Remember when rock’n’roll seemed to have it all? Passion, power, chemistry… and timeless songs that people could relate to? Hero Jr. does. And their forthcoming full-length debut Backup Plan is the perfect document to prove it.

On it, the Indy-based foursome combine soaring vocals, stinging guitars and driving rhythms and channel them into 11 indelible, hook-filled songs that help define the blur between ’70s classic rock, the angst of the Alternative Nation and modern indie-rock. The band consists of brothers Evan Haughey (vocals/guitar) & Matthew Haughey (drums/vocals), along with bassist Dave DuBrava and the most recent addition to the band, guitarist Ken Rose (Marianne Faithfull). Backup Plan was produced and engineered by Paul Mahern (T-Bone Burnett, The Fray, Iggy Pop, John Mellencamp, Afghan Whigs, etc.) and Ken Rose, and was recorded at both Livingston Studios in London and Mahern’s White Arc Studio in Bloomington, IN.

Some have favorably referred to Hero Jr.’s music as having a radio friendly edge to it, which is certainly true. These aren’t tunes tweely plinked-out on a toy piano with a banana by today’s cool kids, but rather thoughtful, intelligent and expertly performed songs that hit extremely hard – affecting the head, heart and, yes, ass in equal measure.

Hero Jr.’s Backup Plan is out now in CD and Digital formats.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH HERO JR.’S “ANN BOLEYN” VIDEO

BACKUP PLAN TRACK LIST:

1. Anne Boleyn

2. Strongest Weakness

3. What’s On The Inside

4. Naked

5. Holding On Without Handles

6. Bottom Of The End

7. Learning To Stand

8. Love Enough For Everyone

9. Cracked and Kindred

10. Matchstick Tongue

11. I Was Made To Hold You

“Hero Jr.’s album is a polished survey of modern rock that isn’t too quirky or too brutish to turn off mainstream listeners. Lead singer, Evan Haughey, sounds like Kings of Leon front man Caleb Followill when he’s worked up and going for broke. Hero Jr. has everything in its right place. Haughey’s guitar licks, which range from gritty to artfully restrained, sound great, and his voice is radio-ready.” – David Lindquist / INDIANAPOLIS STAR

“Hero Jr. plays a solid post 90’s rock with a radio ready sound. They rock it out with a top 40 consciousness. In a music scene full of art rockers, I’m glad to see a band that’s not afraid to be likeable.” – Wayne Bertsch / NUVO WEEKLY

“Hero Jr. seemed to stumble on a formula for success right out of the gate: write a strong, catchy record, promote like hell and play the biggest shows you can get your hands on.” – Dan Fahrner / MUSICAL FAMILY TREE

“Straight-up, no gimmicks rock n’ roll.” – INDY CONCERTS

FOR MORE INFO ON HERO JR.:
http://www.herojr.net
http://www.facebook.com/herojrmusic

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

Click here to download a few new hi-res band photos of Holiday Gunfire (credit: Jackie Lo) and album cover art

Holiday Gunfire began in 2017 when longtime friends and seasoned Birmingham, Alabama musicians, Lester Nuby III (Verbena, Vulture Whale), Jason Hamric (Twinside), Craig Ceravolo (Great Lakes) and Michael Williams (13 Ghosts, Nowhere Squares), were enjoying an Independence Day celebration. Some celebrate with copious libations and vittles, others shoot off fireworks and sparklers, still others take to the backyard with their trusty firearm of choice. A quaint pull of the trigger of your favorite 12 gauge emits a raucous festivity of sound and exuberance — a cacophony of gun powder-fueled bliss, much like the debut offering from Holiday Gunfire.

A warm yet familiar rattle and hum of heavy bass licks with relentless trap slapping drenched in two guitars and comforting vocals, just good ol’ wholesome rock’n’roll like your Momma was always scared you’d be into. Pop ethos with ample smatterings of indie fuzz and Southern Gothic scuzz, Nuby and Hamric’s guitars create a barrage of melodies and multi-layered soundscapes while Williams’ thunderous drums and Ceravolo’s bass form the band’s music into perfectly digestible pop nugget… and solos for days, I might add!

Throwing back to Fugazi-esque on “Fake It” and reaching forward to new sonic soundscapes at the same time with the follow up “She’s Got A Machine”. Touching on razor sharp hooks and shoe gaze solos Holiday Gunfire is nostalgic with a brand new car smell. These 8 songs are a new beginning for some veteran South Eastern rock and rollers, fortuitous and melodic, a powerful record that seems sweet until it punches you in the face and steals your wallet, but not without a wink and smile, polished and politely unapologetic. It’s every bit intriguing as it sounds.

Holiday Gunfire’s self-titled album will be available February 15, 2019 on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats via Cornelius Chapel Records.

HOLIDAY GUNFIRE TRACK LISTING
1 Neuvan
2 Aviator Saint
3 Out To Sea
4 Imaginary Friend
5 Fake It
6 She’s Got A Machine
7 The City
8 Falling Down

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR MORE INFO ON HOLIDAY GUNFIRE:
https://www.facebook.com/HolidayGunfire

FOR MORE INFO ON CORNELIUS CHAPEL RECORDS:
http://www.corneliuschapelrecords.com

FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HI-RES PHOTOS OF HOLLIS BROWN

Taking queues from classic pop, rock’n’roll, and Americana, Hollis Brown combines raw rock sensibilities with sweet melodies and hearfelt lyrics to create a rich, warm sound that can fill any room. Principal songwriters Mike Montali (vocals) and Jon Bonilla (lead guitar) grew up listening to the classics. These native New Yorkers were born in the late ’80s when the city was identified by its grit, passion and authenticity. The combination of an urban upbringing and throwback musical influences of traditional blues contributed heavily to the band’s sound. However, contrary to most blues-influenced bands, Hollis Brown leans heavily toward melodic pop as well. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Beatles song these boys don’t know by heart, and you can hear it in the music. Classic rock with a New York state of mind, Hollis Brown is a throwback to an era when music felt fresh, songwriting was revered and performances routinely inspired.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO & SHARE HOLLIS BROWN’S SONG “DOGHOUSE BLUES” FROM RIDE ON THE TRAIN

Hollis Brown’s Ride On The Train is available now in all formats. Limited Edition Color Vinyl available through Bomp-mailorder.

