THE KENNEDYS ARE DREAMING BETTER DREAMS ON NEW CD

THE KENNEDYS ARE DREAMING BETTER DREAMS ON NEW CD
DUE JANUARY 22, 2008, ON APPLESEED RECORDINGS

WEST CHESTER, PA – Appleseed Recordings announces a January 22, 2008, release date for Better Dreams, the new CD from husband-and-wife duo Pete and Maura Kennedy, their first album of all-original songs in seven years.

Better Dreams follows The Kennedys’ last Appleseed recording, Songs of the Open Road, released in October 2006, which saluted some of their favorite “road music” by other songwriters. The music for the new CD was inspired by a pair of seminars Pete and Maura conducted on “using dreams to unlock your creativity.” “We found that we were writing really interesting songs in and around the workshop sessions,” they explain. “All of these songs have something to do with the dreamtime,” where “we have a different kind of freedom there.”

Time and space become fluid in the dreams The Kennedys have translated into the songs on Better Dreams. The cleansing “eternal now” flows through the CD-opening “Breathe,” which counsels, “Breathe into a new life, breathe out all the old times.” The tricky path to love is illuminated on “I Found a Road” and “Light My Way.” Real life nightmares rush into folk history (“Sago Mine,” about the January 2006 mining disaster in West Virginia) or flood the modern day (both “Give Me Back My Country” and “American Wish” lament the draining of civil liberties in post-9/11 America). The dream state itself can be a lifeboat (as on the Eastern-tinged title song and “In My Dreams”), an exhausting anchor (“No Mornings”), or, to mix metaphors, an exhilarating rocket ride to a metaphysical sock-hop (“Speed of Soul”). Appropriately, the CD concludes with an ethereal, near wordless hymn to the ultimate dream – peace (“Pacé”)

As with any CD by The Kennedys, Better Dreams is a showcase for their vocal and musical prowess, powered by Maura’s lead vocals and Pete’s multi-instrumental work. In particular on this CD, Maura uses the full range and nuance of her expressive voice, alternately soaring and plaintive, melding perfectly with the intuitive harmony vocals of Pete and the special guests on the album. In turn, Pete weaves an aural tapestry of musical tones from various guitars, mandolin, keyboards, bass and drums.

Influences from The Kennedy’s two side projects also make musical contributions to the album, heard in the use of electric sitar and ukulele from their “British folk/psychedelic” quintet, The Strangelings, as well as the sounds of The Stringbusters, Pete and Maura’s ukulele duo devoted to jazz, classical and pop.

As Folk and Acoustic Musical Exchange said in an earlier review, The Kennedys are “unafraid to mix philosophy, spirituality, love and artistry with a folk-rock back beat,” and that “is what makes this duo a positive force on all things human.”

For more information on The Kennedys, visit www.kennedysmusic.com or www.appleseedrec.com.
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BOB BROZMAN DELIVERS SOME POST INDUSTRIAL BLUES

BOB BROZMAN DELIVERS SOME
POST INDUSTRIAL BLUES ON HIS NEW
RUF RECORDS CD, DUE JANUARY 15, 2008

ATLANTA, GA - Ruf Records announces a January 15, 2008 release date for world-class multi-instrumentalist Bob Brozman’s latest CD, Post Industrial Blues. The new album features a passionate Brozman playing and singing at his improvisational best. He plays a variety of National guitars, as well as Hawaiian guitar and ukulele, banjo, dobro, and an assortment of stringed instruments from all over the world, ranging from the Okinawan sanshin and Greek baglama to the 22-string chaturangui and 14-string gandharvi from India.

A master of many world music styles, Brozman brings a multitude of influences to Post Industrial Blues from India, Africa, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean, but anchors it all with the rootsy sound of blues and Americana. His choice of additional percussion – including an array of non-traditional instruments such as a knife blade, grass clippers, disassembled marimba pipes and a broken toy piano – give the music an almost otherworldly feel at times, but Brozman brings it all back home in his own inimitable style. The new album also reunites him with bassist Stan Poplin and drummer Jim Norris, both mainstays of his earliest albums from the 1980s.

Throughout Post Industrial Blues, Bob Brozman enhances the stunning instrumental performances with many original and contemporary lyrics, including songs about American geo-politics (“Follow the Money” and “Crooked Blues”), Hurricane Katrina (“Look at New Orleans”), modern travel (“Airport Blues”), immigration and war (“Three Families Blues”), and the world’s orphans (“Lonely Children”). All demonstrate the universality of the blues as interpreted by Brozman. He also delivers his own unique take of The Doors classic, “People Are Strange,” creating a renewed spirit of the song that pays homage to its roots while redefining it through experimental instrumentation and intonation.

