Category: Rounder Records

Categories
Rounder Records

JD McPherson New Single and January 2013 Dates

JD MCPHERSON RELEASES ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS SONG  “TWINKLE (LITTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS)”  AVAILABLE AT ITUNES DECEMBER 11

“NORTH SIDE GAL” VIDEO GARNERS OVER ONE MILLION VIEWS

“I have seen the future of the past, and his name is J.D. McPherson…Signs & Signifiers, a bracing collection of tailfin rockabilly, rawboned R&B, and sultry moonstruck balladeering. It is hands-down the feel-good record of the year.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

“There was musical depth throughout the entire set, a connection to roots that felt electric and alive. In the capable hands of JD McPherson, everything old is new again.”—Chicago Tribune

“…he and his bandmates are great musicians taking ownership of a sound,
not just mimicking one.”—Washington Post

Recently named “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone, JD McPherson is set to perform his original Christmas song, “Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights)” on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” December 13. The track premiered today on RollingStone.com – http://rol.st/VdI1Gu– and will be available at iTunes December 11. McPherson will also perform “Fire Bug” from his critically acclaimed album, Signs & Signifiers, on “Late Show with David Letterman” December 4.

“I love the whole of Christmas: lights, cold weather, sentiment, poinsettias, baby Jesus, popcorn laurels, Santa,” says JD of the track. “I even admire the well-tuned machine of commercialism. There are loads of holiday songs—only a handful of rockin’, rollin’ Christmas songs, though. So, here’s our offering.”

Lauded as “a sound that is vibrantly reminiscent of 50s after hours dancehall hits mixed with angsty tunes to appease the most brooding bluesman,” (Yahoo! Music) JD and his band have blazed the country this year with his “timeless, forward-thinking rock & roll” (Rolling Stone). His self-directed video for “North Side Gal” has garnered over a million views to date.

Hailing from Broken Arrow, OK, the former art teacher traveled to Chicago to record Signs & Signifiers at Hi-Style studio, which is housed in the attic of producer/bassist/studio owner Jimmy Sutton’s home and is 100% analog. “I have recorded this style of music in the digital realm, and it just doesn’t quite “sing” as much. Slamming that ¼” tape really hard produced the most beautiful distortion I’ve ever heard,” says McPherson.

Featuring JD McPherson (lead and backing vocals, guitar), Jimmy Sutton (bass), and Alex Hall (drums, piano, organ), the album was recorded through a collection of vintage microphones into an old 1960’s Berlant 1/4 inch tape machine. The 12-track album kicks off with the fervent pulse of the first single, “North Side Gal,” and segues into one of the albums two covers, McPherson’s take on “Country Boy,” an old R&B number originally written and recorded by Tiny Kennedy.

JD MCPHERSON EUROPEAN TOUR DATES 2013

         Jan 17       Electric Ballroom       London, United Kingdom 

         Jan 18       Haunt        Brighton, United Kingdom        

         Jan 19       BALAJO  Paris, France              

         Jan 20       Melkweg   Amsterdam, Netherlands

         Jan 22       Brudenell Social Club        Leeds, United Kingdom   

         Jan 23       Bullingdon Arms       Oxford, United Kingdom  

         Jan 24       The Deaf Institute      Manchester, United Kingdom  

         Jan 25       Celtic Connections    Glasgow, United Kingdom       

         Jan 26       Caedman Hall   Gateshead, United Kingdom

Categories
Rounder Records Uncategorized

The Tragically Hip “Now For Plan A”

The Tragically Hip
Now For Plan A
Release Date: November 12th 2012

The Energy of Connectivity
Written by: Gavin Brown

It started making sense the night of the Bobcaygeon show last summer.

The Tragically Hip and I had already recorded 4-songs that spring at their studio in Kingston, a bit piecemeal, a little slow off the start and I was still looking for the magic, that something extra to make the new record special…

But that night as they hit the stage and hit their stride it became clear to me….they are a killer live band…

I’m overstating the obvious but I guess spending so much time tucked away in the studio trying to perfect the “unperfectable” (not a word) I think I lost sight of what the essence of this band is…The energy of connectivity…the five of them together…each providing his pulse to the flow…each playing off the other as no other band can.

The Tragically Hip have made great records their whole career and they’ve made many memories on nights like this….the moon shining, the crowd screaming, the songs one after the other, familiar yet reborn in the moment…

I hadn’t seen the Hip since their run at Massey Hall in Toronto a few years ago and maybe I had forgotten this while we were tracking each of them separately at the Bathouse that spring…

But now my job was clear…..channel this energy…let them play together…a living organism honed by the years.

We changed tack and retooled and found a studio able to house the five guys with their inimitable style and blasted through 14-songs in two weeks….there was the magic, there was the essence, every moment charged with the energy of connectivity no chance to over-think or worse….with a few finishing touches back at the Bathouse and a mix week in NYC the record was done….

Now For Plan A is the new Tragically Hip record due out November 12th 2012.

~

The Tragically Hip were formed in 1984 by five friends from Kingston ON – Rob Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair.

The Hip have sold millions of records worldwide, managing to enjoy both mass popularity and critical acclaim.

The group released their first album, The Tragically Hip, in 1987 and have since released thirteen studio albums, earning two diamond certifications and over twenty #1 hits.

Categories
Rounder Records

The Steeldrivers announce a new album

OCTOBER 17, 2012

GRAMMY® NOMINATED BLUEGRASS-MEETS-SOUL BAND
THE STEELDRIVERS RELEASING NEW HAMMER DOWN

“They’re a blues, country, bluegrass, swagger band and they are brilliant.” ~ Adele

“Whether it was older songs such as ‘Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey’ or newer songs such as ‘Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives,’ the new lineup earned the respect of the most skeptical in the crowd. The SteelDrivers are still in the running to become a crucial factor in the history of bluegrass.” ~Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper

The SteelDrivers are back! The three time Grammy® nominated bluegrass-meets-soul band has threaded the roots of bluegrass music with the distinctive threads of their own design, bringing together country and soul to create their own unapologetic hybrid of new music with the old feeling. Hammer Down, their third release on Rounder Records, is set for release February 4, 2013.

The SteelDrivers’ brand of bluegrass – intense, dark, poetic, and inescapably human – is a refreshing reminder of the timeless power of string band music, and is captured perfectly on the new Hammer Down. The band has gone through a few changes since they first hit the national scene in 2008 with their self-titled debut, but their songs and sound remain fresh and powerful.

The SteelDrivers are banjo player Richard Bailey, bass/vocalist Mike Fleming, guitar/vocalist Gary Nichols, fiddler/vocalist Tammy Rogers and mandolinist Brent Truitt. Produced by Luke Wooton, Hammer Down is a collection of 10 new tunes from original members Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson, as well as Rogers and Nichols. The set also includes the songs “I’ll Be There” and “Cry No Mississippi” that Nichols co-wrote with John Paul White – one-half of the band The Civil Wars.

The English pop star Adele was so smitten with the band that she began performing their song, “If It Hadn’t Been For Love,” in her live performances. Throughout 2013, The SteelDrivers will be touring nationwide in the USA at clubs and festivals.

www.steeldrivers.net
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-SteelDrivers/6900218737