FOR MORE INFO ON HOLLIS BROWN:
http://hollisbrown.com

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
http://www.alive-totalenergy.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
https://pavementpr.com

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HI-RES PHOTOS OF HOOTS & HELLMOUTH (PHOTO CREDITS IN FILE NAME) AND COVER ART FOR IN THE TREES

Hoots and Hellmouth‘s fourth album In The Trees is an effort that feels like an expedition. Through dark tangles of thickets and underbrush, a path winds its way through the density of lived life, finally opening up into a sun-drenched field in which to stretch out, breathe deep and reflect on the journey… weary travelers dressing wounds while wistfully recalling tales of courage and self-doubt, love and longing.The new album began to take shape over two years ago in a transformed silversmith mill in the littlePhiladelphia suburb of Clifton Heights, PA. Mt Slippery, as it is currently known, is home-base for their homies Dr. Dog. They assembled with engineer Nathan Sabatino (Dr. Dog, Floating Action, Birdie Busch, etc) and over the course of a couple weeks proceeded to coax these songs out of the ether using all manner of instrumentation. The now-classic acoustic H&H sound is certainly present, but as with each record previous, In The Trees pushes the band beyond the borders of what came before. It’s a natural progression, an obvious evolution. Sparking electric tones set old wood aflame. These songs burn with it.

These songs. While not written around a premeditated theme, each star in this album’s constellation seems to gather about the axis of the sacred and profane. An omnipresent sensitivity to spirit gives way on more than one occasion to full-blown physical freak-out. For every blissfully still moment of somber reflection there exists an equal and opposite reaction of explosive self-indulgence. This record represents feast and famine. Dig in and join Hoots and Hellmouth In The Trees.

Hoots and Hellmouth’s new self-released album In The Trees will be available October 28th on CD and digital formats, with a limited edition vinyl pressing to follow in the near future.

Hoots and Hellmouth Personnel:
Sean Hoots – Vocals, Guitars
Robert Berliner – Keys, Organ, Mandolin, Vocals
Todd Erk – Basses, Vocals
Michael Reilly – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Nathan Sabatino – Engineering
Devin Greenwood – Mixing
Brian Lucey – Mastering

“Not quite folk or alt-country, but more than just a rock group, Philadelphia’s Hoots and Hellmouth crafts fiery, cathartic roots-rock. Blending soul, folk, country, gospel and rock with the sounds of classic Americana.” – WORLD CAFE / NPR

IN THE TREES TRACKLISTING:
1. Golden Coast
2. In Effigy
3. Diction
4. Only Animal
5. Delicate Skeleton
6. Move Me
7. Hurt A Little
8. Rivers And Rivulets
9. Off To Sea
10. Golden Compass Rose

FOR MORE INFO ON HOOTS AND HELLMOUTH:
http://hootsandhellmouth.com
https://www.facebook.com/hootsandhellmouth
https://twitter.com/hootshellmouth

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD NEW HI-RES BAND PHOTOS OF HYWAYS (PHOTO CREDIT: RICH ZOLLER) AND ALBUM ART

THE SEATTLE-BASED COSMIC-COUNTRY BAND HYWAYS TO RELEASE THEIR SELF-TITLED DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM ON RECORD STORE DAY, APRIL 21ST, ON VINYL, CD, DIGITAL & STREAMING FORMATS VIA UNION ZERO

HYWAYS is the new Seattle project led by singer-songwriter Mike Giacolino featuring an all-star line up with members of Son Volt, Sera Cahoone and Rose Windows.

Their new self-titled debut album pushes the boundaries of genres by seamlessly mixing country and psychedelia with indie rock, folk and prog rock.
HYWAYS nebula formed three years ago when Nils Petersen and Pat Schowe of Rose Windows reconnected with troubadour Mike Giacolino and pedal steel guitar wiz Jay Kardong.

The four longtime friends and collaborators raised HYWAYS from the ashes of their former band Ole Tinder. Moving from a more traditional alt-country sound to the spacey, psychedelic, cosmic country-rock you hear today.

The evolution began when the band headed into the studio with producer Randall Dunn to create their debut album. Randall helped them find and create the lush, shimmery soundscape that has become HYWAYS.

HYWAYS are
Mike Giacolino – Lead Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica
Nils Petersen – Bass, Keys, Backing Vocal
Jay Kardong – Pedal Steel, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocal
Pat Schowe – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocal

Additional Musicians:
Milky Burgess – Electric Guitar and Backing Vocals
Tim Hanseroth (Brandi Carlile Band) – Backing Vocals
Phil Hanseroth (Brandi Carlile Band) – Backing Vocals
Randall Dunn – Backing Vocals

All songs written by Mike Giacolino

HYWAYS’ self-titled album will be available on Record Store Day, April 21, 2018 on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats via Union Zero.

FOR MORE INFO ON HYWAYS:
http://www.hywaysmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/hywaysband

FOR MORE INFO ON UNION ZERO:
https://www.unionzero.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

CHECK OUT HYWAYS’ RECENT KEXP IN-STUDIO PERFORMANCE:

Click here to download a new hi-res photo of Ian Fisher (credit: David Johnson) and Idle Hands album cover art

SINGER-SONGWRITER IAN FISHER TO RELEASE HIS LATEST STUDIO ALBUM IDLE HANDS AUGUST 31, 2018

Raised in rural Missouri and living in Europe for the last 10 years, singer-songwriter Ian Fisher has written over a thousand songs and played almost as many concerts. This self-taught indie musician was schooled by his dad’s record collection in the songwriting of the 1970s and is inspired by his love for country and folk music. With a degree in political science and a decade’s worth of touring around the world behind him, Fisher’s unabashed voice sings words that hide complexity in simplicity and blur the line between personal and political.