Bob Brozman was born in New York and has been playing guitar since age 6. Profoundly struck by Delta blues as a child, his burning curiosity led him to a lifelong study of ethnomusicology and guitar music from the world’s frontiers of colonialism. He recorded his first albums in the 1980s, including several American releases of vintage blues and jazz music. Throughout the 1990s and the current decade, Brozman has been intensely prolific, releasing several internationally acclaimed CDs with artists from many other cultures around the world. During a period of just four years ending in 2004, five of these collaborations placed in the Top Ten of the European World Music Charts – an unprecedented feat for any international artist.

Brozman is a passionate and tireless performer, with an almost super-human tour schedule that takes him to every corner of the globe. A respected educator and author, he has directed music for film, radio, television, and the stage; and he has produced albums for a number of artists including the Asylum Street Spankers and Ledward Kaapana. Brozman rediscovered the legendary 1920s Hawaiian artists the Tau Moe Family, recording a landmark album with them which won the Library of Congress Select List Award. In addition to his own recording and touring, Brozman co-founded International Guitar Seminars, bringing students together to study with some of the top guitarists in the world. He is also an adjunct Professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, where he lectures on ethnomusicology and is continuing research on the music of the South Pacific islands.

For more information, visit www.bobbrozman.com

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RONNIE EARL AND THE BROADCASTERS RELEASE NEW LIVE IN THE STUDIO CD,

RONNIE EARL AND THE BROADCASTERS RELEASE NEW LIVE IN THE STUDIO CD,
HOPE RADIO,
NOVEMBER 6TH
ON STONY PLAIN RECORDS


EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces a November 6th release date for Hope Radio, the new CD from the celebrated guitarist Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters. Recorded and filmed live (with a separate DVD forthcoming) in the studio before an audience at Wellspring Sound in Acton, Mass in April of this year, Hope Radio features 11 songs that showcase Ronnie Earl at his amazing best, backed by long-time members of The Broadcasters: Dave Limina – keyboards, Jim Mouradian – bass, and Lorne
Entress - drums. Guests include Michael “Mudcat” Ward on bass and piano and Nick Adams on second guitar.

A two-time W.C. Handy Blues Award winner as “Guitar Player of the Year,” Ronnie Earl has been hailed by musicians and critics alike as one of the premier blues guitarists of his generation and played alongside side such greats as Carlos Santana, Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, Otis Rush, Earl King and Duke Robillard (who he replaced as guitarist in the legendary Roomful of Blues after Robillard left that band).

Hope Radio is Ronnie’s fourth CD for Stony Plain, following his two solo albums: I Feel Like Goin’ On (2003) and Now My Soul (2004); and his acclaimed 2005 teaming with Duke Robillard, The Duke Meets The Earl.

The all-instrumental Hope Radio drips with soul, spirituality and what Earl calls “the healing approach” to guitar playing on its many highlights. The opening track, “Eddie’s Gospel Groove,” with his blistering guitar tone and accompanying Hammond B3 organ, recalls the intensity of Santana. The jamming “Bobby’s Bop” delivers jazz grooves that bring to mind his early collaboration with organ legend Jimmy McGriff. On the slow, after-hours feel of “Blues for the West Side,” Earl salutes many of Chicago’s “West Side” school of guitarists, such as Buddy Guy and Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson. A new song, “Katrina Blues,” which features a rare solo acoustic guitar performance by Ronnie, drips with emotion and thoughts of those who suffered (and continue to suffer) in New Orleans, one of his favorite cities to play. “Wolf Dance” is a beautiful, staccato-noted nod to one of his mentors, the great Hubert Sumlin of Howlin’ Wolf’s band. On “Blues for the Homeless” Earl sends out his love and spiritual healing thoughts to those less fortunate, and dedicates “Beautiful Child” to “all the sick and suffering alcoholics and addicts in the world today.” And on “Blues for Otis Rush,” he pays tribute to another dear friend and major influence.

Born in Queen’s, New York, Ronnie Earl began playing guitar after entering college and landed his first gig in the house band of a Cambridge, Massachusetts club. In 1979, he replaced Duke Robillard in Roomful of Blues, spending the next eight years touring and recording with them. In addition to his Stony Plain recordings, he’s released many acclaimed albums for Black Top Records, Bullseye Blues, Verve and Telarc. In 2008, Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters will celebrate 20 years as a band.

