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Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Joel DaSilva, Midnight Howl Launch 2016 Tour at Bradfordville Blues Club
Royal Southern Brotherhood: THE ROYAL GOSPEL: OUT JUNE 24
Royal Southern Brotherhood:
Comes A Musical
Sermon
About Love, Unity,
And Peace
THE ROYAL
GOSPEL: Recorded at Dockside
Produced by
David Z
Out June 24 On Ruf Records
“The whole record is geared towards making a
joyful noise,” says Neville
Chemistry. You either got
it, or you don’t. When the five members of Royal Southern Brotherhood convened
in February 2016 at Dockside Studios, Louisiana, there was magic in the air. Just
seven days later, the acclaimed U.S. soul-blues collective emerged triumphant
with The Royal Gospel: the fourth album in their rocket-heeled
rise and further proof of a lineup born to play together.
Enough has been said about
Royal Southern Brotherhood’s illustrious backstory. Enough has been written
about the critical acclaim and sell-out crowds that greeted the original
lineup’s 2012 breakout. Right now, fans would rather hear about the questing
new material and finger-on-pulse worldview of The Royal Gospel,
released 2016 on Ruf Records. Amen to that.
Like all the best groups,
Royal Southern Brotherhood has evolved. Having bonded on 2015’s Don’t
Look Back, the MkII lineup of Cyril Neville (percussion/vocals), Bart
Walker (guitar/vocals), Tyrone Vaughan (guitar/vocals) and Yonrico Scott
(drums) have found another gear on bolstered by new recruit Darrell Philips
(bass/vocals),and guest B3 from Norman Caesar.
“As far as the men
making the music and playing the songs,” says Neville, “the mission of the band
has never changed.”
Scan the credits for The
Royal Gospel and you’ll recognize that while some bands operate a
songwriting dictatorship, this one thrives on material penned in partnership
(or even originated between three members). Neville is as prolific as you’d
expect – given the fistful of projects he’s kept spinning over the decades –
but so too are Walker and Vaughan, who collaborated remotely with their
bandleader, trading ideas back-and-forth via the Web.
“It’s not often that
you find a connection like Cyril and me,” explains Walker, whose Nashville home
is some 800 miles from Neville’s base in New Orleans. “It got to the point
where we were almost in each other’s heads – and we had already worked out what
the other one was gonna say.”
“It’s a very spiritual
thing,” agrees Neville. “I kinda laughed, because Bart was getting ahead of
what I was even thinking. Last time, we actually got together in the room to do
the demos. This time, it was all done by iPhone and stuff like that. But when
you taste this musical gumbo, you’re gonna be very satisfied. However we
approached the kitchen.”
When the band and famed
producer David Z arrived at Dockside, the recording ethos was unapologetically
old-school: simply cut the songs live in the room, eyeball-to-eyeball, in a
minimum of takes. “We walked in not really knowing what we were gonna do,”
recalls Philips. “Cyril and Bart come to us with chord progressions, tempos,
and ideas, and we build together. We’d just fall right into the thing and all
of a sudden, there’s the song. On this record, we came together as a band. It
was a magical thing to witness.”
Likewise, it’s a magical
album to hear. The Royal Gospel opens in emphatic style with “Where
There’s Smoke There’s Fire”: a stinging statement of intent co-written by
Neville and Vaughan, whose hard-rock riffing is tempered by a vocal addressing
a woman with “the face of an angel, a body that’s divine”. That same writing
duo also strikes gold on “Can’t Waste Time”, its descending guitar hook fused
to a lyric about a two-faced lover (“Girl, you’re like a ship without a
rudder”).
Fans of the Brotherhood’s
bluesier side will relish the rolling rhythms of “Spirit Man”, and hit repeat
for “I’m Comin’ Home”, with its molten slide-guitar solo and travelogue lyric
(“The road just goes on and on”). Elsewhere, Walker and Neville are at their
soulful best on “Blood Is Thicker Than Water”, the veteran bandleader singing
that “there’s nothing more sacred than the love of a son or daughter”, over a
groove sure to shake the room as the band tour the world through 2016. “It’s
extremely groove-orientated, this stuff,” nods Walker.
The Royal Gospel might
move your feet, but it’s not afraid to challenge your perceptions.
“The whole record is geared
toward making a joyful noise,” says Neville, “but while we’re partying, we
still need to be thinking about what’s going on around us. It covers what we’ve
seen in our travels over the last few years, and what we’ve lived personally as
citizens of the world.”