With his new album Idle Hands, Fisher confidently establishes himself as a modern songwriter with a classic touch. The songs are inspired by the writing and rhythm of the ’70s and artists such as Bill Withers, Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Browne. The production builds on the work of contemporary groups like Timber Timbre, Andy Shauf and Jason Isbell. Fresh off of a wild Italian tour, Fisher and his band recorded the rhythm section and lead vocals live together in East Berlin, Germany. String arrangements and pedal steel guitar were later added with the final touch being the tasteful backing vocals of Danish singer Ida Wenøe. This mixture makes for an album that sounds immediate, varied and lively at its core with delicate details surrounding it on all sides.

As the old saying goes, idle hands do the devil’s work. Thus, obviously the complacency of being left behind and to your own devices is a recurring theme throughout the record. Fisher reminds us of how we make ourselves useful by creating our own challenges to overcome.

Ian Fisher’s Idle Hands will be available August 31st on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats via his own imprint, Ian Fisher Music.

Click here to pre-order

IAN FISHER’S “ROAD TO JORDAN” VIDEO
(FEEL FREE TO POST & SHARE)

IAN FISHER’S “TABLES TURN” VIDEO
(FEEL FREE TO POST & SHARE)

FOR MORE INFO ON IAN FISHER:
http://www.ianfishersongs.com
https://www.facebook.com/ianfishersongs

FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

Iggy Pop and James Williamson’s newly remixed and remastered Kill City album is now available as a CD Digipak featuring the original 1977 artwork and a 24-page booklet with rare and unseen photos. The vinyl first-run is a limited edition of 1,000 on clear green vinyl (as an homage to the original 1977 pressing). There are no bonus tracks, but, with this newly restored version, people will be able to discover, or re-discover, a truly great album as it was intended to sound.

I like what this album has to say.
It is rather high concept, and the music is well thought out.
It adheres to no particular genre.
A lot of people have borrowed its ideas.
It’s one of the very first independent LPs I know of.
I hope you like it.
IGGY POP

Kill City was by all measures a desperate effort, a singularly honest and heartfelt performance, a genuine progression of our song writing, and another in a long line of flops that were later resurrected and heralded as masterpieces.
By the time it was released as a record, both Iggy and I were off doing other things with our lives, but with this rerelease we are not only reunited in our musical endeavors but in our appreciation of this album, its remix, and its importance to us as artists.
JAMES WILLIAMSON

HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAYING ABOUT IGGY POP & JAMES WILLIAMSON’S NEWLY RESTORED KILL CITY:

“… a stellar remix… the album has more than its share of memorable moments, like the Stones-esque title track, the scorching “I Got Nothin'” and the eerie “Johanna.” It was previously reissued in 1992 on CD by Bomp as part of the label’s “Iguana Chronicles” series but to hear it remixed/remastered will undoubtedly be a treat for fans.” – Fred Mills /  BLURT MAGAZINE

“… a healthy dose of Stonesy sleaze and hard rock muscle. Iggy’s vocals are really the main selling point here, and he doesn’t disappoint. If you’ve bought previous versions of Kill City, chuck ’em. The new remaster on this version is a revelation, removing decades of mud and murk heard on previous CD editions, and replacing them with a new clarity that’s worth the price of admission.” – David Mansdorf / LOSING TODAY

“[Iggy’s] vocals are powerful and full-bodied, as good as anything on his solo work of the 1970s. The music is more open and bluesy than on Raw Power, and while Williamson’s guitar remains thick and powerful, here he’s willing to make room for pianos, acoustic guitars, and saxophones, and the dynamics of the arrangements suggest a more mature approach after the claustrophobia of Raw Power. The 2010 edition of Kill City sounds less like a demo and more like a proper album, and if the rough textures suited the original, the new mix honors the power of the songs, and this is the rare example of a revised mix that comes close to improving on the original… a minor triumph.”  – Mark Deming / ALL MUSIC GUIDE

“If you didn’t realize Kill City was a classic back in 1977, you sure as hell will now.” – TRANZMISSION / BOSTON

“Since the Stooges circle has been squared its only fitting that this missing link be finally, beautifully restored for posterity.” – KANSAS CITY FREE PRESS

“Though still pretty hard-edged stuff, there is a more melodic feel to this record than anything The Stooges produced, as well as a marked Stones influence on numbers like the title track and “Consolation Prizes.” Kill City is a pretty kicking album – quintessentially Seventies and full of Iggy’s unhinged histrionics and Williamsons’ powerful, intricate riffing. It also provides a clear stylistic link between the Stooges and Iggy’s later, Bowie-produced classics The Idiot and Lust For Life. Overall, a nifty, quietly excellent slice of Stooges history which a lot of people will have missed the first time.”  – Eddie Thomas / SUBBA-CULTCHA

“Kill City has been reworked to sound nearly as good as anything else from the time. As such, the street-smart rockers Pop & Williamson laid down with the help of saxophonist John Harden, drummer Brian Glascock and bassists Scott Thurston and Steve Trano finally gleam with the kind of savagery we always suspected they possessed. Though Kill City can’t match the, well, raw power of Raw Power, it slinks with the same bloodthirsty demeanor. Harden’s sax squeals between Pop’s desperate vocals and Williamson’s mean riffs. It’s the sound of crossed wires, the bridge between the blues inflections of mid-70s Stones and the Bowery-style barbarism to come just a couple years later.” – Stephen Slaybaugh / THE AGIT READER

“Kill City was Pop’s best record to date song-wise — more restraint and melody, less novelty. The CD version sounds great — a revisionist remix that clears up the bass cloud and dull thud of the original but stays faithful in tonality.” – Brian Smith / METRO TIMES / DETROIT

