SUPERSONIC BLUES MACHINE ANNOUNCE THE GLOBAL RELEASE
OF
CALIFORNISOUL ON OCTOBER 20 VIA MASCOT LABEL GROUP /
PROVOGUE
ALL-STAR CAST INCLUDES BILLY GIBBONS, STEVE LUKATHER,
ERIC GALES,
WALTER TROUT AND ROBBEN FORD
Los Angeles, CA – Supersonic
Blues Machine, featuring Fabrizio Grossi (bass / producer), Lance Lopez (guitar
/ vocals) and Kenny Aronoff (drums) has announced the global release of CALIFORNISOUL!
On October 20 via Mascot Label Group / Provogue Records. The title, available
on CD, double vinyl, download and streaming, presents the sound the band spent
much of 2017 sharing with audiences from Texas to Holland and India to St.
Petersburg, Russia, picking up right where the they left off on their
well-received debut record, West of Flushing, South of Frisco.
Grossi shares, ““CALIFORNISOUL! That’s exactly what it is. It’s the
missing soundtrack to a summertime drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in
1971!”
Recorded at Fab’s Lab in
North Hollywood, California, the repertoire is all about great songs.
“Cry” is a soul searching, simmering piece of poetry and Lance Lopez preaches
it in the most righteous way. “I Am Done Missing You” is another number that
reaches down deep with a message that will resonate with both spurned lovers
and those who have left their bad habits and ways in the past. Californisoul is
a study and celebration of the human condition, and “This Is Love” could be the
lovechild of Bob Marley and War with some stinging guitar action spread on top.
We’re living in times in which it’s hard to keep on keeping on, and it’s easy
to fall prey to habits, vices, and distractions - “Elevate” takes a close look
at the “high” life, and how one must raise above the temptations and
tribulations if the music is to be made.
Fabrizio Grossi talks about
a soundtrack for an imaginary road trip up the California coastline in the
heady, halcyon days of the early 70s, and that really captures the vibe and
mojo that is Californisoul. The songs Grossi has written for this album are as
top notch as they are diverse. This machine covers a lot of ground. As the
ever-tighter core of Lopez, Grossi, and Aronoff comes together with the elite
of the modern-day blues rock community, this is much closer to Woodstock and
Watkins Glen than it is to a cut and paste A-list vanity session. This is about
friendship, the brotherhood of the blues, and bringing the blues up to this
moment in time.
Lance Lopez is once again at
the front and center. His guitar work is as hot and gritty as anything ever
cooked up down in Texas, and his singing evokes memories of the great soul,
blues, and rock vocalists. You’ll hear the influence and heritage of Bobby
“Blue” Bland, the funk of Sly Stone, and the world-weary rumination of the
late, great Gregg Allman, but Lopez never really sounds like anything but
himself. Kenny Aronoff is truly one of the most in-demand drummers on the
planet, and his work on the album is one of the ingredients that make the
record so special. Aronoff has also brought along his substantial arranging and
compositional skills to great effect. Whether performing with John
Fogerty, BoDeans, Sir Paul McCartney, John Cougar Mellencamp, The Smashing
Pumpkins or Supersonic Blues Machine, he is simply one of the best players on
the planet.
Guests on the album include Billy
Gibbons, who returns with pen and guitar (“Broken Heart”), Steve
Lukather (Toto / Ringo’s All-Starr Band) throws down some stunning licks
(“Hard Times”), Eric Gales is back in the fold (“Elevate”), Robben
Ford brings his bag of soulfully sophisticated chops (“Somebody’s Fool”), Walter
Trout brings some silky slow blues (“What’s Wrong”), and the party is
rounded out with Alessandro Alessandroni Jr. on keyboards, Serge
Simic (co-writer and background vocals on “Love” and “Hard Times”), and Andrea
and Francis Benitez Grossi (background vocals). You may come for the stars,
but you’ll stay for the whole show.
Fabrizio Grossi adds, “Lots
of people have been saying to me ‘why does Supersonic Blues Machine always
bring guests around? You guys can stand your own ground’, and there are three
answers to that – first, we’re all super friends and we're having a blast;
second, most of them don't give lessons and for us it's only way to learn their
secret "ways"; and thirdly, because the inspiration and the challenge
they bring to the table!” Supersonic Blues Machine is truly a family as
well as a band, and these guests don’t mail it in, they stay for dinner. The
community aspect is very real, and one of the band’s great treasures.
The complete track listing
features: “I Am Done Missing You,” “Somebody’s Fool” (featuring Robben Ford).
“Love,” “Broken Heart” (featuring Billy Gibbons), “Bad Boys,” “Elevate”
(featuring Eric Gales), “The One,” “Hard Times” (featuring Steve Lukather),
“Cry.” “The Stranger,” “What’s Wrong” (featuring Walter Trout), “Thank You,”
“This Is Love.”
