Wednesday, September 25, 2013

AS SPIN, NY TIMES WEIGH IN, DECLAN O'ROURKE'S US DEBUT 'MAG PAI ZAI' OUT DIGITALLY THIS WEEK, ON PHYSICAL CD OCTOBER 8

O'ROURKE PLAYS NYC'S CUTTING ROOM TONIGHT

Declan O'Rourke – the songwriter who has had three top albums in Ireland – is about to make his US debut with 'Mag Pai Zai.' He has opened for Bob Dylan, Snow Patrol, and John Prine and shared the stage with Bono. 'Mag Pai Zai' earned him comparisons to Glen Hansard, Sondre Lerche, Ron Sexsmith, and Rufus Wainwright. 'Mag Pai Zai,' out this week in digital download and out October 8 in brick and mortar stores, has brought O'Rourke acclaim from several outlets and a certain influential rocker:

"Compassion, romance, a sense of mortality, and a sense of history run through the songs of Declan O'Rourke… his calling is as a balladeer, proffering reassurance in the face of inevitable sorrow." – NY Times

"Declan O'Rourke is long overdue for a stateside breakthrough." – SPIN

"Warm, enveloping voice." – Wall Street Journal

"He writes the sort of classic songs that people don’t write anymore, songs that sound like they’ve been around forever." – Paul Weller

Hear 'Mag Pai Zai' in its entirety at American Songwriter.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Thursday, September 12, 2013

WITH NEW ALBUM COMING IN SPRING, THE NICK MOSS BAND ANNOUNCES 36-DATE TOUR

"EXCELLENT" (ALL MUSIC GUIDE) SONGWRITER, GUITAR MAN, & 16-TIME BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINEE STRETCHES HIS LEGS

The Nick Moss Band — "an artist with important things to tell us," according to Blue Revue Magazine, on which he has appeared on the cover – has announced a 36-date fall tour in anticipation of a new album due in the spring of 2014. Moss is a 16-time Blues Music Award nominee and a 3-time Blue Blast Award Winner. Moss continually tops the Living Blues Radio charts, and even debuted at #2 on the Relix/Jamband Radio Charts in 2012 with Here I Am.

To hear upcoming single "Was I Ever Heard," please click here.

Having spent time in the bands of blues legends Jimmy Dawkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (The Legendary Blues Band), and Jimmy Rogers, Moss has been schooled in the deep Chicago blues tradition. He has also produced the Midnight Blues album by the late Magic Slim. Once a blues purist, Moss has more recently widened his scope, stretching himself and challenging his devoted audience with ingredients from soul music, rhythm and blues, funk, and a little bit of rock and roll. All Music Guide has praised Moss' music as "memorable… played with spirit, drive, and swing."

The Nick Moss Band features second guitarist and vocalist Michael Ledbetter, a descendant of Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. An electrifying new talent, Ledbetter will be making his recorded lead vocal debut on the forthcoming Moss album.

Nick Moss Band Fall Tour Dates

September 14 - Chicago, IL - Honky Tonk BBQ
September 20 - Elgin, IL - Danny’s
September 21 - Murphysboro, IL - Murphysboro Riverside Blues Festival
October 5 - Vernon Hills, IL - Philly G’s
October 8 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
October 18 - Osteroy, Poland - Jimiway Festival
October 19 - Finnsnes, Norway - Otto’s
October 26 - Chicago, IL - Smoke Daddy
October 31 - Lincoln, NE - Zoo Bar
November 1 - Littleton, CO - Toad Tavern
November 2 - Woodland Park, CO - Crystola Roadhouse
November 4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Sun and Moon Café
November 5 - Salt Lake City, UT - Sun and Moon Café
November 6 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
November 7 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey’s
November 8 - Ventura, CA - Yolie’s
November 9 - Arcadia, CA - Arcadia Blues Club
November 10 - Oroville, CA - Feather Falls Casino
November 13 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Pocket
November 14 - San Francisco, CA - Biscuits and Blues
November 15 - Phillipsville, CA - Riverwood Inn
November 16 - Nevada City, CA - Crazy Horse
November 17 - Folsom, CA - Powerhouse Pub
November 20 - Portland, OR - Duff’s Garage
November 22 - Tacoma, WA - Jazzbones
November 23 - Seattle, WA - Hwy 99 Blues Club
November 26 - Lincoln, NE - Zoo Bar
November 27 - Sioux Falls, SD - Old Skoolz
November 29 - Chicago, IL - Double Door w The Steepwater Band
December 6 - Atlanta, GA - Blind Willie’s
December 7 - Tallahassee, FL - Bradfordville Blues Club
December 10 - Delray Beach, FL - Boston’s on the Beach
December 11 - Key Largo, FL - Bayside Grille & Sunset Bar
December 14 - Tampa, FL - Skipper’s
December 15 - Sebastian, FL - Earl’s Hideaway
December 17 - St. Georges, DE - The Country Store

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

TALE OF RECLUSIVE MID-CENTURY NYC HOARDERS INSPIRES DECLAN O'ROURKE'S "LANGLEY'S REQUIEM" ON US DEBUT 'MAG PAI ZAI'

The tale of Langley and Homer Collyer, eccentric brothers who died 1947, inspired one of the most poignant songs on Declan O'Rourke's new album 'Mag Pai Zai.' "The plaintive piano-based song is an ode to brothers, co-written incidentally with my own brother, Edward," says the Irish top-ten songwriter. The Collyer brothers collected over 130 tons of objects that crowded their Harlem, Manhattan brownstone. After Homer went blind in the early 1930s, Langley took care of him, meanwhile devising elaborate traps to keep burglars and bill collectors alike out of their house and protect his collections.

O'Rourke says, "There was an eeriness to it that warranted further investigation. Most articles I read were focused on their obsessive compulsive disorder but I was interested by the bond between the brothers." Ultimately, one of Langley's own booby traps fell on him while he was crawling through a tunnel in his house, immobilizing him, and he was unable to feed his brother. He continues, "Somebody anonymously tipped off the police and they investigated it: it was a huge media circus. The police couldn't get in. There was a wall of stuff to stop their entry. It took 10 days of digging to get to the other guy."

O'Rourke new album 'Mag Pai Zai' – already top ten in Ireland – is his debut release in the States. It comes out September 24 via digital download and October 8 in stores. O'Rourke has earned comparisons to Glen Hansard, Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, and Van Morrison.

Declan O'Rourke tour dates

September 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Tin Angel
September 22 – Hamden, CT – Ireland's Great Hunger Museum
September 25 – New York, NY – The Cutting Room
September 29 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall