SEATTLE, WA – Underworld Records announces a March 17 release date for Free Your Mind, the new CD from Seattle-based Too Slim and the Taildraggers, with national distribution by Burnside Distribution. Free Your Mind was produced by Todd Smallwood and Timothy Langford and – as its title implies – showcases an impressive musical expansion from the band, which consists of Tim Langford (AKA Too Slim) on guitar and vocals, Dave Nordstrom on bass and Rudy Simone on drums.
The new CD takes the group’s blues-based music to new heights, adding rock and Americana influences that make the disc a joyous listen. All of its 11 songs were written by Tim Langford and demonstrate his growth as a songwriter and observer of the human condition. The CD’s opening track, “When You Love Somebody,” marries the heartland rock of John Cougar Mellencamp with the southern rock influences of Lynyrd Skynyrd for a rousing breath of fresh air; while the second track, “Last Train,” is a slice-of-life song inspired by its author reading the crazy stories in the daily paper.
ON the rest of Free Your Mind, the band stretches its musical muscles, with tough, sinewy blasts of Langford’s crunchy guitar work and soulful vocals layered over a rhythmic framework of Dave Nordstrom powerful bass and Rudy Simone’s kicking drums. With songs such as “Devil in a Doublewide,” “Been through Hell,” “Testament” and the anthemic title track, Too Slim and the Taildraggers take many twists and turns, but ultimately arrive at a journey well-worth taking. Langford’s insightful songwriting owes a debt to Tom Petty on many of the songs, especially on “Bottle It Up” and “Throw Me a Rope,” but remains true to his own muse. The album closes with the powerful gospel-influenced ballad, “The Light,” which also features a strong guest vocal appearance by Lauren Evans and some beautifully evocative guitar work by Tim Langford, whose tones on both electric guitar and slide throughout the CD stake his claim as a major guitarist on the rise.
The band’s last CD, The Fortune Teller, reached #9 on the Billboard magazine Top Blues Albums sales chart in 2007 and 2008 and was also nominated for “Best Contemporary Blues Album” at last year’s Blues Blast Music Awards in Chicago. The band’s also been voted “Best Regional Act” 11 times by the Cascade Blues Association, the largest organization of its kind in the US, and has won many group and solo awards from a number of other organizations and magazine readers’ polls.
Too Slim and the Taildraggers have headlined theaters, festivals and showcase clubs around the country and have shared the stage with such diverse talents as Bo Diddley, Johnny Lang, Robert Cray, .38 Special, Jeff Healey, Los Lobos, Delbert McClinton, Blues Traveler and Junior Brown, among others.
Too Slim and the Taildraggers will tour extensively in support of Free Your Mind, with booking and management by Nancy Langford of The 313 Agency (206-340-2622 / info@the313agency.com). For more information on the band, visit www.tooslim.org or www.underworldindierecords.com.
To access a hi-res color jpg of Too Slim and the Taildraggers (photo credit: Lisa Martin), please click on this link: Too Slim Photo
In addition to his work in the band, Tim Langford and his wife Nancy are also the owners of “Essie’s South American Style Sauce,” a marinade described as part barbecue, part teriyaki and part Cajun that was initially developed by Nancy’s mother in the mid-1960s at a restaurant/club the family owned in North Dakota. Essie’s Sauce can be used on poultry, seafood, beef and pork and has been described by one magazine food editor as “the best sauce I’ve ever tasted.” The sauce is distributed regionally around the US and is also available by mail order. For more information, visit www.essiessauce.com.
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