Celebrating the birthday of fabulous Canadian jazz singer Diana Panton with a live trio session tonight at 7pm. See link below.
Here's the backstory on Diana's Live in Session Concert Series:
Last March was the last time our trio had the opportunity to play together. It was mere days before I was scheduled to board a plane for the JUNOs in Saskatoon (Reg too) and then on to Paris for March Break, but co-vid had other plans...
We had hoped to record a new album in August 2019, but the loss of those dear, along with co-vid protocols, postponed that project. Since then, given my pandemic circumstances, there has been little music in my days until these sessions we present to you now.
Re-uniting with Reg and Don in this intimate setting gives you a glimpse into what our studio sessions are like (though granted a bit more nerve-wracking with the camera rolling). As per usual, there is little talking and a lot of focus. I am reminded how grateful and blessed I am to work with these two - whom I value both as musicians and human beings. I'm equally thankful for Chad at Inception Sound Studios for all that he does to help us sound our best and to Francois and Jennifer at Leading Pictures for documenting this reunion.
As an independent artist, I normally use revenue from gigs to help finance our upcoming recordings. Of course, this year has meant no performances. I know these have been tough times for so many. As such, we hope these free concerts bring some smiles and solace. If you value the music we create and if you have the means, your donation would be greatly appreciated. Funds raised will help us record our new album this August. For those interested, here's the link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dianapanton
Most importantly, thank you for lending your ears and your hearts to these musical offerings.
Musically,
Diana
Watch the Diana Panton Trio's Love Songs Session virtual concert followed by the previous Cheerful Session performance below.
The twisted 1966 lounge private press gem from the J Ann C Trio is being reissued by Modern Harmonic – matches not included.
Here's the scoop...
Growling and prowling like a more playful Wanda Jackson, Ann Delrene leads this trio down avenues of jazz, rockabilly, & folk, all from the comforts of a Missouri resort! A record that sounds as good as it looks, there’s no wonder folks have traded four figures for a copy! This private press treasure from the J Ann C Trio gets its first ever reissue!
Here's one right here that goes way back for me. In fact this is one of the life-changers for me. Just looking at it and, “woah, what's she sound like?” and those guys. Back then I would go to the post office and look in phone books and write down names. Just start calling people and calling people and calling people. I got nowhere with this one except back whenever like 20 years ago, or something. The place was still there, the Tan-Tar-A, the resort in the Ozarks in Missouri where they used to play. So, I was saying, "Can you ask around? Anybody remember these people?” And nobody's heard of them. It was a long time ago. But I did get brochures for vacations there in the mail, that's all I got.
But this one, the song "Voodoo Doll,” in particular, when I heard it, that was what put it all together for me. At that time, I was still heavily into garage music. It had the garage thing. I was really into space music and sort of, science fiction-y aspects and the guitar is sort of freeform reverb noise and I was really into sexy female vocalists and having those three, and having a groove sort of beat going. Not a corny song where it's going to get blown, like you have a great verse then you have a cheesy chorus that comes in that's cheap not cheesy in the correct way to make the song work. That just had it.. half this album’s like that to me, and that song in particular stands out to me.
And "Funnel Of Love" also appeals to the twilight zone sort of strange aspect, which was early on a heavy thing for me – getting that twilight zone feeling when I hear a record, like I got with Peter Grudzien. Where I feel like what I imagine drugs would have done for me if it’d worked, when I was a little kid wanting to run away to San Francisco or something. Something that just seems like it's from another dimension. When I hear it. it just puts me into this almost... is my hair going to prickle up? Am I making some sort of secret mysterious contact with some lost little scene that's going on? What was that scene like? Who were the people around it? You know, what were their friends like? What did they do? Or like, was it a David Lynch type weirdness or what? So, I had that sort of thing going on. So, for lounge bands, it is one of the big ones and one of the first ones that I got into.
– Paul Major (from Enjoy The Experience)
J Ann C Trio - at Tan-Tar-A
Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (2:19) • Night Train (2:58) • More (2:47) • Hey Bo Diddley (1:32) • If I Had A Hammer (2:25) • Voodoo Doll (1:46) • Your Cheatin’ Heart (2:33) • Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (1:45) • The Girl From Ipanema (3:15) • The Tide (2:28) • Funnel Of Love (2:13) • Moon River (1:44)
Diana Panton launches her Live in Session series with Reg Schwager & Don Thompson tonight at 7pm Eastern. Watch it below.