For more information, visit www.stonyplainrecords.com

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OCTOBER 2 RELEASE DATE FOR TONI PRICE’S NEW CD, TALK MEMPHIS

ANTONE’S RECORDS SETS OCTOBER 2 RELEASE DATE FOR TONI PRICE’S NEW CD, TALK MEMPHIS

SOULFUL SINGER CHANNELS THE SOUL OF STAX/VOLT AND HI RECORDS ON NEW CD

AUSTIN, TX – Antone’s Records has announced an October 2 release date for Talk Memphis, the new CD from singer Toni Price that salutes the classic Memphis soul sound of such legendary labels as Stax/Volt and Hi Records. The new album will be distributed nationally by RED Distribution.

Toni Price recently ended her 14-year run of incredible Tuesday night shows (dubbed the “Hippie Hour”) at Austin’s Continental Club – which had become a weekly institution for the always-packed audiences – when the singer relocated to San Diego. On Talk Memphis, she squeezes every ounce of soul in her body into the songs, channeling the sounds and grooves that made those records so amazing, even to this day.

Produced by Derek O’Brien and Toni Price, Talk Memphis features songs by such Memphis writers as Jesse Winchester (the title track), Isaac Hayes/David Porter (“Leftover Love”) Booker T. Jones/Eddie Floyd (“Sorry About That”) and Don Bryant (“Ninety-Nine Pounds”), along with other tunes written during the classic R&B/soul years (Allen Toussaint’s “Mean Man,” Jeff Barry and Bert Russell’s “Am I Groovin’ U”), Ashford-Simpson’s “Runnin’ Out” and Oliver Sain’s “Poor Little Fool”). In addition, Price taps into four songs from her longtime friend and Academy Award-nominated songwriter Gwil Owen, as well a new tune from Austin’s Wendy Colonna, which meld perfectly with the older material to create a vibrant album that flows sweetly and soulfully.

Toni Price receives solid backing on Talk Memphis from some of Austin’s finest musicians, who obviously know their way around the blues and soul songs selected for the album, including “Frosty” and George Rains on drums, Larry Fulcher and Scott Nelson on bass, Anthony Ferrell on keyboards, Johnny Moeller on guitar and The Texas Horns (John Mills, Kaz Kazanoff and Al Gomez). Playing guitar on most of the tracks is special guest David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Storyville), and Marcia Ball makes a guest appearance on piano for “Poor Little Fool.” Co-producer Derek O’Brien, one of Austin’s most in-demand guitarists, also adds his tasty, soulful guitar work on electric lead and rhythm throughout.

For more information on Toni Price, visit www.txmusicgroup.com

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PATTERSON BARRETT RELEASES I MUST BE DREAMING ON OCTOBER 9

PATTERSON BARRETT RELEASES I MUST BE DREAMING ON OCTOBER 9

DEBUT CD INCLUDES SPECIAL GUESTS BUDDY AND JULIE MILLER


AUSTIN, TX – So’ Fish Records announces an October 9 release date for the debut CD from singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Patterson Barrett, I Must Be Dreaming, distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. The album includes special guest appearances by Buddy and Julie Miller.

Raised in the Washington, DC area, Patterson Barrett moved to Austin shortly after appearing on Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic first album on MCA Records, playing pedal steel, dobro and guitar (including the song, “L.A. Freeway”). He soon formed the band Partners In Crime, which included Buddy and Julie Miller, and released one album under that name. During his earlier years in Austin, he produced some of Hal Ketchum’s first demos, played in Al Kooper’s back-up band, accompanied Nancy Griffith on “Austin City Limits,” toured as a member of Lou Ann Barton’s road band and played on Buddy Miller’s debut album, Your Love And Other Lies.

After years of collaborating with so many artists, Barrett has found his own unique voice both as a songwriter and performer on his new release, I Must Be Dreaming. On the new album, he explores some of the aspects of dreams and alternate realities of life and death that touch us all.

Influenced by Neil Young, Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers as well as Sam and Dave, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye, Patterson Barrett’s music on his new CD blends elements of country, rock, R&B and roots music for an all-Americana sound that’s been compared to John Hiatt, The Band (whose song “Sleeping” he lovingly covers), and Ryan Adams.

I Must Be Dreaming has a cohesive, unified feel, perhaps owing to the fact that Barrett plays the majority of the instruments on most of the tracks himself, including not only various guitars & keyboards, but also more exotic colors such as pedal steel guitar, mandolin, and accordion. This single-minded approach only helps the guest star appearances shine more brightly against Barrett’s seamless production.

The lead-off track, “Take The Stage,” reunites onetime bandmates Barrett and Buddy Miller in a rockin’ dialogue of duet vocals punctuated by some nice interplay between Miller’s signature guitar playing and Barrett’s slippery lap steel. On “Concrete & Steel,” Julie Miller’s guest vocals join Barrett and Miller in a bittersweet recollection of a love that can only be relived in a dream.
“It was a special thing for Julie and me to sing with Patterson on ‘Concrete & Steel,’ says Buddy Miller about the track. “We love the song. and hearing our voices together only makes us want to do some more. Singing with a good friend makes for a natural blend.”

Other guests on the new CD include drummer Tommy Taylor (Eric Johnson) and singer Deborah Holland, whose harmony singing with Barrett recalls Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.

While sharing a thematic connection, the songs cover a wide range of subjects, from the teen suicide that prompted the crisis of faith expressed in “Back In My Heart” to the insomnia documented in “She Won’t Be Getting Any Sleep Tonight.” Included in the collection is “Leap Of Faith,” a Cajun romp written by longtime musical friend, Gurf Morlix (and Rod Picott).

There are also several family connections on the new CD. The song “I’ve Been Loving You For Such A Long Time,” written for Barrett’s daughter, gives voice to some deeply held emotions of a father toward his children. And son Emerson joins his dad for a track, playing upright bass on the song, “Concrete & Steel”.

Patterson Barrett will tour in support of I Must Be Dreaming, with plans for an Austin show to celebrate the national release to be announced shortly.

For more information, visit www.pattersonbarrett.com

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TOM GILLAM’S NEW CD, NEVER LOOK BACK, DUE SEPTEMBER 12

TOM GILLAM’S NEW CD,

NEVER LOOK BACK, DUE SEPTEMBER 12

LATEST RELEASE ON TREEHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, DISTRIBUTED NATIONALLY BY BURNSIDE DISTRIBUTION

PHILADELPHIA, PA – TreeHouse Productions announces a September 12 release date for Never Look Back, the new CD from singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Gillam, with national distribution by Burnside Distribution Corporation. Gillam will get the celebration of the new album going early, with a CD release concert set for The Troc in Philadelphia on August 17 at 8:00 PM.

Never Look Back is Gillam’s strongest album yet, amply displaying his whiskey-soaked vocals, incendiary guitar work and striking lyrics in a musical trifecta blending the edgier side of alternative country and Americana with guitar rock for a real barn-burner sound. On the new CD, Gillam is backed by his long-time road band, Tractor Pull, creating a seamless, visceral music that’s the perfect follow-up to his last release, 2005’s Shake My Hand, which spent 14 weeks on the Americana Radio top ten, peaking at #4. That album also won him a “Best Emerging Artist” nomination from the Americana Music Association.

The 11 all-original songs on Never Look Back, most of which were written or co-written by Gillam, were recorded at TreeHouse Studios and produced by long-time friend Joe Carroll, who also is a multi-instrumentalist in Tractor Pull. They showcase a creative, insightful songwriter whose songs are both topical and personal, with a universal appeal that echoes the past but sounds fresh and exciting.

The recording of the new album was interrupted in March of 2006, when after several appearances at the SXSW Music Festival, Tom Gillam suffered three heart attacks in between flights from Austin to France. Two months later, he made an amazing comeback performance and finished the new album late last summer.


Born and raised in southern New Jersey, Tom spent his formative years playing in and around the New Jersey / Philadelphia area with a variety of mildly successful bands. In 1997, he teamed up with producer Joe Carroll to embark on his solo career. The result was Tom's 1998 release, First of All (Brickhouse Records). That was followed in 2001 by the critically acclaimed album, Dallas (Gotham Records). Tom then recruited the members of his touring band, Tractor Pull, and hit the road. He took time out from touring to record what would eventually become the Shake My Hand album, released in November 2004 on 95 North/Haydens Ferry Records.

Tom Gillam and Tractor Pull will support the release of Never Look Back with a national tour, including in-store appearances at retail outlets around the country. Radio promotion for the new CD is being handled by Al Moss Promotions.