Case in point, “Hooked On
The Plastic” is an irresistible funk workout with soul-drenched backup vocals,
but also a razor-sharp critique of consumerism (“Livin’ way above your means…
no end to the stream of green”). And stick around for closing track “Stand Up”.
A joyous call-to-arms in the face of feckless modern politicians, it ends with
an electrifying outro, the band building to a dizzying crescendo while Neville
hollers a global message to take a stand: “Come together! Come
together!”
It’s a thrilling finale to
an album that cements Royal Southern Brotherhood’s reputation as a modern band
to treasure. This is The Royal Gospel. Consider us converted.
Only an elite group of players can be in a band like RSB, for it calls for
supreme musical chops, soul giving and a little voodoo for each night the bar
is raised.
Is it spiritual? Yes. Is it
hell-raising? Yes Ma’am. Is it soul-grabbing? Yes Sir.
Get in line to be healed.
The holy water is ready – are you?
Follow
the on all their social media platforms:
Twitter
– @RoyalSouthern
Instagram
- @royalsouthernbrotherhood
The Gospel Tour
06/03/16
Mandeville,
LA
Ruby’s Roadhouse
06/04/16
Ocean Springs, MS Ocean
Springs Live!
06/09/16
Denver,
CO
The Oriental Theater
06/10/16
Colorado Springs,
CO
Stargazers Theatre
06/11/16
Aspen, CO
Snowmass Free Summer Concerts
06/14/16
Lincoln,
NE
Zoo Bar
06/15/16
Wichita, KS
Barleycorn’s
06/16/16
Tulsa,
OK
Shrine
06/17/16
Topeka,
KS
Uncle Bo’s
06/18/16
Kansas City,
MO
CrossroadsKC
06/24/16
Norfolk,
VA
Bayou Boogaloo
07/08/16
Auburn Hills, MI
Callahan’s
07/09/16
Kalamazoo, MI
Kalamazoo Valley Blues Festival
07/10/16
Evanston,
IL
SPACE
07/14/16
Madison,
WI
La Fete de Marquette
07/15/16
South Bend, IN
Vegetable Buddies
07/16/16
Milwaukee,
WI
Bastille Day Festival
07/30/16
Pomeroy,
OH
Big Bend Blues Bash
08/06/16
Burnaby,
BC
Burnaby Blues Festival Canada
08/12/16
Calabogie
Calabogie Blues & Ribfest Canada
08/13/16
Quรฉbec
Donnacona Blues
Festival
Canada
08/20/16
Calabogie,
OH
Calabogie Blues – Blues & Ribfest
09/10/16
Las Vegas,
NV
Big Blues Bender
09/11/16
Las Vegas,
NV
Big Blues Bender
10/30/16
Lake Harmony,
PA
Pennsylvania Music Festival
NEWS + VIDEO: Billy Bragg & Joe Henry - New album
BILLY BRAGG & JOE HENRY
NEW ALBUM – ‘SHINE A LIGHT: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’
To be released on 23rd Sept ‘16 On Cooking Vinyl
+ UK SHOWS ANNOUNCED
Recorded while traveling across America by train Shine A Light features songs originally made famous by Hank Williams, Lead Belly, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot & more
WATCH BILLY BRAGG AND JOE HENRY PERFORM 'THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL' HERE
NEW ALBUM – ‘SHINE A LIGHT: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’
To be released on 23rd Sept ‘16 On Cooking Vinyl
+ UK SHOWS ANNOUNCED
Recorded while traveling across America by train Shine A Light features songs originally made famous by Hank Williams, Lead Belly, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot & more
WATCH BILLY BRAGG AND JOE HENRY PERFORM 'THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL' HERE
In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station. Winding along 2,728 miles of track, the pair recorded songs while the train paused to pick up passengers. In waiting rooms and at the track side in St Louis, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Alpine TX, El Paso and Tucson they set up their recording equipment, and performed classic railroad songs while keeping half an eye on the train and jumping back on board just before pulling out for the next town. After four days crossing the country, they pulled into Los Angeles at 4:30am, recording their final song in Union Station accompanied by the first chirpings of the dawn chorus.
The resulting album ‘Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’ features the perfectly matched voices of Bragg and Henry and captures the varied atmospheres of the environments in which they recorded—from the close proximity of soft-furnished sleeping cars to the cathedral-like ambience of historic railway stations.
Says Billy: "Railroad songs provided the bedrock of American popular music, from Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, to Lead Belly, whose repertoire provided several of the songs for this project. In this country, Lonnie Donegan’s 1956 hit ‘Rock Island Line’ sparked the skiffle craze, inspiring a generation of British teens to pick up guitars and form the groups that invaded American in the 60s, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin.
