TED DROZDOWSKI MAKES UNCONVENTIONAL PSYCH-ROCK WITH UNCONVENTIONAL GUITARS ON 'LOVE & LIFE'

MUSIC CITY ROOTS SYNDICATED RADIO SHOW CONFIRMED OCT 28 AS ALL MUSIC STREAMS FULL ALBUM

Ted Drozdowski knows his guitars.

A veteran rock musician and road warrior who doubles as a journalist for Guitar World and Premiere Guitar, he fills his newest album, 'Love & Life,' with more than a dozen acoustic and electric guitars. Also included on Ted Drozdowski’s Scissormen’s ‘Love & Life’ record, which hits stores this Friday, are a handful of custom-made axes that are as unique as the music itself. The band plays NYC’s Shrine tomorrow and Brooklyn’s Grand Victory on Monday as All Music is streaming all of ‘Love & Life’: http://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/album-premiere-ted-drozdowskis-scissormen-love-life

"I like to play unconventional roots music on unconventional instruments," says Drozdowski, who has driven more than 1,000,000 miles during his tour dates with a series of bands, including his current project, Ted Drozdowski’s Scissormen. Along the way, he's carved out a reputation as "both an innovator and interpreter all at the same time" (Pop Matters).

Rooted in electric blues and psychedelic music, 'Love & Life' features guitars like 'Jo Diddley,' a 1960s Eiphone Hollowbody that Drozdowski rescued by ripping off the headstock, securing it back onto the instrument "with industrial glue at a slight-yet-intonation-proof angle," and removed the pickups. The resulting instrument, whose name is a tip-of-the-hat to blues great Bo Diddley, can be heard on "Can't Be Satisfied."

Also along for the ride is Drozdowski's "signature model" Fender Esquire, which features the autographs of friends, tour mates and influences including Dick Dale, Ike Turner and Billy Gibbons. Drozdowski customized the guitar by adding jumbo frets and a pair of late '60s Les Paul pickups. It's heavy, like his music, and he's toured with it since the '80s. "I've even let somebody breathe fire across the neck while I was playing it — in Mississippi, of course," he adds.

And then there's the so-called "Lobster Pot" guitar, which was gifted to Drozdowski by East Nashville artist Mike Windy. Again, Drozdowski modified the guitar a bit, adding a Mexican single-coil pickup — "the cheaper and gnarlier, the better" — and securing it with electric tape. The result is an instrument with "a huge, cutting sound," making it the perfect ax for Drozdowski's arsenal. It also befits Drozdowski’s time spent in the Boston music scene before moving to Nashville.

All three of those guitars will hit the road with Ted Drozdowski’s Scissormen this year. The band's upcoming tour includes a high-profile performance at the Music City Roots syndicated radio broadcast in Franklin, Tennessee October 28.

Ted Drozdowski’s Scissormen Tour Dates

July 30 – New York, NY – Shrine World Music Venue
July 31 – Somerville, MA – Johnny D’s
August 1 – Lowell, MA – The Back Page Café
August 2 – Middletown, CT – The Cypress Restaurant
August 3 – Brooklyn, NY – Grand Victory
August 9 – Nashville, TN – The Bluebird Café
August 15 – E. Nashville, TN – The 5 Spot
August 28 – Winona, MN – Broken World Records
August 29 – Minneapolis, MN – Hell’s Kitchen Brunch
September 1 – Indianapolis, IN – The Slippery Noodle
September 2 – Kansas City, MO – B.B.’s Lawnside Barbecue
September 3 – Lincoln, NE – The Zoo Bar
September 4 – Fort Collins, CO – Avogadro’s Number
September 5-6 – Denver, CO – Ziggie’s Live Music
October 28 - Nashville, TN - Music City Roots