For more information, visit http://www.tomgillam.com/ or his other site at www.myspace.com/tomgillamstractorpull

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STONY PLAIN RECORDS PRESENTS THE GIFT: A TRIBUTE TO IAN TYSON

STONY PLAIN RECORDS PRESENTS THE GIFT: A TRIBUTE TO IAN TYSON

ALL-STAR CAST SALUTES CANADIAN MUSICAL ICON WITH PERFORMANCES FROM JENNIFER WARNES, CHRIS HILLMAN, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT, TOM RUSSELL, AMOS GARRETT AND MANY OTHERS ON OCTOBER 9 U.S. RELEASE

EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces an October 9 U.S. release date for The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson, an all-star tribute featuring performances of the Canadian musical icon’s songs by such performers as Jennifer Warnes, Chris Hillman, Gordon Lightfoot, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tom Russell and Amos Garrett, among others.

The album’s striking artwork features rarely-seen sketches from legendary western artist Charles M. Russell, a former cowboy and wrangler who documented the Old West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, capturing the spirit and the character of that time. The sketches were obtained with permission from the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana.

The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson has been in the works for more than a year. Stony Plain Records’ president Holger Petersen and award-winning music journalist Peter North asked Tyson's friends, associates, admirers and one-time sidemen to contribute, and shepherded their songs through production. All of the songs were recorded expressly for this album, with the exception of Gordon Lightfoot’s track, “Red Velvet,” released on an earlier album of his, and Tom Russell’s cover of “Old Cheyenne,” recorded several years ago as a “promotion only” track. Just released in Canada, the album has already garnered rave reviews and strong sales in that country.
In addition to guitarist Amos Garrett, other former musicians who have worked with Tyson over the years, such as David Rea, Stewart MacDougall, Cindy Church, Buddy Cage and Jeff Bradshaw, all contributed tracks to the new album. Other participants include Blue Rodeo, Corb Lund, The Good Brothers and The McDades.
In a world-wide career that spans almost half a century, Ian Tyson was a pioneering folk singer whose initial impact came as one-half of the duo Ian and Sylvia, one of the most popular acts of the early ‘60s folk music movement, who recorded a number of albums (most notably with Vanguard Records). At the end of that decade, he helped launch the country-rock explosion with the landmark band Great Speckled Bird and its self-titled album, released in 1970. Tyson followed that by being at the vanguard of the “cowboy music” revival on the strength of his seminal 1986 album, Cowboyography. His achievements thus far have earned him a place in the Juno Hall of Fame (the Canadian equivalent of the GRAMMY), and he has been a recipient of the Order of Canada.Dotted with classic pieces and sprinkled with timeless hits, Tyson’s brilliantly crafted catalogue contains the finest examples of songs that have stitched stunning melodies and gripping grooves with deep emotions and finely etched imagery. Not only has he been on the receiving end of considerable acclaim and commercial success during his long run, other artists have consistently gone to and drawn from Tyson’s deep well. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith, Suzy Bogguss, Bobby Bare, Tony Rice, Judy Collins, David Bromberg, and Jerry Jeff Walker are just a few of the artists who have covered his songs. Neil Young continues to express his belief that “Four Strong Winds” is one of the greatest contemporary folk songs ever written. Tyson, who marks his 75th birthday next year, continues to run the Tyson Ranch in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary, and tours in Canada and the U.S., playing some 75 concerts a year.

“A tribute to Ian, who is certainly not ready to call it a day on the ranch, has definitely been in order for some time now,” says co-executive producer Peter North, who is also the music director for the CKUA Radio Network in Edmonton, Alberta. “Tyson’s songs cross a musical landscape that includes the folk revival of the ‘60s, the birth of country rock, hardcore honky-tonk music and his own chosen place as a spokesperson for cowboy culture.”
Stony Plain is distributed by Koch Entertainment. For more, visit http://www.iantyson.com/
The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson Track Listing:
1. Four Strong Winds Blue Rodeo
2. MC Horses Corb Lund
3. Blue Mountains of Mexico Jennifer Warnes
4. What Does She See Chris Hillman
5. Red Velvet Gordon Lightfoot
6. The Gift David Rea
7. Range Delivery Cindy Church
8. Smuggler’s Cove The McDades
9. Some Kind Of Fool Amos Garrett
10. Old Cheyenne Tom Russell
11. Someday Soon The Circus In Flames with Buddy Cage
12. Will James Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
13. You’re Not Alone Anymore Stewart MacDougall
14. Summer Wages The Good Brothers
15. Moondancer Jeff Bradshaw
16. Bonus Track: Interview with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott & Buddy Cage