MOSS BAND MADE NAT'L TV DEBUT THIS WEEK ON WGN MIDDAY MUSIC LOUNGE AS 'TIME AIN'T FREE' OUT MARCH 18
The Nick Moss Band – whose new album 'Time Ain't Free' (March 18 / Blue
Bella Records) is "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul,
funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll" (Guitar World – will make its
Mercury Lounge debut March 29. "Moss reaches deeper into soul, funk,
and rock ‘n’ roll," says Billboard. The Nick Moss Band will make its
national television debut today on WGN. The Nick Moss Band will also
appear on national syndicated radio show Elwood's Bluesmobile on March
22 and 23; on Tavis Smiley (PRI); and will tape a segment for the
syndicated program Beale Street Caravan.
Click here to watch the Nick Moss Band on WGN-TV.
Click here for a video album preview of 'Time Ain't Free' at Elmore
Magazine. Elmore called 'Time Ain't Free' "southern-fried rock…a
vintage, boogie-filled slice of rock & roll featuring Moss’
scintillating guitar playing."
WHO: The Nick Moss Band
WHAT: Mercury Lounge Debut Concert
WHEN: 10:30pm, March 29, 2014
WHERE: Mercury Lounge, 217 E Houston St., NYC
TICKETS: $10 advance / $12 day of show
Moss apprenticed in the bands of blues greats Jimmy Rogers, Willie "Big
Eyes" Smith, and Jimmy Dawkins, among others. Second lead vocalist and
rhythm guitarist Michael Ledbetter is a former opera singer and relative
of the great Lead Belly. The rest of the band is made up of top-shelf
Chicago players, steeped in roots rock, blues, soul, funk, and jam band
music.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
KRISTIN MUELLER'S 'DESERTS & LONG TRAILS' OUT THIS WEEK ON EASTERN SPURS RECORDS
NYC INDIE ARTIST PLAYS EAST VILLAGE RADIO MARCH 2 & JALOPY MARCH 6
Kristin Mueller – the NYC drummer turned indie folk/indie rock/indie pop artist – is already receiving acclaim for the incredible 'Deserts & Long Trails' album, out this week on Eastern Spurs Records. She plays East Village Radio on Sunday, previewing her album release show March 6 at Jalopy. Reminiscent of Calexico, Aimee Mann, Beck's more pensive work, Mirah, and Smog, 'Deserts & Long Trails' was recorded with members of the Yellowbirds, Mercury Rev, and the bands of Beth Orton, The Lone Bellow, Trixie Whitley, and Jim O'Rourke.
American Songwriter is streaming the whole thing exclusively this week.
Bullet Media posted a photo diary of Mueller's European tour with C. Gibbs, premiering the track "Heaven Knows."
"Bold and expansive."
- Lizzie Plaugic, CMJ.com, February 20
"Powerful."
- Katie Chow, BlackBook, February 6
"Riveting."
- Eric Danton, Listen Dammit, February 20
Kristin Mueller – the NYC drummer turned indie folk/indie rock/indie pop artist – is already receiving acclaim for the incredible 'Deserts & Long Trails' album, out this week on Eastern Spurs Records. She plays East Village Radio on Sunday, previewing her album release show March 6 at Jalopy. Reminiscent of Calexico, Aimee Mann, Beck's more pensive work, Mirah, and Smog, 'Deserts & Long Trails' was recorded with members of the Yellowbirds, Mercury Rev, and the bands of Beth Orton, The Lone Bellow, Trixie Whitley, and Jim O'Rourke.
American Songwriter is streaming the whole thing exclusively this week.
Bullet Media posted a photo diary of Mueller's European tour with C. Gibbs, premiering the track "Heaven Knows."
"Bold and expansive."
- Lizzie Plaugic, CMJ.com, February 20
"Powerful."
- Katie Chow, BlackBook, February 6
"Riveting."
- Eric Danton, Listen Dammit, February 20
Thursday, February 20, 2014
ONCE A CAN'T-MISS ATHLETE, NICK MOSS FOUND NEW PURPOSE AFTER MAJOR KIDNEY SURGERY AT 18 BY SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL TO SEE A BLUES SHOW AND BY PRACTICING BASS FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED
NEW NICK MOSS BAND ALBUM 'TIME AIN'T FREE' OUT MARCH 18 ON BLUE BELLA RECORDS
It might have been Nick Moss, NCAA football champion instead of Nick Moss, scorching rock & roll and blues guitarist and bandleader, had his kidney not gone into almost total failure at 18. He says, "I was a state championship heavyweight wrestler, and a college scouted football player as an offensive tackle/offensive guard. Lots of colleges were looking at me for scholarships for both."
At 18 years of age, he was admitted to the hospital. "I had 80% of my kidney taken out of me. It almost killed me. They told my parents I wasn't going to live after my first surgery. I spent most of that winter and spring between my 18th and 19th birthdays laid up in the hospital. They told me that I'd never play football again," he recalls.
But other plans were afoot. His older brother Joe, already a guitarist with Chicago blues mainstays Buddy Scott & The Rib Rips, brought him a bass and a pocket headphone amplifier in the hospital to pass the time while he was recovering. By the time of his surgery, Nick had already sat in with Scott at the historic Checkerboard Lounge on bass a number of times. Moss says, "He was really highly regarded in Chicago. I learned a lot from him about stage presence, showmanship, and how to play with a band."
After the surgery was another matter. He smiles and remembers, "One night, my brother snuck me out of the hospital to see Little Charlie & The Nightcats play their first show in Chicago at Wise Fool's Pub. I literally had two tubes with two bags holding my urine. My brother put those bags inside a shopping bag and brought my dad's camel-hair overcoat to cover them up. Rick Estrin—you know he's such a sharp dresser—he opened up the coat because he wanted to see the lining and saw the tubes and just said, 'What happened to you?'"
It proved to be a defining moment for the young Moss, suddenly bereft of his athletic talents. Of that night at Wise Fool's Pub, he says, "I thought to myself: This I what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be able to play like these guys are doing. The musicianship was incredible. I'll never forget it. Later, I would see them at shows or festivals and they were so encouraging. I am grateful for the kindness that those guys showed, always making themselves available."