Here's the backstory on the upcoming Live in Session Concert Series:
Last March was the last time our trio had the opportunity to play together. It was mere days before I was scheduled to board a plane for the JUNOs in Saskatoon (Reg too) and then on to Paris for March Break, but co-vid had other plans...
We had hoped to record a new album in August 2019, but the loss of those dear, along with co-vid protocols, postponed that project. Since then, given my pandemic circumstances, there has been little music in my days until these sessions we present to you now.
Re-uniting with Reg and Don in this intimate setting gives you a glimpse into what our studio sessions are like (though granted a bit more nerve-wracking with the camera rolling). As per usual, there is little talking and a lot of focus. I am reminded how grateful and blessed I am to work with these two - whom I value both as musicians and human beings. I'm equally thankful for Chad at Inception Sound Studios for all that he does to help us sound our best and to Francois and Jennifer at Leading Pictures for documenting this reunion.
As an independent artist, I normally use revenue from gigs to help finance our upcoming recordings. Of course, this year has meant no performances. I know these have been tough times for so many. As such, we hope these free concerts bring some smiles and solace. If you value the music we create and if you have the means, your donation would be greatly appreciated. Funds raised will help us record our new album this August. For those interested, here's the link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dianapanton
Most importantly, thank you for lending your ears and your hearts to these musical offerings. The first concert will premier this Sunday, 7 pm EDT.
With Peter Murphy, Charo and a contortionist involved, Kat Von D's synth-heavy music venture is readymade for Vegas.
Here's the scoop...
Long before the history-making tattoos, ubiquitous television shows, best-selling books, and influential beauty empire, Kat Von D sat down at a piano for nearly two hours a day and played. In essence, music became her first creative language and most trusted outlet. Classical training and a deep appreciation for music of all genres essentially underscored her life. She studied voice under Ken Tamplin six days per week, strengthening her vocals. In 2012, she began writing with Grammy-winning tunesmith Linda Perry.
Following this experience, Kat continued to write on her own, sitting at the piano and summoning songs from raw emotion. During 2014, she retreated to London to record the original mix of what would become her full-length debut album Love Made Me Do It (KVD/Kartel Music Group) before cementing it with her band—Gregg Foreman (Cat Power, Delta 72) [synth 1], Sammi Doll [synth 2], drummer Dave Parley and contortionist Brynn Route. They moved into a bungalow cottage on her property, lived together, and finished the record.
A pastiche of shapeshifting analog synths, post-punk dreamscapes, gothic hues, and shy pop magnetism, these eleven songs echo the eternal will of the perennially brokenhearted to love until death. It’s highlighted by standouts such as the first single “Exorcism,” “Protected” featuring Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and produced and co-written with Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle) and “The Calling” capped off by never-before-heard recordings from original scream queen Vampira. Along with the aforementioned Linda Perry, the album also includes contributions from Dave Grohl, Ladyhawke, TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek and Charo – yes, that Charo.
“With anything I’ve ever created, I always hope audiences enjoy the final product,” she leaves off. “The music should speak for itself. I’ve spent years tattooing lyrics, album covers, band logos, and song titles on people. I hope this music translates on the same level to listeners.”
The release of the album's third single, "Enough" will be accompanied by a video written and directed by visual artist/photographer Franz Szony. Known for his surrealist portraits of Orville Peck, Vanessa Hudgens, Dita Von Teese, Violet Chatchki and Gigi Goode, Szony's video for "Enough" (watch it below) depicts a darkly humorous gothic tale inspired by Kat and Franz 'love for old movies. “Kat is an incredible artist first and foremost, and applies her artistry to everything she does... the way she lives, dresses. I greatly admire people who live their fantasy with everything they do… her music is another avenue for her to bring people into her art and storytelling. Her song lended itself perfectly to something cinematic and camp. ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ and Fellini were two inspirations we both loved,” says Franz Szony.
Franz is also the mastermind behind creating the dreamlike settings bursting with detail and illustrating the imaginary of the fantastic world Kat lives in. Taking us from a candle lit bathtub scene of Kat bathing in black water, through a Fellini inspired boat ride across rough waters where she sails by mythical siren - played by aforementioned contortionist Brynn Route, Franz Szony creates a fever dream which give us a glimpse into the theatre of his and Kat’s imagination.
