dee Graham of True Believers, and Patty Griffin supplied vocals on two tracks. The resulting solo work adopted a more subdued and intimate character than his recordings with Loose Diamonds.