The Nick Moss Band's new album 'Time Ain't Free' comes out March 18 at Blue Bella Records. You can catch them live on WGN-TV on February 25, making their national TV debut.
It might have been Nick Moss, NCAA football champion instead of Nick Moss, scorching rock & roll and blues guitarist and bandleader, had his kidney not gone into almost total failure at 18. He says, "I was a state championship heavyweight wrestler, and a college scouted football player as an offensive tackle/offensive guard. Lots of colleges were looking at me for scholarships for both."
At 18 years of age, he was admitted to the hospital. "I had 80% of my kidney taken out of me. It almost killed me. They told my parents I wasn't going to live after my first surgery. I spent most of that winter and spring between my 18th and 19th birthdays laid up in the hospital. They told me that I'd never play football again," he recalls.
But other plans were afoot. His older brother Joe, already a guitarist with Chicago blues mainstays Buddy Scott & The Rib Rips, brought him a bass and a pocket headphone amplifier in the hospital to pass the time while he was recovering. By the time of his surgery, Nick had already sat in with Scott at the historic Checkerboard Lounge on bass a number of times. Moss says, "He was really highly regarded in Chicago. I learned a lot from him about stage presence, showmanship, and how to play with a band."
After the surgery was another matter. He smiles and remembers, "One night, my brother snuck me out of the hospital to see Little Charlie & The Nightcats play their first show in Chicago at Wise Fool's Pub. I literally had two tubes with two bags holding my urine. My brother put those bags inside a shopping bag and brought my dad's camel-hair overcoat to cover them up. Rick Estrin—you know he's such a sharp dresser—he opened up the coat because he wanted to see the lining and saw the tubes and just said, 'What happened to you?'"
It proved to be a defining moment for the young Moss, suddenly bereft of his athletic talents. Of that night at Wise Fool's Pub, he says, "I thought to myself: This I what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be able to play like these guys are doing. The musicianship was incredible. I'll never forget it. Later, I would see them at shows or festivals and they were so encouraging. I am grateful for the kindness that those guys showed, always making themselves available."
The Nick Moss Band's new album 'Time Ain't Free' comes out March 18 at Blue Bella Records. You can catch them live on WGN-TV on February 25, making their national TV debut.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
"IRRESISTIBLY FRESH" (NPR.ORG) MISSISSIPPI PIANO POWERHOUSE BRINGS HER RENOWNED SKILLS AND A SET OF SOUL-BARING NEW SONGS TO NASHVILLE, WITH COLIN LINDEN PRODUCING
EDEN BRENT PICKS UP THE PIECES OF HER JIGSAW HEART ON HER THIRD
YELLOW DOG RECORDS RELEASE, OUT MAY 6
Take Eden Brent to a Nashville studio and you’ll still hear the sound of the Mississippi Delta. There’s no way around that. Say you’ve decided to drive from New Orleans to Nashville. Whichever way you go—straight up 55 or heading northeast on 59—you’re gonna cut across Eden’s home state of Mississippi. And that’s precisely the route Eden’s recording career just took, as her last album—Ain’t Got No Troubles (recorded in New Orleans in 2010)—gives way to her deepest, most personal album yet: Jigsaw Heart, recorded in Nashville but shot through with Eden’s Mississippi roots, out May 6.
To hear "Everybody Already Knows" and "The Last Time", please click here.
She chose to record this soulful slice of Americana at Ben’s Studio (Ben Folds), formerly the historic RCA Studio A, laying down the tracks live and with minimal isolation. True to life, Eden had to journey through Mississippi to get from New Orleans (the location of her last recording) to Nashville (the site of her new one), stirring up the echoes of her past and reaching out to her stable of longtime friends, including producer and guitarist extraordinaire Colin Linden (most recently of Bob Dylan's band as well as production work for a host of luminaries from Lucinda Williams to Lindi Ortega) to create this riveting, reflective new work.
Jigsaw Heart connects an array of American music styles they sure love down South—blues, gospel, soul, country and R&B—coming together in an immensely satisfying melting pot of sound. Her cherished piano-bench partner Boogaloo Ames would be proud of the three-time Blues Music Award winner and her masterful piano work on the disc, which begins with the blues and flowers outward from there. Notoriously eclectic himself when it came to song choices, Boogaloo would be thrilled by the breadth of styles and songs on her new album, starting with track one, Better This Way. This Brent original—with its achingly slow tempo and seductive fusion of blues, gospel and Nashville Sound strings—would surely have started Ray Charles to rocking left and right.
Better This Way is not the album’s only heartbroken concession to lost love. Jigsaw Heart—the album’s title track and emotional fulcrum—is a stunning original about picking up the pieces of broken love, with tears streaming and hope rising throughout Eden’s lyrics and the sublime pedal-steel playing of Dan Dugmore. Jigsaw Heart is one of a few songs here with chord changes and soulful piano passages that could have come from Randy Newman, or even Sir Elton. Another dreamy look back is The Last Time, a wistful tune with an intoxicating melody that again might earn Eden comparisons to Norah Jones.
Jigsaw Heart is no downbeat trip, though. Track two, Everybody Already Knows, sounds like a rockin’ classic everybody already knows, a roadhouse boogie-woogie and a joyful embrace of unconcealed passion. Locomotive speeds down the tracks with a train-track beat and some crafty wordplay about a woman’s loco motives. And Opportunity is a funky, gritty electric-piano tribute to one of Eden’s musical heroes, Joan Armatrading. She also takes the time to honor Nina Simone (I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free) and Texas-swing songstress Toni Price (Get the Hell Out of Dodge). It all leads up to the starkly beautiful romantic confession of the final track, Valentine, penned by Linden with Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy).
"I tried to go in a slightly different direction," she said of her new album. "Nothing in particular made me take a new direction. I still love the blues. I would have to leave the Delta if I didn't. I just needed to stretch my legs."