Talking about working with Franz Szony, Kat says; “To me, Franz’s work marries the world of beauty and the macabre and it was a dream come true to create something epic with him. After a few DMs, we met up at my house and brainstormed ideas. Franz hand drew some rough sketches and came up with this surrealist approach to the video. So many details went into creating his vision, from the set design, to the props, and to the outrageous costuming that was completely handmade.”
Kat Von D's Love Made Me Do It album is out August 27th but you can pre-order a copy right here. Tickets are on sale for her upcoming US west coast tour dates on her site: https://katvond.com. WatchKat introduce her band followed by videos for "Exorcism," "Enough," "I Am Nothing," and "Fear You" below.
You could say Wesley Stace is wearing the inspiration for the new Late Style album on his sleeve. Great work Tony Stella!
Here's the scoop from Omnivore Recordings...
With Late Style, Wesley Stace, the artist formerly known as John Wesley Harding, has done things differently. Having begun to put some new lyrics to music, in his usual way, singing to an acoustic guitar, he realized he was coming up with old solutions, reinventing a wheel he had already made, with chord progressions and melodies that worked as folk and pop songs but were not satisfying his desire for something fresh, something he’d be excited to listen to in 2021. So, he turned to David Nagler, the musical director of his portable variety show, the Cabinet of Wonders, to be the Rodgers to his Hart, the Elton to his Bernie, the Bachrach to his David.
Late Style is influenced by artists like Mose Allison, Carla Bley, Nina Simone, Bob Dorough, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Gil Scott-Heron, The Bee Gees, Tom Lehrer, The Carpenters, and even The Partridge Family, without imitating them, so the songs feel modern and “modern” all at once. You can call them uneasy easy listening—smooth, but oddly shaped, with surprising harmonic changes and rhythmic angles. They have the paradoxical flavor of having been written to be hits without any thought of having hits at all.
Though Wesley had originally imagined a record that “a phenomenally well-rehearsed combo might record in a club, perhaps even in front of an audience,” COVID had other plans. But through the mysterious magic of modern technology, the recording came together out of Philadelphia, where Wesley lives; New York, where David built tracks from keyboards, acoustic guitars and virtual instruments; San Francisco, where Wes’s longtime friend and collaborator Chris von Sneidern (a solo artist and sometime member of the Flamin’ Groovies) added electric guitar, vocals, horns and the drums of Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Todd Rundgren, Jefferson Starship); and Chicago, where Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor of the Flat Five added harmonies.
Here's Ilya Mirman's portrait photo of Wesley which Tony Stella turned into the Late Style cover.
Graphic artist Tony Stella – who recently did the book jacket for Quentin Tarantino's novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – provided the stylish sleeve art for Late Style. Wesley explains how it all came together...
"Many of you have expressed your enthusiasm for, and asked about, the cover painting for LATE STYLE. Here goes! It's by the genius Tony Stella, whose work can be found here: https://www.tony-stella.com. You should definitely take a look around.
"As we were making the album, I realised I needed something effortlessly authentic for the cover, perhaps a painting like those old records we all love. I'd been following Mr Stella on Twitter for some time, and one morning I was lying in bed, checking out my "feed" (as one does before one fully commits to getting out of bed) and I suddenly realised: "Oh My God! This is fully perfect! It can't even go wrong!" And so I tweeted him, and made an inquiry, and guess what: he said yes. Then I had to work out what the image should be, beyond being a portrait of yours truly.
"So, I got in touch with Ilya Mirman, a brilliant photographer who also happens to be the brother of Eugene Mirman, to a) take some nice promo pics but also b) to get the image that we could send to Tony and he'd paint. I therefore went up to the Boston City Winery (who, due to the kind offices of Michael Bishop and Caitlyn Cooke, let us have the run of the place for a morning), met Ilya there, not to mention David Nagler, and took some pics, quite a few of which you'll see on the inside sleeve of the CD and LP.
"I sent Tony four images, and he apparently chose the one I attach here, perhaps combining it with one of the others (and making sure my collar wasn't askew) to get the actual image for the cover as you see it now. I was blown away. It was actually what I'd imagined, without having quite imagined anything at all, except that I loved all of his work without exception. And thanks to Ilya, of course.
The Pop Group's "Y in Dub" is due out digitally via Mute on October 29th with a vinyl version to follow.
Here's the scoop...
Following the announcement that The Pop Group and dub maestro Dennis ‘Blackbeard’ Bovell MBE will perform the worldwide premiere of Y in Dub as part of Terry Hall presents Home Sessions for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, this clash of titans have now announced the album release of Y in Dub, the dub reinterpretation of Y, one of the era-defining releases of the post-punk period.