“The new versions of the songs – now wholly re-mastered – finally let us hear Kill City as it should have been and it’s an absolute blast, fully deserving of its’ ‘lost classic’ status thirty-five years down the line. Kill City, then, finally emerges from its’ original blurry sonic cocoon to take its’ rightful place as a proto-punk classic. Its’ importance as the stepping stone between Raw Power and The Idiot is finally apparent for all to hear. And be positively thrilled by.” – Tim Peacock / WHISPERIN & HOLLERIN UK

“The CD remastering of Iggy’s great 1977 album Kill City is a reminder that his classic recordings remain light-years ahead of most of the albums from bands that acknowledge his influence today.” – Dave Luhrssen / SHEPHERD EXPRESS / MILWAUKEE

“Kill City sits proudly beside its Stooge predecessors, now making perfect sense as the album that band never did make. It’s a rare breed: A remix and re-issue with a reason.” – I-94 BAR

“… a sparkling, overdue remix and what a valuable repair! Of course, not even revitalized sound makes Kill City as astonishing as the two dozen 1972-1974 Williamson penned/played Stooges tunes extent. It still feels like what the 1975 Rolling Stones should have sounded like: simple, riotous guitar licks out of the 1956 Chuck Berry playbook back the most viral, unhinged, unsafe, demented singer since Esquerita and Jerry Lee Lewis. Rock has almost never felt, let along been, so astonishingly, brutally honest; and Kill City, finally, is remarkably affecting rock ‘n roll.” – Jack Rabid / THE BIG TAKEOVER

“Iggy Pop and James Williamson are re-releasing their 1977 classic Kill City on October 19th via Bomp Records. It’s restored, remixed and remastered, and worthy of your hard-earned dollars. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air for those that love their music honest and raw. A must listen.” – ALL KNOWING FORCE / NYC

“Beautiful reissue of an album that shows Iggy Pop in transition from the blistering atonality of The Stooges to the more pop and glam sounds that he adopted for most of his solo career. It’s a slow-burn, but a good one!” – PIRATE CAT RADIO / SAN FRANCISCO

“Kill City demands respect with its impressive consistency, and it’s an interesting precursor to Iggy Pop’s solo career of almost crooning punk.” – THE WASTER

“Kill City is rarely mentioned as the one of the great moments of Iggy’s career and it should be. Four years after Raw Power, Iggy Pop and James Williamson return with a raw, hook-filled collection of pop, rock and punk. This has seen many dubious releases on CD. None of which sounds as stunning as this new remaster, which has also been remixed. A big thumbs-up!” – BURNING WOOD TONIGHT

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE & BOMP RECORDS:
http://www.alive-totalenergy.com
http://www.bomp.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
https://pavementpr.com

“Irma Thomas’ In Between Tears is a  lost classic that captures deep soul at its most poignant and resonant, couching Thomas’ deeply affecting vocals in earthy arrangements that emphasize the singer’s gospel roots.” – AMG

Produced by legendary soul singer / songwriter / producer Jerry Williams Jr., aka Swamp Dogg, and featuring Duane Allman on two songs, Irma Thomas’ In Between Tears is finally back on vinyl with its original cover for the first time since 1973. The CD and digital versions include the Canyon single (“We Won’t Be In Your Way Anymore” / “I’ll Do It All Over You”) as bonus tracks. The CD also includes newly penned liner notes by Swamp Dogg. In Between Tears will be available in all formats on May 14th. Color vinyl exclusive to Bomp-mailorder.

IN BETWEEN TEARS TRACK LISTING:
1.  In Between Tears
2.  She’ll Never Be Your Wife
3.  These Four Walls
4.  Whats So Wrong With You Loving Me
5.  You’re The Dog (I Do The Barking Myself)
6.  Medley: Coming From Behind (Monologue)
7.  Wish Someone Would Care
8.  Turn My World Around
9.  We Won’t Be In Your Way Anymore (CD & digital bonus track)
10.  I’ll Do It All Over You (CD & digital bonus track)

FOR MORE INFO ON IRMA THOMAS:
http://www.irmathomas.com

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
http://www.alive-totalenergy.com

FOR MEDIA REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
https://pavementpr.com

JAKE NAJOR AND THE MOMENT OF TRUTH’S NEW STUDIO ALBUM ‘IN THE CUT’ IS OUT MARCH 29TH VIA THE REDWOODS MUSIC!

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GO-TO BEATMAKER AND RENOWN SESSION DRUMMER STEPS INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH THIS NEW FUNK/SOUL DEBUT LP!

DEBUT SINGLE “HIGH COSTA LIVING” AVAILABLE NOW ON 7″ VINYL VIA COLEMINE RECORDS!

Click here to download a hi-res photo of Jake Najor (credit: Kristy Walker) and In The Cut album art

Over the past twenty years, when musicians and producers in Southern California have needed fresh R&B, funk, or hip hop beats, they’ve called on drummer Jake Najor. A former bandmember of Breakestra, Incredible Moses Leroy, and The Styletones, Najor has performed or recorded with scores of noteworthy artists, including TV on the Radio, Raphael Saadiq, Kelis, Joss Stone, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, Karl Denson, Rodriguez and Empire of the Sun.

When not on tour, the San Diego native performs with a wide network of local musicians, including as a member of the house band for The Redwoods Music record label. It’s with the Redwoods that the veteran drummer has taken the lead on a new project, Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth. While most of Najor’s career has been spent contributing percussion in service to the visions of his collaborators, with his debut record, In the Cut, Najor has been the one enlisting players from his musical cohort to flesh out ten tracks of original grooves, ranging from soulful cinematic instrumentals to hard hitting funk jams.

The album’s lead single, “High Costa Living,” lands in the latter camp. It features an accomplished roster of west coast funk players, including a potent brass section led by trumpeter/arranger Todd Simon (Antibalas, Ziggy Marley, Quantic), and including James King (Fitz and Tantrums), Elizabeth Lea (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Sam Robles (Jungle Fire), Tim Felten (Sure Fire Soul Ensemble) Nick Costa (Sure Fire Soul Ensemble) Matt LaBarber (Cardinal Moon) behind the gritty vocals of MixMaster Wolf (Breakestra). “High Costa Living” sets the tone for a record loaded with dynamic performances to match the syncopated rhythms laid down by So Cal’s go-to beatmaker.

Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth’s new LP In The Cut will be released on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats on March 29th via The Redwoods Music. Click here to order

FOR MORE INFO ON JAKE NAJOR AND THE MOMENT OF TRUTH:
http://www.theredwoodsmusic.com/thenaj

FOR MORE INFO ON THE REDWOODS MUSIC:
http://www.theredwoodsmusic.com

FOR MORE INFO ON COLEMINE RECORDS:
https://www.coleminerecords.com

FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A NW PHOTO OF JACOB METCALF (CREDIT: DYLAN HOLLINGSWORTH) AND “FJORD” COVER ART

North Texas musician Jacob Metcalf will be releasing his first full-length solo effort, Fjord, later this winter. And while fans of his two longtime groups, Fox and the Bird and Dallas Family Band, might expect a similar rootsy update on rural American music, the sparsely orchestrated cinematic folk that sweeps through these 11 tracks are sure to cover the listener in permafrost and thaw them back out again.

The material for the record was written over the last decade on five continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America). It was during the last few years that Metcalf lived out of his car and inside a four foot crawl space between a vintage store and loft apartments in order to save enough from his bakery and music teaching jobs to make this album. Recorded in Austin, Ft. Worth and Dallas over the last two years with more than 20 talented musician friends, the singer-songwriter and band members would often use the streets to hone these songs before dressing up the arrangements in the studio.

The result is an often-breathtaking collection of indie-folk compositions that range from wistful, unhurried ballads to swirling, majestic orchestrations, sometimes within the same song, and all set to Metcalf’s warm, inviting vocals and non-linear story-telling.

“The album is about great divides,” Metcalf explains. “Rifts between friends and splits between lovers. The terrible separation of our ideals and actual realities. Differences between our absolute worst and best and everything that lies in between. Fjord is about the separation that goes splintering all of us one from another like kindling under the weight of a swinging axe.”

Jacob Metcalf’s self-released Fjord will be available January 29, 2016 on limited vinyl and digital formats.

Tour dates in support of the new record to be announced soon.

FJORD TRACKLISTING:

1. All in Due Time

2. One Three Nine

3. Cut Your Ties

4. Ein Berliner

5. Just a Job

6. Fjord

7. Traffic

8. Winter in Wichita

9. Correspondence

10. Sarah Sells Shoes

11. Pocketful of Hesitation

MORE INFO ON JACOB METCALF:
http://jacobmetcalf.com
https://www.facebook.com/jacobmetcalfmusic

MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

TEXAS COUNTRY & WESTERN LEGEND JAMES HAND’S NEW STUDIO ALBUM “MIGHTY LONESOME MAN” OUT NOW ON CD, DIGITAL & VINYL THROUGH HILLGRASS BLUEBILLY RECORDS

ALBUM FEATURES 12 ALL NEW ORIGINALS, AS WELL AS PERFORMANCES FROM GRAMMY AWARD WINNING CINDY CASHDOLLAR ON STEEL GUITAR, EARL POOLE BALL (JOHNNY CASH/GRAM PARSONS) ON PIANO, SPEEDY SPARKS (TEXAS TORNADO’S) & MANY MORE

“Folks, like I said before and it’s STILL true, James Hand is the real deal!” – Willie Nelson

Texas music legend, James “Slim” Hand‘s Mighty Lonesome Man contains timeless music that will please the yearning ear of today, while transporting you back to the days of hayrides, drive-in movies and huddling around the radio listening to the Grand Ole Opry. Said to be one of the best kept secrets in Country music, James Hand is one of the most authentic singer/songwriters heralded by his peers of today, with a gift for prose that transcends time. Returning with another fistful of enduring heart breakers, as well as a couple of fun ditties for sipping and dancing, while backed by an all-star cast of Texas musicians like Grammy award winner Cindy Cashdollar, Bobby Flores, Alvin Crow, Speedy Sparks (of Doug Sahm’s Texas Tornadoes) & Earl Poole Ball (Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard & others), just to name a few…. this James Hand album is sure to please.

Born in Waco, TX, rodeos and country music surrounded James from an early age, and quickly became part of his daily life. The classic strains of Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams made their mark on him, but a more substantial influence on his performing and songwriting has been life itself. Though he’s been making powerful original Country music for over forty years, until recently James Hand had unjustly remained one of American music’s secret treasures – a local legend in Texas. What he does, he does straight from his heart, taking the hard-won lessons that life and love have taught him and pouring them into his songwriting and performing. James Hand sings like nobody but himself, his phrasing drawing out the pain and humor of his lyrics with an unpredictable yet soulful series of tiny inflections. His songs are equally mysterious and unclassifiable. While they are noticeably rich with the influences of his heroes — classic country architects like Hank, Lefty, and Ernest — Hand’s songs are uniquely his, imbued with equal parts gallows humor and the ability to stare unflinchingly into life’s darkest corners.

James Hand’s Mighty Lonesome Man will be available Oct. 16th digitally, on CD and vinyl record – with the CD offering up two bonus tracks, including a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm.”