She hasn’t left the Delta on Jigsaw Heart. She’s just out on a good, long walk, making new discoveries and sharing them with us.
YELLOW DOG RECORDS RELEASE, OUT MAY 6
Take Eden Brent to a Nashville studio and you’ll still hear the sound of the Mississippi Delta. There’s no way around that. Say you’ve decided to drive from New Orleans to Nashville. Whichever way you go—straight up 55 or heading northeast on 59—you’re gonna cut across Eden’s home state of Mississippi. And that’s precisely the route Eden’s recording career just took, as her last album—Ain’t Got No Troubles (recorded in New Orleans in 2010)—gives way to her deepest, most personal album yet: Jigsaw Heart, recorded in Nashville but shot through with Eden’s Mississippi roots, out May 6.
To hear "Everybody Already Knows" and "The Last Time", please click here.
She chose to record this soulful slice of Americana at Ben’s Studio (Ben Folds), formerly the historic RCA Studio A, laying down the tracks live and with minimal isolation. True to life, Eden had to journey through Mississippi to get from New Orleans (the location of her last recording) to Nashville (the site of her new one), stirring up the echoes of her past and reaching out to her stable of longtime friends, including producer and guitarist extraordinaire Colin Linden (most recently of Bob Dylan's band as well as production work for a host of luminaries from Lucinda Williams to Lindi Ortega) to create this riveting, reflective new work.
Jigsaw Heart connects an array of American music styles they sure love down South—blues, gospel, soul, country and R&B—coming together in an immensely satisfying melting pot of sound. Her cherished piano-bench partner Boogaloo Ames would be proud of the three-time Blues Music Award winner and her masterful piano work on the disc, which begins with the blues and flowers outward from there. Notoriously eclectic himself when it came to song choices, Boogaloo would be thrilled by the breadth of styles and songs on her new album, starting with track one, Better This Way. This Brent original—with its achingly slow tempo and seductive fusion of blues, gospel and Nashville Sound strings—would surely have started Ray Charles to rocking left and right.
Better This Way is not the album’s only heartbroken concession to lost love. Jigsaw Heart—the album’s title track and emotional fulcrum—is a stunning original about picking up the pieces of broken love, with tears streaming and hope rising throughout Eden’s lyrics and the sublime pedal-steel playing of Dan Dugmore. Jigsaw Heart is one of a few songs here with chord changes and soulful piano passages that could have come from Randy Newman, or even Sir Elton. Another dreamy look back is The Last Time, a wistful tune with an intoxicating melody that again might earn Eden comparisons to Norah Jones.
Jigsaw Heart is no downbeat trip, though. Track two, Everybody Already Knows, sounds like a rockin’ classic everybody already knows, a roadhouse boogie-woogie and a joyful embrace of unconcealed passion. Locomotive speeds down the tracks with a train-track beat and some crafty wordplay about a woman’s loco motives. And Opportunity is a funky, gritty electric-piano tribute to one of Eden’s musical heroes, Joan Armatrading. She also takes the time to honor Nina Simone (I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free) and Texas-swing songstress Toni Price (Get the Hell Out of Dodge). It all leads up to the starkly beautiful romantic confession of the final track, Valentine, penned by Linden with Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy).
"I tried to go in a slightly different direction," she said of her new album. "Nothing in particular made me take a new direction. I still love the blues. I would have to leave the Delta if I didn't. I just needed to stretch my legs."
She hasn’t left the Delta on Jigsaw Heart. She’s just out on a good, long walk, making new discoveries and sharing them with us.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
"AMBITIOUS" (NPR) DEBUT ALBUM BY LEYLA MCCALLA HAILED BY NY TIMES, PITCHFORK AND BEYOND AS FAST-RISER PLAYS SOLD OUT SHOWS IN NYC, PHILADELPHIA, AND BOSTON
Leyla McCalla's debut album 'Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston
Hughes' has been hailed by the New York Times and others as she's played
sold out shows in New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston on her debut
headlining tour. NPR aired a 17-minute profile of the
cellist/songwriter/singer/
She's also the subject of a full-page interview profile in Pitchfork Media that tells her story from being born in NYC to pioneering unconventional cello techniques to performing Bach and trad jazz in New Orleans to joining the Carolina Chocolate Drops to her discovery of Haitian folk music and the creation of 'Vari-Colored Songs.'
Here's what we're reading:
"Her magnificently transparent music holds tidings of family, memory, solitude and the inexorability of time: weighty thoughts handled with the lightest touch imaginable."
- Jon Pareles, New York Times, February 14, 2014
"Her playing--on cello, tenor banjo and guitar--suggests a perpetual spring, giving these songs about losing innocence and finding death a vibrancy that fits their folk music function. Her voice is a velvety purr that's both wise and bright, not unlike the surreal sophistication of Jolie Holland's best work."
Grayson Currin, Pitchfork Media, February 7, 2014
"Leyla McCalla redefines the cello… Stunning... [a] rich mix of sounds,.. McCalla earns the literary company with her dark-toned songs. Her unusual cello style also matches the poetry in terms of sheer invention."
- Jim Farber, New York Daily News, February 7, 2014
"Evocative."
- Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, January 30, 2014
"A beguiling album in the way it pulls the listener in distinct directions. At once unvarnished and sparse, like field recordings in high definition, it’s also rich with the organic suppleness."
- James Reed, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2014
"Ambitious, deep, and gorgeous."
- David Kunian, Offbeat Magazine, January, 2014
"Impressive… a fully realized and nuanced gem."
- Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
"Striking."
- Charlie Heller, New York Post, February 7, 2014
"Beautiful."
- Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register, February 13, 2014
"Delightful… hypnotic and hybrid, with exotic echoes of an older world made fresh by the thoughtful passion of McCalla's interpretation."
- Alison Fensterstock, New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 5, 2014
"What a voice, more Billie Holiday than anything, flourishing in such bare surroundings and bringing the words, whether joyous or dark, to life... As arranger, musician and vocalist she’s a remarkable talent, and this debut is assured and a harbinger of a towering career."