Growing up in the UK, I'd always been aware of this tradition but when I travelled to the US, I was surprised to find how few people look to the railroad as a means of transport. With this project, we wanted to explore the transformative power that the coming of the railroad had on the lives of ordinary people by taking these songs back to the places that inspired their creation. Travelling on the train and recording the songs as we went allowed us to both visit places that were important 125 years ago when the lines were laid, but to also explore the viability of the railroad as a means of transport in the 21st century."
Says Joe: "The emergence of the railroad in America boasted of our might and sprawling enormity, yet signaled a deep desire for close community, connectivity. The songs that grew out of and alongside this innovation remain to tell this story of collective national character."
Billy Bragg and Joe Henry most recently worked together when Henry produced Bragg's acclaimed 2013 album Tooth & Nail. The duo will tour the UK together later this year, performing songs from ‘Shine A Light’ and more. Full tour details are as follows:
NOVEMBER
7 LONDON Union Chapel
8 LONDON Union Chapel
9 CANTERBURY The Marlowe Theatre
10 BRIGHTON St.George's Church
12 PORTSMOUTH New Theatre Royal
13 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
14 GUILDFORD G Live
15 BURY ST EDMUNDS The Apex
17 NOTTINGHAM Playhouse
18 MANCHESTER The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM)
19 LINCOLN The Engine Shed
Track Listing for Shine A Light…
1. Rock Island Line – Traditional (Recorded by Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan)
2. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore – Jean Ritchie
3. The Midnight Special – Traditional (Lead Belly)
4. Railroad Bill – Traditional (Riley Puckett)
5. Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams
6. KC Moan – Traditional (The Memphis Jug Band)
7. Waiting For A Train – Jimmie Rodgers
8. In The Pines – Traditional (Lead Belly, The Louvin Brothers)
9. Gentle On My Mind – John Hartford (Glenn Campbell, Aretha Franklin)
10. Hobo's Lullaby - Goebel Reeves (Woody Guthrie)
11. Railroading On The Great Divide – Sara Carter (The Carter Family)
12. John Henry – Traditional (Doc Watson)
13. Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot
Billy Bragg has been a fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for over 30 years. Among the former Saturday boy’s albums are his punk-charged debut Life’s a Riot With Spy Vs Spy, the more love-infused Workers Playtime, pop classic Don’t Try This At Home, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee-timed treatise on national identity England, Half-English, and his stripped-down tenth, Tooth and Nail, his most successful since the early 90s. The intervening three decades have been marked by a number one hit single, having a street named after him, being the subject of a South Bank Show, appearing on stage at Wembley Stadium, curating Leftfield at Glastonbury, sharing spotted dick with a Cabinet minister in the House of Commons cafeteria, being mentioned in Bob Dylan’s memoir and meeting the Queen. At their best, Billy’s songs present ‘the perfect Venn diagram between the political and the personal’ (the Guardian).
In a career spanning 30 years, Joe Henry has left an indelible and unique imprint on American popular music. As a songwriter and artist, Henry is celebrated for his exploration of the human experience. A hyper-literate storyteller, by turns dark, devastating, and hopeful, he has an author's eye for the overlooked detail.
Henry has collaborated with many notable artists on his own body of work, from T Bone Burnett, Daniel Lanois, and Van Dyke Parks on one side of the spectrum, to Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Brad Mehldau, and Bill Frisell on the other. A three-time-Grammy-winning producer, Henry has made records for Bonnie Raitt, Hugh Laurie, Lisa Hannigan, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, and many others. In 2015, Henry helmed a recording session for the late Allen Toussaint. The resulting album, American Tunes, will be released this year. In 2013, Algonquin Press published, Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World that Made Him, a book co-written by Joe and his brother Dave Henry.
Henry’s most recent studio album, Invisible Hour, was released on his own Work Song label. The album features numerous guests including The Milk Carton Kids as well as Lisa Hannigan, who co-wrote the title track along with Henry and best-selling novelist Colum McCann. As a solo artist and a producer alike, Henry’s records are marked with a consistent sonic depth, attention to narrative, and emphasis on the beauty of spontaneity.
See Billy & Joe performing The Midnight Special HERE. This track is also available to download immediately when you pre-order the album from the official store or iTunes.
WEBSITE: http://po.st/ShineALight1
OFFICIAL STORE: http://po.st/SaLStore
AMAZON: http://po.st/SaLamz
ITUNES: http://po.st/SaLiT
www.cookingvinyl.com
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