“Mighty Lonesome Man” Tracklist:
1. Mighty Lonesome Man
2. Years I’ve Been Loving You
3. Lesson in Depression
4. Please Me When You Can
5. The Drought
6. Old Man Henry
7. Now Not Later
8. My Witness
9. Wish You Would Kiss Me
10. You Almost Fell
11. Favorite Fool
12. You Were With Me Then
Bonus Tracks: (available on CD only)
13. Get Rhythm
14. You’re An Angel

“I loved Hank Williams from the first time I heard him sing ‘Lovesick Blues’ on the Grand Ole Opry. For the same reason I love Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, George Jones. You believe them. James Hand’s singing makes me feel the same way. You believe him.” – Kris Kristofferson

“This man is Country to the bone. Every step he takes carries heartache, hardcore livin’ and a bit of the mystery similar to that which clouds around the legacy of Hank Williams. No one is more Country than James Hand.  And when he says he’s a “mighty lonesome man,”  you believe him.  In his voice you can hear shades of Hank Williams, Lefty Frizell, Ray Price and Ernest Tubb all woven together to create one of the most incredibly gifted voices making Country music in this day and age. This album is a true treasure.” – Outlaw Magazine

“You probably won’t hear James on your country music station these days, but if you’re one of the folks out there who loves true, honest, down-to-earth country music songs, based on hard life lessons and affairs of the heart, then James Hand is your man.” – Ray Benson

“James Hand music uses no smoke or mirrors. There is definitely no glossing over of any aspect of this CD… James writes lyrics that haven’t been written before and I suspect that he’s lived every word in these songs.” – Lloyd Maines

“In over 30 years of playing country music, I have never, absolutely never seen anyone as unique as James Hand. There is no one like this artist – complex, yet simple. Simply, James Hand is country music, and he has no equivalent.” – Bob Cole / Country Music Hall Of Fame ’03

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES HAND:
http://www.jamesslimhand.com

FOR MORE INFO ON HILLGRASS BLUEBILLY RECORDS:
http://www.hillgrassbluebillyrecords.com

FOR CD AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

JAMES LEG TO RELEASE HIS LATEST SOLO ALBUM “BELOW THE BELT” SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 VIA ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS!

James Leg (aka John Wesley Myers of the Black Diamond Heavies) is set to release his second proper solo album, Below The Belt, later this summer. Back in his days with the Heavies, Leg laid the foundation for his solo work with his down-n-dirty keys, fervent live performances and trademark gruff howl mixed with equal measures of bourbon, butane & nicotine.

Following the success of both his acclaimed 2011 solo debut, Solitary Pleasure, and his 2012 joint venture with label-mates Left Lane Cruiser for the equally white-hot studio album, Painkillers, Leg recorded the tracks for Below The Belt earlier this year in the dead of winter with several guest musicians at Johnny Walker’s (Soledad Brothers, Cut In The Hill Gang) studio: Masonic Sounds located in a Masonic Lodge in Dayton, KY. The album was mixed by renowned producer/engineer Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit.

Leg, the son of a Texas preacher, started playing piano when he was just six. Raised on southern gospel music, he began preaching at the church his father pastored at the age of 14. Two years later he became infected with the lure of rock-n-roll and eventually alcohol and drugs. It was this contrast of good & evil, heaven & hell that would affect not only his music – solo and otherwise – but also his impassioned live performances evoking some sort of fervid snake-handling Pentecostal preacher in the middle of a lung-busting, jugular-popping sermon (just replace the slippery vermin with a fifth of whiskey and Leg pounding on his signature Fender Rhodes and you get the picture).

On Below The Belt, the ghosts of Leg’s past haunt these 10 tracks. From the rafter-raising gospel cover of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Up Above My Head,” to the menacing rocker of opening track “Dirty South,” the bluesy swagger of “Drink It Away” and an in-the-red cover of The Dirtbombs’ burning garage-rock stomper “Can’t Stop Thinking About It,” these numbers are guaranteed to loosen the floorboards of any juke-joint, dive bar or rock-n-roll piss-hole. Following a devilish re-working of The Cure’s “A Forest,” Leg ends the album with two decidedly more subdued tracks – “Disappearing” and the even gentler soulful ballad of “What More,” complete with heavenly call-and-response female harmonies. While this may suggest Leg moving towards a, dare we say, more mature musical direction, make no mistake that Below The Belt hits as hard and heavy as ever, and turns out to be one helluva rock-n-roll TKO.

Leg will be embarking on a number of headlining club tours in support of Below The Belt, including U.S. dates in Jul/Aug, a Deep Blues Festival performance in south Germany in Aug, UK & Ireland dates in Sep/Oct and finishing up the year in Europe in Oct/Nov. Specific tours dates for all of these runs to be announced soon.

James Leg’s Below The Belt will be released on limited vinyl, CD and digital formats on September 4th via Alive Naturalsound Records.

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES LEG:
http://www.alive-records.com/artist/james-leg
https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Leg/114197558646461

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS:
http://www.alive-records.com

FOR MEDIA REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES LEG’S PREVIOUS ALBUM SOLITARY PLEASURE

James Leg, growler, shouter, composer, and Fender Rhodes finger-f*cker, of the Black Diamond Heavies, steps out with some friends for more songs of hedonistic excess, crazy-ass women and Southern salvation.

On Solitary Pleasure he is joined by longtime friend and Cincinnati heavy hitter, Andy Jody (The Gazelles, Pearlene, The Long Gones, The Customs, Oxford Cotton, Barrence Whitfield and The Savages) on drums.

The album was recorded in December 2010 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee during a record cold snap, in the oldest standing church in Rutherford County, now the home of an all analog studio called Grand Palace Studio. The result was then rushed up to Detroit and mixed by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders.

Heavy conditions give birth to heavy records.

Rock and Soul all night long.

Solitary Pleasure will be available on April 5th on CD, Limited Editon Pink Vinyl (with free poster) and Digital formats through Alive Records.