- Chris Nickson, Sing Out!, December 31, 2013
She's also the subject of a full-page interview profile in Pitchfork Media that tells her story from being born in NYC to pioneering unconventional cello techniques to performing Bach and trad jazz in New Orleans to joining the Carolina Chocolate Drops to her discovery of Haitian folk music and the creation of 'Vari-Colored Songs.'
Here's what we're reading:
"Her magnificently transparent music holds tidings of family, memory, solitude and the inexorability of time: weighty thoughts handled with the lightest touch imaginable."
- Jon Pareles, New York Times, February 14, 2014
"Her playing--on cello, tenor banjo and guitar--suggests a perpetual spring, giving these songs about losing innocence and finding death a vibrancy that fits their folk music function. Her voice is a velvety purr that's both wise and bright, not unlike the surreal sophistication of Jolie Holland's best work."
Grayson Currin, Pitchfork Media, February 7, 2014
"Leyla McCalla redefines the cello… Stunning... [a] rich mix of sounds,.. McCalla earns the literary company with her dark-toned songs. Her unusual cello style also matches the poetry in terms of sheer invention."
- Jim Farber, New York Daily News, February 7, 2014
"Evocative."
- Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, January 30, 2014
"A beguiling album in the way it pulls the listener in distinct directions. At once unvarnished and sparse, like field recordings in high definition, it’s also rich with the organic suppleness."
- James Reed, The Boston Globe, February 1, 2014
"Ambitious, deep, and gorgeous."
- David Kunian, Offbeat Magazine, January, 2014
"Impressive… a fully realized and nuanced gem."
- Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
"Striking."
- Charlie Heller, New York Post, February 7, 2014
"Beautiful."
- Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register, February 13, 2014
"Delightful… hypnotic and hybrid, with exotic echoes of an older world made fresh by the thoughtful passion of McCalla's interpretation."
- Alison Fensterstock, New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 5, 2014
"What a voice, more Billie Holiday than anything, flourishing in such bare surroundings and bringing the words, whether joyous or dark, to life... As arranger, musician and vocalist she’s a remarkable talent, and this debut is assured and a harbinger of a towering career."
- Chris Nickson, Sing Out!, December 31, 2013
Thursday, February 13, 2014
NICK MOSS' CULINARY TOUR OF CHICAGO
HOMETOWN ALBUM RELEASE SHOW FOR THE NICK MOSS BAND'S 'TIME
AIN'T FREE' COMING UP FEBRUARY 28 AT BUDDY GUY'S LEGENDS AS ALBUM SET TO BE
RELEASED MARCH 18
With the Nick Moss Band's album release show for 'Time Ain't
Free' coming up February 28 at Buddy Guy's Legends, we asked the bandleader and
born-and-raised Chicagoan for his restaurant recommendations. "Being
Italian, I usually cook myself," he says, before launching into a long
list of mouthwatering Windy City spots and what to order at many of them:
"The south side has killer barbecue. I used to play at
the Checkerboard Lounge every week with my brother [Joe Moss] and Buddy Scott.
There was barbecue right on 43rd Street, rib tips and hot sausage, Alice’s
Bar-B-Que. Another killer place we used to go to was Barbara Ann’s on Cottage
Grove and 76th Street. We used to go Lem’s Bar-B-Q on 75th. We spent a lot of
time playing on the south side. After the gig, usually, everyone went and got
barbecue. In the summer or when weather was nice, some of my favorite memories
are of getting barbecue and hanging out by the lakefront."
Click here to hear "I Want the World To Know," "She Wants It," and "Was I Ever Heard" From 'Time Ain't Free,' coming March 18 on Blue Bella Records.
"Chicago is known for their Italian beef sandwiches.
It's a fairly regional thing. My favorite places are—in no particular order—Jay’s
Italian beef; Johnny’s Italian Beef; or Al’s. At Johnny’s, you say give me
Italian beef & make it cry. Or you can get the combo: Italian sausage &
beef on a roll. The sausage has to be really charred."
"One of my favorite restaurants for homestyle cooking
is the Italian Village. It has been there since 1927 so obviously they’re doing
something right. I get the linguini fruitti de mare fra diavlo. It's a giant
bowl with everything from the sea, in a hot spicy broth."
"Everyone knows about Taylor Street when they come to
Chicago but absolutely the best Italian sub sandwich in the city is Bari right
on Grand Ave. It's a tiny little grocery store. There's a line out the front
door at lunch time."
"There are some great Bohemian style, eastern European
style place. We used to go to The White Eagle when we were kids and it's still
there. Banquet style, great Polish food. the Red Apples are a great value for
your dollars. I used to frequent them a lot when I was single living in the
city. For $5, you could load up your plate and feed yourself for three days in
one sitting. Just outside of Chicago on Berwin, on the near west side, Czech
Plaza was one of my grandpa’s favorite places to go to."
Guitar World posted the scorching guitar-driven new song
"No Reason" and calling the NMB's music "nothing less than a
powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll."
Billboard agreed, posting the soul song "I Want The
World To Know," saying, "Moss reaches deeper into soul, funk and rock
'n' roll on Time Ain’t Free."
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
THE NICK MOSS BAND TO APPEAR ON WGN NATIONAL TV MIDDAY MUSIC LOUNGE FEBRUARY 25
'TIME AIN'T FREE,' NEW ALBUM BY CHICAGO ROCK & ROLLERS/BLUES MAINSTAYS, OUT MARCH 18 WITH TRACKS UP AT BILLBOARD AND GUITAR WORLD
The Nick Moss Band will perform on national television February 25, appearing on WGN's Midday Music Lounge segment. Its' new album 'Time Ain't Free' comes out March 18 on Blue Bella Records.
Guitar World posted the scorching guitar-driven new song "No Reason" and calling the NMB's music "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll."
Billboard agreed, posting the soul song "I Want The World To Know," saying, "Moss reaches deeper into soul, funk and rock 'n' roll on Time Ain’t Free."
The Nick Moss Band will perform on national television February 25, appearing on WGN's Midday Music Lounge segment. Its' new album 'Time Ain't Free' comes out March 18 on Blue Bella Records.