Check out the dub version of “Words Disobey Me” (below) adapted into an uncanny reckoning of expanded off-key noise and ricocheting song remnants.
Y in Dub will be released by Mute on CD and digitally on October 29 (pre-order it here: http://mute.ffm.to/yindub) with the LP release set to follow at a later date, due to ongoing worldwide production issues with vinyl. CD copies will be available for the Toronto release party with DJ Nick Smash at The Piston (937 Bloor West) on October 31. See flyer below for details.
Mirroring the track listing of their 1979 debut, Y in Dub is a 9-track collection of heavyweight dub versions that match the prodigious intensity of their source material, reflecting the enterprising originality of the dub and reggae music that inspired The Pop Group, as well as the legendary ingenuity of their longstanding collaborator Dennis Bovell, who recently was awarded an MBE for his services to music.
After celebrating the 40th anniversary reissue of Y – released by Mute in 2019 – The Pop Group enlisted Bovell to reinterpret the album after his extraordinary appearance at Rough Trade East in London for the band’s ‘Salon Y’ event series the same year. The event saw Bovell perform live versions of ‘She Is Beyond Good & Evil’ and ‘3.38’, based on the deconstructive principles of dub. With Y In Dub, Bovell reprises his role at the controls.
Testifying to the legacy of the original yet also signifying a new, alternate triumph, Y In Dub sees The Pop Group and Bovell explore latent possibilities within the fabric of Y. Here they amplify shadows and echoes, intensively accentuating the resonance of each element. The original material is submerged and prolonged, shattered, splintered, and sculpted into turbulent, contrasting forms which deviate from the original tracks in compelling, unexpected ways.
For more info on the 'Y in Dub' release party with DJ Nick Smash, check the Facebook page right here.
R.E.M. is re-releasing their 1981 debut single recorded in the Winston-Salem garage of Mitch Easter's parents.
Here's the scoop...
For the first time in 40 years, rock icons R.E.M. are reissuing their foundational, debut single “Radio Free Europe,” first released in 1981. While many fans know the 1983 version of the song, which appeared on the band’s first studio album Murmur, only a lucky few have heard this version, which marks one of R.E.M.’s earliest recordings. Due for release July 23rd via Craft Recordings, and available to pre-order today, Radio Free Europe (Original Hib-Tone Single) will be presented in its original format: as a 45-RPM single, housed in a jacket featuring photography by Michael Stipe. In an homage to the band’s hometown, the single was pressed in Athens, GA at Kindercore Vinyl.
In addition to the 7” single, R.E.M.’s 1981 demonstration tape—titled Cassette Set—is also being made available for the first time. This ultra-rare collection will be available exclusively via the official R.E.M. store as a bundle with the 7”, limited to 1,500 copies worldwide. The Cassette Set tape—also releasing July 23— will replicate the original packaging, which was self-assembled by the band, using photocopied cardstock for the J-card inlays and handwritten cassette labels by Stipe.
In 1979, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry were students at the University of Georgia, in the vibrant college town of Athens. Buck worked at Wuxtry Records—a local record store that Stipe frequented. The two young men quickly bonded over their shared love of proto-punk bands like the Velvet Underground and Television. Roommates Mills and Berry, meanwhile, met in high school and had already played in several bands together in their hometown of Macon.
That fall, the four young men met through a mutual friend, Kathleen O’Brien, and began casually playing music together. Several months later, O’Brien was organizing a concert/ birthday party and invited Stipe, Buck, Mills, and Berry to open the show. The group played a loose set of covers and original songs to more than three hundred people. Needless to say, it was a success.
Within a few months, they built a following in the local scene. By early 1981, they had a fanbase that expanded beyond the confines of Athens. That spring, the band were connected with singer, songwriter, and producer Mitch Easter (later of Let’s Active), who booked the band for a session at his Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, NC.
On April 15th, set up in Easter’s parents’ converted garage, R.E.M. recorded three songs: “Sitting Still,” “White Tornado,” and “Radio Free Europe.” The resulting tracks were copied to several-hundred self-produced cassette tapes—approximately 400 copies—and distributed to clubs, journalists and labels. The collection, titled Cassette Set, included a few playful additions; “Sitting Still” was prefaced by a few seconds of a high tempo run through of the song done in Polka-style; “White Tornado” was followed by an aborted “White Tornado” take where Buck blunders, the song grinds to a halt, and Buck is heard apologizing before Easter’s voice appears. This Cassette Set was the only place to get the very original Easter mixes of “Sitting Still” and “Radio Free Europe.” Outside of the copies originally produced, this early demonstration tape collection has never-before been reissued—until now.