Solitary Pleasure Track Listing:
1. Have To Get It On
2. Do How You Wanna
3. Nobody’s Fault
4. No License (Soing For The Caged Bird)
5. Georgia
6. Fire and Brimstone
7. Whatever It Takes
8. Drowning In Fire
9. Drinking Too Much
10. No Time To Tarry

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES LEG:

http://www.alive-totalenergy.com/x/?page_id=2200
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/James-Leg/114197558646461

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
http://www.alive-totalenergy.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: bonyata@wi.rr.com
https://pavementpr.com

Click here to download a hi-res photo of James Williamson and Deniz Tek (credit: Anne Tek) and “Acoustic K.O.” cover art:

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JAMES WILLIAMSON (IGGY & THE STOOGES) TEAMS UP WITH DENIZ TEK (RADIO BIRDMAN) ON NEW ACOUSTIC K.O. EP OUT MARCH 31ST

THE TWO PROTO-PUNK ICONS TURN IN FOUR ENGAGING ACOUSTIC REWORKINGS OF TRACKS FROM BOTH THE STOOGES’ RAW POWER AND IGGY POP & JAMES WILLIAMSON’S KILL CITY

Fans of The Stooges and Radio Birdman are in for a real treat this spring as guitarist James Williamson and singer/guitarist Deniz Tek have teamed up for a new spin on four classic Williamson compositions from the early/mid ’70s. The two proto-punk icons have unplugged their amps for drastic, yet no less gratifying reworkings of two numbers from Iggy & The Stooges’ seminal Raw Power album (“I Need Somebody” and “Penetration”) as well as two tracks from Pop & Williamson’s often-unsung masterpiece Kill City (“Night Theme” and “No Sense of Crime”). These songs were orginally composed by Pop & Williamson, with the exception of “Night Theme” which was penned by Williamson and Scott Thurston.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Williamson explains hooking up with Tek and working with him on this effort, “I first met Deniz in 2011 when doing the Ron Asheton Tribute show at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor. Deniz had been a good friend of the Ashetons (having come from Ann Arbor like them) and had been asked to play on some of the old Stooges tunes that night.”

“Later we stayed in touch during the times I would visit Australia on tour with the Stooges, and it also turned out that he visited the Big Island of Hawaii frequently, as do my wife and I. In fact, during one of our get togethers on the Big Island Deniz mentioned that we should record some acoustic songs together. Maybe do some of my old stuff. It was later that day, hiking in a remote area, that we came across some abandoned trucks. His wife, Anne, got her camera out and said ‘there’s your record cover!’”

Oddly, in a parallel development, a long time fan and incredible collector of Stooges memorabilia, Hakan Beckman, had suggested to James a couple of years earlier that “Night Theme” should be orchestrated. Further, he had developed a fantasy album cover called Acoustic K.O. James loved these ideas and now, with Tek, had the vehicle to realize them.

“That’s how it all started,” Williamson admits. “However, once we began recording, the project took on a life of its own. If this was to be called Acoustic K.O. it needed to be entirely acoustic. Michael Urbano broke out his old 1920s drum kit and Gregg Foreman used my old 1930s pump organ and a piano. Guitars, of course, were acoustic, and the only exception was the bass that Bob Glaub played – an old hollow body Kay since an upright just didn’t sound right for these songs. The horn section rounded everything out.”

“For ‘Night Theme’ I enlisted the help of Mark Culbertson, musician extraordinaire who had played contra-bass for me on the albums Ready to Die and Re-Licked, to do the arrangement. He did an extraordinary job! I was able to find an incredible group of players called The Awesome Orchestra from Berkeley, CA under the direction of David Moschler to realize Mark’s arrangement and I couldn’t be happier with the results.”

“It all came together once we layed down Deniz’s vocals while in Hawaii, and with the help of Petra Haden doing some backing vocals and violin, along with Annie Hardy (Giant Drag) doing the duet with Deniz on ‘No Sense Of Crime’ we had performances to be proud of.”

Deniz Tek and James Williamson’s Acoustic K.O. EP will be available March 31st on vinyl and digital (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) formats.

ACOUSTIC K.O. TRACKLISTING:
I Need Somebody
Penetration
Night Theme
No Sense Of Crime

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MORE INFO ON DENIZ TEK:
http://www.deniztek.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

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PREVIOUS 2016 PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON & MAIA’S NEW SINGLE “SICKKK”

JAMES WILLIAMSON (IGGY & THE STOOGES) TEAMS UP WITH NEW TALENT MAIA ON NEW SINGLE “SICKKK” / “I MADE A MISTAKE” OUT NOV. 11, 2016 ON 7″ VINYL & DIGITAL FORMATS

GUITAR LEGEND TO DONATE HIS ICONIC “LEOPARD LADY” LES PAUL GUITAR (USED ON THE STOOGES’ RAW POWER LP AND EVERY ONE OF WILLIAMSON’S RECORDINGS SINCE) TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

This is James Williamson’s third and last single of the year. This time the guitar legend has teamed up with a talented 19 year-old singer/songwriter named Maia, who is currently attending Berklee College of Music in Boston for vocal music and composition.

Williamson’s previous efforts this year included a collaboration with Petra Haden on “Blues Jumped The Rabbit” and “Last Kind Words” to benefit the Tazzy Animal Rescue Fund and a collaboration with Lisa Kekaula on “I Love My Tutu” and “Never Far From Where The Wild Things Are” to benefit Project Hawai’i which helps homeless children in Hawaii.

This third single will be the last record on which Williamson’s iconic “Leopard Lady” guitar will be played. This guitar has been used on every record Williamson has made – from his first album with The Stooges, Raw Power, to the present. He is donating both the Leopard Lady Les Paul Custom, as well as his Gibson B25N acoustic guitar to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Museum for posterity. The latter acoustic is the guitar James wrote most of the music to Raw Power on and wrote and played on Kill City, which he recorded with Iggy Pop back in 1975.

Williamson says of his young collaborator, “I first came into contact with Maia through my engineer in Berkeley, Jason Carmer. He played me something she had written and sang and I was instantly intrigued. I had him ask her to come down to the studio the next day (Maia is from San Francisco) and I was blown away by her enthusiasm, talent and the nuance of her vocals. We decided that day to write and record these songs together and this is the result of that effort. We hope you like them as much as we do.”

James Williamson and Maia’s “Sickkk” / “I Made A Mistake” single will be available November 11th on 7-inch vinyl and digital formats. The donation of Williamson’s historical guitars will benefit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum (click here for more info on this nonprofit organization). Click here to order the digital single and here to pre-order the vinyl 45 single.