Guitar World posted the scorching guitar-driven new song "No Reason" and calling the NMB's music "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll."
Billboard agreed, posting the soul song "I Want The World To Know," saying, "Moss reaches deeper into soul, funk and rock 'n' roll on Time Ain’t Free."
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
THE NICK MOSS BAND CONFIRMS 'TIME AIN'T FREE' HOMETOWN ALBUM RELEASE SHOW AT BUDDY GUY'S LEGENDS FEB 28
BUDDY GUY: "HE ALWAYS WORKS HARD TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE"
GUITAR WORLD: "A POWERFUL GUMBO OF CHICAGO SOUL, FUNK, BLUES, JAM MUSIC AND ROCK AND ROLL"
The Nick Moss Band has announced its hometown album release show for 'Time Ain't Free' at Buddy Guy's Legends on February 28. Born and raised in Chicago, Moss leads a potent band that has earned the notice of Guy himself, who says, "He always works hard to please the audience." Guitar World concurred, posting the scorching guitar-driven new song "No Reason" and calling the NMB's music "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll."
Second lead vocalist Michael Ledbetter, a second cousin of the great Lead Belly, is also a Chicago native, though he spent eight years in the opera scene before joining the Nick Moss Band.
Moss apprenticed with Chicago blues luminaries Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Jimmy Dawkins, and Jimmy Rogers. Over a twenty-year career in Blues, he has achieved worldwide notoriety as a torchbearer of Chicago Blues. 'Time Ain't Free' marks his tenth album as bandleader and a milestone in the Chicago music scene.
Billboard.com posted the gospel-infused love song "I Want The World To Know" from 'Time Ain't Free.'
WHO: The Nick Moss Band
WHAT: Album Release Show For 'Time Ain't Free' (out March 18)
WHEN: 10:30pm, February 28, 2014
WHERE: Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL, (312) 427-1190
TICKETS: TBA
GUITAR WORLD: "A POWERFUL GUMBO OF CHICAGO SOUL, FUNK, BLUES, JAM MUSIC AND ROCK AND ROLL"
The Nick Moss Band has announced its hometown album release show for 'Time Ain't Free' at Buddy Guy's Legends on February 28. Born and raised in Chicago, Moss leads a potent band that has earned the notice of Guy himself, who says, "He always works hard to please the audience." Guitar World concurred, posting the scorching guitar-driven new song "No Reason" and calling the NMB's music "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll."
Second lead vocalist Michael Ledbetter, a second cousin of the great Lead Belly, is also a Chicago native, though he spent eight years in the opera scene before joining the Nick Moss Band.
Moss apprenticed with Chicago blues luminaries Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Jimmy Dawkins, and Jimmy Rogers. Over a twenty-year career in Blues, he has achieved worldwide notoriety as a torchbearer of Chicago Blues. 'Time Ain't Free' marks his tenth album as bandleader and a milestone in the Chicago music scene.
Billboard.com posted the gospel-infused love song "I Want The World To Know" from 'Time Ain't Free.'
WHO: The Nick Moss Band
WHAT: Album Release Show For 'Time Ain't Free' (out March 18)
WHEN: 10:30pm, February 28, 2014
WHERE: Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL, (312) 427-1190
TICKETS: TBA
Thursday, February 6, 2014
KRISTIN MUELLER TO PLAY ALBUM RELEASE SHOW AT JALOPY MARCH 6
SOPHOMORE ALBUM 'DESERTS & LONG TRAILS' (FEB 25 / EASTERN SPURS RECORDS), MADE WITH MEMBERS OF THE YELLOWBIRDS & MERCURY REV
An eye-opening talent, Kristin Mueller will play an album release show March 6 at Jalopy for her new indie folk/indie rock album 'Deserts & Long Trails,' made in NYC with members of the Yellowbirds, Mercury Rev, and the bands of Beth Orton, The Lone Bellow, Trixie Whitley, and Jim O'Rourke. The album will be released February 25 on Eastern Spurs Records.
Black Book has premiered the first track, the scorching "What Are You Waiting For," calling it "a sunny slice of guitar pop that is more powerful than it initially lets on."
C. Gibbs will open the show. Billboard has said of him, "Rarely you hear songs that are this deep, this profound." Mueller opened a European tour for Gibbs in fall of 2013 and is drummer in his band Lucinda Black Bear.
WHO: Headliner Kristin Mueller w/ opener C. Gibbs
WHAT: Album release show for 'Deserts & Long Trails'
WHERE: Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street Brooklyn, NY
WHEN: March 6, 2014, time TBA
TICKETS: TBA
An eye-opening talent, Kristin Mueller will play an album release show March 6 at Jalopy for her new indie folk/indie rock album 'Deserts & Long Trails,' made in NYC with members of the Yellowbirds, Mercury Rev, and the bands of Beth Orton, The Lone Bellow, Trixie Whitley, and Jim O'Rourke. The album will be released February 25 on Eastern Spurs Records.
Black Book has premiered the first track, the scorching "What Are You Waiting For," calling it "a sunny slice of guitar pop that is more powerful than it initially lets on."
C. Gibbs will open the show. Billboard has said of him, "Rarely you hear songs that are this deep, this profound." Mueller opened a European tour for Gibbs in fall of 2013 and is drummer in his band Lucinda Black Bear.
WHO: Headliner Kristin Mueller w/ opener C. Gibbs
WHAT: Album release show for 'Deserts & Long Trails'
WHERE: Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street Brooklyn, NY
WHEN: March 6, 2014, time TBA
TICKETS: TBA
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
THE SOUNDTRACK OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY, 2014
MOJO, NPR MUSIC, THE INDEPENDENT, THE GUARDIAN, WNYC, BOSTON GLOBE, & Q MAG ALL HAIL RELEASE OF THE GLOAMING, OUT FEB 25 ON CD ON BRASSLAND
The Gloaming – a new group compromised of Martin Hayes (violin, fiddle), Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman (piano), Iarla O'Lionaird (vocals), Dennis Cahill (guitar) and Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh (hardanger fiddle) – has earned incredible notices with its debut, self-titled album, out now via digital download and February 25 on CD from Brassland. It debuted at #1 on the iTunes World Music chart and at #2 on Billboard's World Music chart and promises to be the soundtrack of St. Patrick's Day, 2014. Here's what we're reading:
"In short, this is the rare album that might well transform the syntax of a whole style… sheer beauty."
- Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR Music
"I already have to save room on my top ten list for 2014 for this next record… it is really terrific… There is something haunted and twilit about this album, very beautiful…"
- John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds
"*****… Brilliant… a thrillingly original magic."
- Colin Irwin, MOJO
"*****… The Gloaming are a five-piece ensemble eliding Irish folk music with the contemporary New York art-music scene. The upshot is a rather ECM-ish well of open space irrigated by a flow of motifs, textures, tempos and, more abstractly, romantic yearnings." – Simmy Richman, The Independent (UK)
"Exquisite… Bravely contemporary… [They] have created a distinctive style of their own." - Robin Denselow, The Guardian (UK)
"The Gloaming is a wonderful mix of soulful and passionate talents who have created their own genre."
- Peter Gabriel
"Enormously rewarding."
- Andy Fyfe, Q Magazine
"*****… Brilliantly innovative and executed with masterly conviction… An astonishing marriage of the old and the new in music as modern as it is ancient, as epic as it is intimate."
-Michael Quinn, Songlines
"*****…Exceptional… Remarkable [and] unique… [Paints on] a wider, more expansive canvas."
– Peter Quinn, The Arts Desk
"Masterful."
– Michael Andor Brodeur, The Boston Globe
"A milestone… This debut album lives up to the loftiest of expectations. The wonderfully virtuosic music is rooted in an ancient Irish tradition, no doubt about that, but there's an experimental flavour to the compositions that makes the album such an intriguing, arresting listen."
- John Meagher, Irish Independent
"*****… This is contemporary music making at its very best: unself-conscious, freewheeling and yet deeply thoughtful, revealing layer upon layer with each listening… The Gloaming revel in wide open vistas and endless space. It’s as if each member has hankered after the company of players, all coming from distinctly different places, their knapsacks brimful of salty ideas, colourful whims and a fearless appetite for mining seams previously unexplored. With almost 60 minutes of free-flowing music to draw from, the listener is privy to a wide palette, defined more by shape and mood than tethered by genre."
-Sibhan Long, Irish Times
"Certain to become a landmark album."
- Colm O Hare, Hot Press
The Gloaming – a new group compromised of Martin Hayes (violin, fiddle), Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman (piano), Iarla O'Lionaird (vocals), Dennis Cahill (guitar) and Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh (hardanger fiddle) – has earned incredible notices with its debut, self-titled album, out now via digital download and February 25 on CD from Brassland. It debuted at #1 on the iTunes World Music chart and at #2 on Billboard's World Music chart and promises to be the soundtrack of St. Patrick's Day, 2014. Here's what we're reading:
"In short, this is the rare album that might well transform the syntax of a whole style… sheer beauty."
- Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR Music
"I already have to save room on my top ten list for 2014 for this next record… it is really terrific… There is something haunted and twilit about this album, very beautiful…"
- John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds
"*****… Brilliant… a thrillingly original magic."
- Colin Irwin, MOJO
"*****… The Gloaming are a five-piece ensemble eliding Irish folk music with the contemporary New York art-music scene. The upshot is a rather ECM-ish well of open space irrigated by a flow of motifs, textures, tempos and, more abstractly, romantic yearnings." – Simmy Richman, The Independent (UK)
"Exquisite… Bravely contemporary… [They] have created a distinctive style of their own." - Robin Denselow, The Guardian (UK)
"The Gloaming is a wonderful mix of soulful and passionate talents who have created their own genre."
- Peter Gabriel
"Enormously rewarding."
- Andy Fyfe, Q Magazine
"*****… Brilliantly innovative and executed with masterly conviction… An astonishing marriage of the old and the new in music as modern as it is ancient, as epic as it is intimate."
-Michael Quinn, Songlines
"*****…Exceptional… Remarkable [and] unique… [Paints on] a wider, more expansive canvas."
– Peter Quinn, The Arts Desk
"Masterful."
– Michael Andor Brodeur, The Boston Globe
"A milestone… This debut album lives up to the loftiest of expectations. The wonderfully virtuosic music is rooted in an ancient Irish tradition, no doubt about that, but there's an experimental flavour to the compositions that makes the album such an intriguing, arresting listen."
- John Meagher, Irish Independent
"*****… This is contemporary music making at its very best: unself-conscious, freewheeling and yet deeply thoughtful, revealing layer upon layer with each listening… The Gloaming revel in wide open vistas and endless space. It’s as if each member has hankered after the company of players, all coming from distinctly different places, their knapsacks brimful of salty ideas, colourful whims and a fearless appetite for mining seams previously unexplored. With almost 60 minutes of free-flowing music to draw from, the listener is privy to a wide palette, defined more by shape and mood than tethered by genre."
-Sibhan Long, Irish Times
"Certain to become a landmark album."
- Colm O Hare, Hot Press
Monday, February 3, 2014
The Nick Moss Band bio
Nick Moss:
A STAR HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE sidelined by a serious kidney ailment, Nick Moss picked up the electric bass at the urging of his brother Joe, a budding blues guitarist, simply to pass the time. When he rose from his sickbed to sneak out and hear Little Charlie and the Nightcats, his course was set: The allure of performing was irresistible, and Nick resolved that night to become a musician. Although Moss tells it matter-of-factly, a deep appreciation notwithstanding, it is difficult not to read mythical, even mystical overtones into his story, particularly if you are among those who love music and understand its power to elevate, transform, and even save lives.