A copy of the tape also made its way to Jonny Hibbert, who owned the Atlanta-based indie label, Hib-Tone. Impressed, Hibbert offered to put out the band’s first single. On May 24, the band returned to the studio and laid down some overdubs onto “Radio Free Europe” and Hibbert mixed both “Radio Free Europe” and “Sitting Still” the next day.
While the band preferred Easter’s original mix of the song, Hibbert chose his own mix for the 7-inch single, which featured “Sitting Still” as the B-side. An initial pressing of 1,000 was released in July 1981, with 600 copies designated for promotional use. Later, an additional 6,000 copies were issued, due to popular demand (and for practical reasons, as the first pressing inadvertently omitted contact info for the band.)
Despite mishaps along the way, the release of the “Radio Free Europe” single earned the band critical acclaim and an offer from I.R.S. Records. Under the new label, a more experienced R.E.M. re-recorded “Radio Free Europe.” The new version—which featured a slower tempo than its predecessor and slightly revised lyrics—was released as the band’s first official single with I.R.S., and appeared on their 1983 debut, Murmur.
The single garnered the band their first chart success, peaking at No.78 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped to propel Murmur up the album charts, where it landed at No.36. Decades later, the song was regarded by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, while in 2010, “Radio Free Europe” was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry—noted for having paved the way for subsequent indie rock acts “by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio’s general indifference.”
Despite the breakthrough success of that 1983 recording, R.E.M. has long stated that the rougher, Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe” is the superior recording. And, while eagle-eyed fans may note that the single was listed as a track on R.E.M.’s 1988 compilation, Eponymous, and then on 2006’s I.R.S. years compilation (And I Feel Fine…The Best of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987), the version that was labeled “Original Hib-Tone single” was, in fact, Easter’s original mix, not Hibbert’s. That formative pressing, however, has remained a sought-after rarity for four decades—and is available again for the first time here.
Have a listen to R.E.M.'s original Hib-Tone version of their "Radio Free Europe" single and the Cassette Set version of "White Tornado". Check the links section below for an interview with Mitch Easter.
Pianist Monty Alexander's chance encounter with Frank Sinatra in Miami led to a career-changing stint at Jilly's night club in NYC.
Writes Monty Alexander...
My family moved to Miami, Florida in 1961. The following year when I was playing at Le Bi', a Miami Beach nightclub, Frank Sinatra stopped by with his good friend Ermenigildo "Jilly" Rizzo. Rizzo owned his own club #Jilly's at 256 W. 52nd Street in NYC. It was Sinatra's primary hangout in Manhattan. Sinatra and friends were impressed and there was talk of bringing me to New York to play at Jilly's but nothing came off of that first interlude.
However, six months later in Reno, Nevada, lightning struck twice as the same chance encounter with Jilly and Frank Sinatra took place when I was playing at the Thunderbird Hotel, but this time, just a few days later, Jilly bought me an airline ticket and the next night I was a regular piano player, playing for a who's who of entertainers and musicians.
I was nervous, but I had a great bass player, Bob Cranshaw. I don’t read music so I have to use my ears. I knew the songs of Sinatra such as "I’ve Got You Under My Skin" and "I Get a Kick Out of You", but Bob was leaning over and saying: ‘G, D, B flat’, and I pulled it off because I’m instinctive. All I know is Sinatra turned around with a big smile. That was it. He was one of those people who inspire you, he would come over and say things like: ‘Keep swinging kid’ or ‘You’re swinging’ or ‘ You’re grooving’.
I met Miles Davis at Jilly’s. Miles dug my playing and he had me come over to his place and hang out. It taught me confidence because half of the stuff is being confident so that when you play ‘that’ note on the piano or trumpet, it’s the right note, not another note, but ‘that’ note, which comes only from a sense of security, and it really helps when your heroes tell you to ‘keep going’."
At that time I thought life would end, because it couldn’t get better than this. I realized I was in very fast company. Not just in jazz, but in all the top entertainers in show business. Judy Garland is sitting at the piano bar. I look around and Sammy Davis Jr is walking in. I played at private events at Frank Sinatra's apartment. He was a good friend. That crowd, they wanted to hang out until 6 a.m. I would keep it going until then. Miles Davis would come in. Count Basie was sitting there with Frank. That's where I met Milt Jackson. I was learning so much at this time. I was also performing at the Playboy Club.
