Stony
Plain Records Sets May 17 Release Date for
Ear Worms,
the New Album from Award-Winning Guitarist Duke Robillard
WATERDOWN, ON – Stony Plain Records announces a May 17
release date for Ear Worms, the new album from two-time Grammy
nominee and multi-Blues Music Award winning guitarist Duke Robillard, which
will be available in both CD and vinyl formats.
Here’s a link to pre-order the album, which also includes
a special advance listen to “Don’t Bother to Steal Her Love:” http://smarturl.it/earworms.
“Ear
Worms was conceived as an album of songs that I heard and was attracted
to growing up,” says Duke Robillard about the new disc’s genesis. “They are not
of one particular genre or style, but rather songs I heard in my pre-teens to
my later teens, with the exception of a few songs which I threw into the mix to
round out the overall album vibe; sounds that stuck in my head, in many cases
before I knew what the blues was. I guess you could call them ‘ear worms.’ It
can be a song you can’t get out of your head because you love it so much, or it
can also be a mundane piece of drivel that haunts you like a bad dream.
Hopefully, if these songs become ear worms for you, they will be good ones!”
Produced by Robillard and recorded
at Lakewest Recording and Duke’s Mood Room, Ear Worms features
Duke (guitars, vocal) and his long-time band: Bruce Bears (piano, Hammond
organ); Brad Hallen (acoustic and electric bass); and Mark Teixeira (drums).
Both Bears and Teixeira also sing lead vocal on one track each. Joining them on
the sessions, besides some stellar additional musicians are several special
guest vocalists: Chris Cote, Sunny Crownover, Mark Cutler, Julie Grant, Dave
Howard and Klem Klimek.
The track listing for Ear
Worms features a Duke-penned original, the rollicking “Don’t Bother
Trying to Steal Her Love,” that kicks off the album in grand style, followed by
a dozen songs – some well-known, others not so much - including “Living
with the Animals,” “I Am a Lonesome Hobo,” “Sweet Nothin’s,” “Dear Dad,”
“Yellow Moon,” and “Yes We Can.” The repertoire demonstrates the breadth of
Robillard’s skill and knowledge of so many styles of
music.
Duke
Robillard tells a particularly interesting story about one of the tracks on the
new album. “‘Everyday I Have to Cry Some’ is a song
written by Arthur Alexander that was additionally recorded by Steve Alaimo and
Dusty Springfield,” he says. “There was another great young pop singer creating
hits in England in the ‘60s named Julie Grant who also recorded it. She had
many wonderful and successful records at a very young age. It so happens that
for quite a few years Julie worked as a booking agent for one of the nearby casinos
in Connecticut. One day we were talking, and she revealed that she was a
British pop singer, so I googled her and was blown away by what a great singer
she was, with a long list of hit records! So, this wonderful British lady that
I had known for several years was a star and a fabulous vocalist! ‘Everyday I
Have to Cry Some’ was a song I always loved and Julie’s version of it is my
favorite. I took a chance and asked her if she would record it for this album.
We recorded a few takes and spent the rest of the afternoon sipping wine and
listening to stories of her teenage years in London: double dates with Paul
McCartney and Jane Asher; stories about the Rolling Stones opening a tour for
her; and so many other memories. I had wanted to put Julie and Sunny Crownover
together for this and it worked out wonderfully. It was a ball to make the
guitar arrangement for this song. We really worked at capturing the ‘60s vibe
of Julie’s record while making it ours at the same time. I do hope everyone
enjoys the ‘60s ‘wall of sound’ vibe here.”
Robillard cites several reasons for the inclusion of certain songs on the new
album. “First of all, a large part of my musical make-up is from the production
side,” he volunteers. “Since I was as young as 10 years old, the sounds on
recordings always captured my imagination. ‘Why did they fade out at the time
they did? How did they get that sound? Why does the reverb come up as the song
fades out?’ Production was a mystical thing to me. Even though I had no idea
what producers and engineers did, my ear was tuned in to a recording’s sound
and the way the music and sound made me feel.
“When I was a
young boy at the age of 10 to 12, my brother’s collection of the latest rock
and roll singles of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Elvis, Buddy
Holly, Bill Haley, etc. were my strongest influence, along with Hank Williams.
“We are talking about the late ‘50s/early‘60s, and AM radio was still the way
you heard music on the airwaves. I find it amazing what was played on the air
in those days. I remember hearing Slim Harpo’s ‘Scratch My Back’ on AM radio in
Rhode Island. I can still recall where I was, who I was with, and how that
sound just went through me like a bolt of lightning! I am a believer that all
music that you hear affects you in some way, so by about 1970 I started
steering away from pop/rock music for a long period, preferring not to be
influenced by anything but the blues and jazz from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s.
That part of my life created the purist part of me.”
Peppered in with all the
vocal-track songs are several instrumentals, showcasing Duke’s unique takes on
“Careless Love,” “Soldier of Love,” “Rawhide” and “You Belong to Me,” with
“Rawhide” having a special affection from Robillard. “‘Rawhide’ is my tribute
to one of my heroes, Mr. Link Wray! Just pure unadulterated Rock and Roll here
friends; nothing more, nothing less. I played this song in many early bands and
even in Roomful of Blues on a few occasions. It never fails to rock!”
Since starting his musical career in 1967 by founding and
fronting Roomful of Blues, Duke Robillard has been at the forefront of Blues,
Swing and classic R&B/Jump blues for over 40 years, earning him his
legendary status while influencing and inspiring countless legions of musicians
and fans worldwide. Leading his own group, Duke has toured non-stop for the
past 30-some years, recording more than 30 critically acclaimed CDs under his
own name. He has toured as a guitarist with Tom Waits and the Fabulous
Thunderbirds and recorded with the likes of Bob Dylan, Ruth Brown, Jay McShann,
Pinetop Perkins, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Rosco Gordon, Maria Muldaur and
many more.
“Robillard is a soloist of stunning force and originality” –
The New York Times
“Most everything Duke Robillard has done as a guitarist
during the past four-plus decades bears witness to his musical intelligence and
his dedication to his craft.” - DownBeat
Duke Robillard Tour Dates
3/22
The Funky
Biscuit
Boca Raton, FL
3/23
Center for the
Arts
Bonita Springs, FL
4/4
Zeiterion Performing Arts
Center
New Bedford, MA
4/11
The
Iridium
New York, NY
4/12
Zlock Performing Arts
Center
Newtown, PA
4/26
Iron Horse Music
Hall
Northampton, MA
4/27
German American Cultural
Society
Pawtucket, RI
Additional dates forthcoming ….