Moss is one of us, and he has repaid the debt many times over. Fresh out of school, he learned to love the gritty Chicago blues of the 1970s while playing with real deal bluesmen, first as one of Buddy Scott’s Rib Tips, then with Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins. He mastered the subtleties of golden-age postwar electric blues with the Legendary Blues Band of Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, where he exchanged his bass for the guitar, and later spent three years as guitarist with the great Jimmy Rogers. These apprenticeships served him well when he started his own band, Nick Moss and the Flip Tops, and began writing and recording an acclaimed series of hard-hitting albums for his own Blue Bella label, beginning with 1999’s First Offense and 2001’s Blues Music Award-nominated Got A New Plan.
By the time of 2003’s Count Your Blessings, Moss’s work was attracting the attention in a big way. That recording featured not only the talents of such Chicago-based artists as Willie Smith, Barrelhouse Chuck, and Bob Stroger, but the contributions of national figures like Anson Funderburgh and Sam Myers, Lynwood Slim, and Curtis Salgado. Both Blessings and its successor, Sadie Mae (2005), received BMA consideration and strong reviews. Two exciting live albums (Live at Chan’s and Live at Chan’s: Combo Platter No. 2, the latter featuring Lurrie Bell) followed, bracketing 2007’s remarkable Play It ‘Til Tomorrow, recorded with guests Barrelhouse Chuck and Eddie Taylor Jr. An ambitious double album (one arranged in typical electric style, the other an acoustic session), Play It produced yet another BMA nomination for
Album, along with nods for Guitarist and Band, and placed in Blues Revue magazine’s 2010 critics’ poll of the “Decade’s Best Blues: 25 Great Albums That Defined The Past 10 Years.”
Mythical stories often involve as a central element a quest, and Moss’s true-life experience follows suit. Along the way, he played on records by Smith, Big Bill Morganfield, and Monster Mike Welch; produced and/or released albums for other Blue Bella artists including Cash Box Kings, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Bill Lupkin, Gerry Hundt, and Matthew Stubbs; and produced the all-star Midnight Blues project on Magic Slim & The Teardrops for Blind Pig Records in 2008 — all in addition to the growth in his vision achieved over the arc of seven genuinely authentic blues albums, recognized by a total of 16 BMA nominations. It seemed reasonable for a restless artist, with nothing left to prove to purists, to wonder what other styles he could explore.
If Moss had a new plan in 2001, he began in earnest to carry it out in performances leading up to his 2010 release, Privileged. He may have come early to the blues, but his formative years were scored largely by Led Zeppelin, Free, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and other blues-influenced rockers, and Moss found that by introducing elements of their music, he could remain true to his roots, even
as he expanded his creative options. Making use of a broader sonic palette, trying his hand at timely and topical songwriting, and introducing new rhythms resulted in music of a higher intensity, and an increasingly rewarding relationship with audiences.
Victoria Amps’ Mark Baier, writing for Chicagobluesguide.com, proclaimed Moss “a modern cross generational musician.” On 2011’s Here I Am, Moss continued to move forward, adding
R&B-based textures, and sometimes an Allman Brothers-esque jam band aesthetic, to his trick bag. The brand new Time Ain’t Free “reaches deeper into soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll,” according to Billboard.com, with shades of P-Funk, Little Feat, Faces, and world music, all filtered through Moss’s deep blue lens, sparking exciting new directions. Midway through the second leg of his musical journey, Nick Moss is turning heads and making new fans every time he plays.
by Mark Goodman
The Nick Moss Band:
NICK MOSS AND HIS BAND have been featured performers at blues festivals across the globe, but it’s at home in Chicago – the capital city of the blues – where he and his band get the ultimate stamp of approval from one Hall of Famer and blues icon Buddy Guy. Music fans the world over come to his famous club where they’ll often find Moss playing that prestigious stage, booked by the icon himself because “Nick is a favorite at my club, Legends. He always works hard to please the audience.” Other luminaries are equally effusive in their praise, rare in the competitive world of guitar gods, as none other than former Roomful of Blues bandleader and distinguished solo artist Ronnie Earl declares “Nick Moss is my favorite guitarist,” high praise from one of the greatest practitioners of the instrument.
It’s that ability to please, entertain, and amaze audiences with his staggering guitar skills that make the 16-time Blues Music Award nominee one of the top draws on the blues circuit and most exciting, dynamic performers working today. Noted author and historian Bill Dahl has praised Nick’s “mastery of the classic Chicago sound” and declared him “a prolific songwriter, and the most exciting blues guitarist we have around here.” That’s quite an accolade from a man who has interviewed icons like Bo Diddley, written liner notes and overseen massive retrospectives of giants like Freddie King and Sam Phillips’ historic Sun Records label, and written a respected book about the history of Motown.
Nick Moss demonstrates his mastery of the classic Chicago sound and so much more onstage — and has also been recognized by the International Songwriting Competition for his ability to add amazing new songs to the venerable blues canon. His creativity, which has advanced his sound to incorporate new styles and ideas, has made an impression on blues master Jimmy Thackery, who says, “Nick is at it again, pushing the evolution of his music, stylistically as well as sonically.” His recording career has brought him numerous accolades and his albums have been staples at blues radio nationwide, but he crosses boundaries now, and his songs have scored at rock and jam band stations as well. As a result, 2011’s release Here I Am debuted at #2 on the Relix/Jambands.com Radio Chart.
Moss’ aptness to please purists and cross boundaries that have helped him connect with audiences worldwide, winning fans and making friends every night in every city when he and his band take the stage. All the great ones make their mark onstage and that’s where Moss is at his best. His superior talent is evident on his studio albums but it’s his live albums and performances that put him in the rarified territory with the greats. Discovery for yourself what Bill Dahl, Ronnie Earl, Jimmy Thackery, Hall of Famer Buddy Guy, and audiences the world over already know: an evening with Nick Moss is an unforgettable experience and one not to be missed!
A STAR HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE sidelined by a serious kidney ailment, Nick Moss picked up the electric bass at the urging of his brother Joe, a budding blues guitarist, simply to pass the time. When he rose from his sickbed to sneak out and hear Little Charlie and the Nightcats, his course was set: The allure of performing was irresistible, and Nick resolved that night to become a musician. Although Moss tells it matter-of-factly, a deep appreciation notwithstanding, it is difficult not to read mythical, even mystical overtones into his story, particularly if you are among those who love music and understand its power to elevate, transform, and even save lives.