At Jilly’s, for the next four years, my trio with a rotating stellar cast of bassist and drummers (Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Al Harewood, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Rocker, Sonny Payne, Tommy Williams, George Tucker) swung until the wee hours of the morning for Sinatra, a mix of celebrity entertainers, tough guys, thrill seekers, and more!
Check out the video clip below and Monty's trio with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton right here.
Prior to starting The Gris Gris, Greg Ashley put out a couple of twisted psych gems with The Mirrors... but one got away.
Here's the scoop...
"Nobody gave a sh*t about my garage band in Houston, People liked my music out here. I got to meet one of heroes, Russell Quan of the Mummies, and he was a fan of my band."
– Greg Ashley
The singer and songwriter Greg Ashley has made a name for himself both as a member of notable underground bands The Gris Gris, The Mirrors and Strate Coats, as well as a solo artist. As a fixture in the underground music scene, his musical abilities span a range of genres including garage punk, psychedelia, and folk. In addition to his own music, he works as a producer and sound engineer, previously running his own Oakland-based studio, Creamery Studio and now rebuilding his home studio in Texas.
After high school, Greg Ashley took to perusing the work of the original '60s artists, immersing himself in the Rolling Stones' bluesy early material, the Beatles' mid-period psychedelia, the crazed noise of the 13th Floor Elevators, and the fuzzy surf of the Ventures. Assimilating these influences, Ashley formed a quintet called the Mirrors and released two scruffy, all-over-the-map albums
The Mirrors were Greg Ashley’s post-Strate Coats (7” also available on Hook or Crook) and pre Gris-Gris outfit. In 2001 they self-released the “A Green Dream” LP in an edition of 500. Though hard to imagine in retrospect, in 2001 it was unlike anything else being created at the time, fusing well played, well written freaky psychedelia with with groovy ballads, tinny xylophone, feng shui recitations and occasionally a confusion that approaches the Sun City Girls. Pervading it all is an acid-drenched folky psychedelia that would make fellow Texan Roky Erickson proud. This lost 3rd Album is the missing bridge between The Mirrors and what was to come in The Gris Gris.
Get a copy of The Mirrors' Lost 3rd Album from Cardinal Fuzz via Bandcamp right here.
Check the track list following a rare clip from The Mirrors last show, performing "Medication #2" at the Texas Psych Fest on July 26, 2002.
Currently in the works, Beyond The Days of The Dream Syndicate should be out sometime in 2022. Check the trailer.
Here's the scoop from Dream Syndicate HQ...
Coming in 2022. Emiel Spoelder has been working on this documentary about our band for some time now and he’s ready to take it to the finish line. He’s looking for photos and artifacts and clips and any other items to augment what he’s put together so drop him a line if you have the goods. In the meantime, enjoy this trailer for what’s ahead.
GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor features updates of the late great Chicago bluesman's whumpin' house rockers.
Here's the scoop...
Hound Dog Taylor
Blues music is revered for its timelessness. The best blues – no matter how old – sounds as fresh and visceral today as it did when first recorded. The high-energy electric blues trio GA-20 – guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman – know this well. The band’s dynamic self-penned songs sound and feel as fresh and real as the old blues they love and perform, including songs by Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells and especially their favourite, Hound Dog Taylor.
Legendary six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor always knew how he wanted to be remembered, declaring, “When I die they’ll say, ‘he couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!’” His first full length recording in 1971 was also the first album on now world-famous Alligator Records, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. In fact, label president Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator for the sole purpose of recording and releasing that album.
Now, Colemine Records – working in partnership with Alligator Records – will release GA-20’s new full-length album, GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It…You Might Like It!, featuring 10 songs written or performed by the Chicago blues legend. From the fiery first single and album opener “She’s Gone” to the blistering “Sadie” to the all-time Hound Dog classic “Give Me Back My Wig”, GA-20 deliver one electrifying track after another.
GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try it... You Might Like It! is being released by Colemine's Karma Chief subsidiary in co-operation with Alligator Records on August 20th but you can pre-order it right here.
Watch the videos for "Let's Get Funky" and "She's Gone" below followed by a list of GA-20's upcoming tour dates which doesn't include a Toronto show but on the upside, they're splitting a bill with the amazing Ikebe Shakedown in Boston on December 17th.