Moss is one of us, and he has repaid the debt many times over. Fresh out of school, he learned to love the gritty Chicago blues of the 1970s while playing with real deal bluesmen, first as one of Buddy Scott’s Rib Tips, then with Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins. He mastered the subtleties of golden-age postwar electric blues with the Legendary Blues Band of Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, where he exchanged his bass for the guitar, and later spent three years as guitarist with the great Jimmy Rogers. These apprenticeships served him well when he started his own band, Nick Moss and the Flip Tops, and began writing and recording an acclaimed series of hard-hitting albums for his own Blue Bella label, beginning with 1999’s First Offense and 2001’s Blues Music Award-nominated Got A New Plan.
By the time of 2003’s Count Your Blessings, Moss’s work was attracting the attention in a big way. That recording featured not only the talents of such Chicago-based artists as Willie Smith, Barrelhouse Chuck, and Bob Stroger, but the contributions of national figures like Anson Funderburgh and Sam Myers, Lynwood Slim, and Curtis Salgado. Both Blessings and its successor, Sadie Mae (2005), received BMA consideration and strong reviews. Two exciting live albums (Live at Chan’s and Live at Chan’s: Combo Platter No. 2, the latter featuring Lurrie Bell) followed, bracketing 2007’s remarkable Play It ‘Til Tomorrow, recorded with guests Barrelhouse Chuck and Eddie Taylor Jr. An ambitious double album (one arranged in typical electric style, the other an acoustic session), Play It produced yet another BMA nomination for
Album, along with nods for Guitarist and Band, and placed in Blues Revue magazine’s 2010 critics’ poll of the “Decade’s Best Blues: 25 Great Albums That Defined The Past 10 Years.”
Mythical stories often involve as a central element a quest, and Moss’s true-life experience follows suit. Along the way, he played on records by Smith, Big Bill Morganfield, and Monster Mike Welch; produced and/or released albums for other Blue Bella artists including Cash Box Kings, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Bill Lupkin, Gerry Hundt, and Matthew Stubbs; and produced the all-star Midnight Blues project on Magic Slim & The Teardrops for Blind Pig Records in 2008 — all in addition to the growth in his vision achieved over the arc of seven genuinely authentic blues albums, recognized by a total of 16 BMA nominations. It seemed reasonable for a restless artist, with nothing left to prove to purists, to wonder what other styles he could explore.
If Moss had a new plan in 2001, he began in earnest to carry it out in performances leading up to his 2010 release, Privileged. He may have come early to the blues, but his formative years were scored largely by Led Zeppelin, Free, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and other blues-influenced rockers, and Moss found that by introducing elements of their music, he could remain true to his roots, even
as he expanded his creative options. Making use of a broader sonic palette, trying his hand at timely and topical songwriting, and introducing new rhythms resulted in music of a higher intensity, and an increasingly rewarding relationship with audiences.
Victoria Amps’ Mark Baier, writing for Chicagobluesguide.com, proclaimed Moss “a modern cross generational musician.” On 2011’s Here I Am, Moss continued to move forward, adding
R&B-based textures, and sometimes an Allman Brothers-esque jam band aesthetic, to his trick bag. The brand new Time Ain’t Free “reaches deeper into soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll,” according to Billboard.com, with shades of P-Funk, Little Feat, Faces, and world music, all filtered through Moss’s deep blue lens, sparking exciting new directions. Midway through the second leg of his musical journey, Nick Moss is turning heads and making new fans every time he plays.
by Mark Goodman
The Nick Moss Band:
NICK MOSS AND HIS BAND have been featured performers at blues festivals across the globe, but it’s at home in Chicago – the capital city of the blues – where he and his band get the ultimate stamp of approval from one Hall of Famer and blues icon Buddy Guy. Music fans the world over come to his famous club where they’ll often find Moss playing that prestigious stage, booked by the icon himself because “Nick is a favorite at my club, Legends. He always works hard to please the audience.” Other luminaries are equally effusive in their praise, rare in the competitive world of guitar gods, as none other than former Roomful of Blues bandleader and distinguished solo artist Ronnie Earl declares “Nick Moss is my favorite guitarist,” high praise from one of the greatest practitioners of the instrument.
It’s that ability to please, entertain, and amaze audiences with his staggering guitar skills that make the 16-time Blues Music Award nominee one of the top draws on the blues circuit and most exciting, dynamic performers working today. Noted author and historian Bill Dahl has praised Nick’s “mastery of the classic Chicago sound” and declared him “a prolific songwriter, and the most exciting blues guitarist we have around here.” That’s quite an accolade from a man who has interviewed icons like Bo Diddley, written liner notes and overseen massive retrospectives of giants like Freddie King and Sam Phillips’ historic Sun Records label, and written a respected book about the history of Motown.
Nick Moss demonstrates his mastery of the classic Chicago sound and so much more onstage — and has also been recognized by the International Songwriting Competition for his ability to add amazing new songs to the venerable blues canon. His creativity, which has advanced his sound to incorporate new styles and ideas, has made an impression on blues master Jimmy Thackery, who says, “Nick is at it again, pushing the evolution of his music, stylistically as well as sonically.” His recording career has brought him numerous accolades and his albums have been staples at blues radio nationwide, but he crosses boundaries now, and his songs have scored at rock and jam band stations as well. As a result, 2011’s release Here I Am debuted at #2 on the Relix/Jambands.com Radio Chart.
Moss’ aptness to please purists and cross boundaries that have helped him connect with audiences worldwide, winning fans and making friends every night in every city when he and his band take the stage. All the great ones make their mark onstage and that’s where Moss is at his best. His superior talent is evident on his studio albums but it’s his live albums and performances that put him in the rarified territory with the greats. Discovery for yourself what Bill Dahl, Ronnie Earl, Jimmy Thackery, Hall of Famer Buddy Guy, and audiences the world over already know: an evening with Nick Moss is an unforgettable experience and one not to be missed!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)