JAMES WILLIAMSON & MAIA (photo: Franklin Avery)

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MORE INFO ON MAIA:
https://www.instagram.com/maiiaaaaaa

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

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PREVIOUS 2016 PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON & PETRA HADEN’S NEW SINGLE “BLUES JUMPED THE RABBIT”

JAMES WILLIAMSON (IGGY AND THE STOOGES) & PETRA HADEN TEAM UP ON NEW BENEFIT SINGLE “BLUES JUMPED THE RABBIT” / “LAST KIND WORDS” | OUT AUGUST 19, 2016 ON 7″ VINYL AND DIGITAL FORMATS

Following his recent single with The Bellrays’ Lisa Kekaula, “I Love My Tutu,” The Stooges’ James Williamson has collaborated with singer, violinist and composer Petra Haden (That Dog, The Hayden Triplets, Foo Fighters, The Decemberists, Beck and others) for a new benefit single “Blues Jumped The Rabbit” backed with “Last Kind Words.” Both of these songs are traditional folk/blues compositions. The lyrics for the A-side can be traced back to Blind Lemon Jefferson’s 1926 recording “Rabbit Foot Blues” for Paramount Records, while the B-side was first recorded by blues enigma Geeshie Wiley back in 1930, also for Paramount.

Williamson explains the collaboration with Haden, “I first became aware of Petra by listening to her amazing acapella version of The Who Sell Out. She was phenomenal at imitating not only the vocals but all of the instruments as well.

Of course I knew of her dad Charlie Haden. He had played bass with two of my all time FAV RAVs Keith Jarrett and Carla Bley. And she also sings with Bill Frisell and others from time to time where her voice is practically another instrument.

I asked her to come in and do a demo with me in L.A. while working on the last Iggy and the Stooges record Ready to Die. I was hooked. Not only did she sing with perfect pitch, but she also played her violin with authority and tasteful music sensibilities.

I used her to great effect as a background singer thereafter on Ready to Die, my last solo album Re-Licked and “I Love My Tutu” single, but I have always wished that I could find the right songs to spotlight her as a lead vocalist.

Then along came these two traditional songs ‘Blues Jumped The Rabbit’ and ‘Last Kind Words.’

Thankfully Petra loved them as much as I did, so we went in and made this record. We both are really happy we did. We hope you’ll like it too.”

James Williamson and Petra Haden’s “Blues Jumped The Rabbit” / “Last Kind Words” single will be available on 7-inch vinyl and digital formats on August 19th. Proceeds from this record will benefit Tazzy Animal Rescue Fund (click here for more info).

This is the second of three singles that James Williamson will be releasing this year. The first was with The Bellrays’ Lisa Kekaula for their single “I Love My Tutu” / “Never Far From Where The Wild Things Are” out now digitally through iTunes here and on 7-inch vinyl on August 12th through Amazon and finer record stores. Proceeds from this record will benefit Project Hawai’i, which helps homeless children in Hawaii.

More info on the third upcoming single collaboration to be announced soon.

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MORE INFO ON PETRA HADEN:
http://www.petrahaden.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PREVIOUS 2016 PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON & LISA KEKAULA’S NEW SINGLE “I LOVE MY TUTU”

JAMES WILLIAMSON (IGGY AND THE STOOGES) TO RELEASE NEW CHILDREN’S SINGLE “I LOVE MY TUTU” / “NEVER FAR FROM WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE” WITH THE BELLRAYS’ LISA KEKAULA ON JUNE 17TH!

SINGLE TO HELP BENEFIT HOMELESS CHILDREN IN HAWAII VIA PROJECT HAWAI’I

“I Love My Tutu” is a fun “JAWAIIAN” song about the relationship between grandchildren and their Grandmothers for people of all ages.

James Williamson says of the song, “I wrote ‘Tutu’ one day while playing ukulele for my own granddaughter and finished the lyrics with my wife over the weeks to follow. My family and I spend a fair amount of time on the Big Island of Hawaii and have a first hand understanding of the deep relationship that children have with their Tutu’s in Hawaii. I wanted to have Lisa Kekaula sing it not only because she is a fabulous talent, but also because she is part Hawaiian herself and, in fact, her niece and nephew (who live on Maui) are the kids singing backups at the end of the record.”

The B-side, “Never Far From Where The Wild Things Are,” is a decidedly more rocked-up number which was inspired by the book Where The Wild Things Are. “This track was originally written by my son Jamie,” Williamson revealed. “I liked it so much that I helped him massage the music and lyrics a little bit and think it came out great. It’s another fun track that should appeal to people of all ages, just like the book which inspired it.”

Proceeds from this record will benefit Project Hawai’i, which helps homeless children in Hawaii. For more info on Project Hawai’i go to: http://www.helpthehomelesskeiki.org

James Williamson & Lisa Kekaula’s “I Love My Tutu” / “Never Far From Where The Wild Things Are” single will be available June 17th on 7″ vinyl in finer record stores… INCLUDING vinyl on Amazon and Digital on iTunes. Digital Pre-release can be purchased here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-love-my-tutu-feat.-lisa/id1117751364?ls=1&app=itunes

This is the first of three singles that James Williamson will be releasing this year. More info on these two upcoming collaborations and release dates to be announced soon.

JAMES WILLIAMSON (photo: Pacific Dream Photography)

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MORE INFO ON LISA KEKAULA & THE BELLRAYS:
https://www.facebook.com/IamLisaKekaula

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

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PREVIOUS 2014 PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON’S NEW ALBUM “RE-LICKED”

THE STOOGES’ GUITAR LEGEND JAMES WILLIAMSON’S NEW SOLO ALBUM “RE-LICKED” OUT OCTOBER 29, 2014!

ALONG WITH THE LIVE TOURING VERSION OF THE STOOGES, JAMES IS JOINED ON “RE-LICKED” BY A NUMBER OF GREAT GUEST VOCALISTS RE-INTERPRETING LESSER-KNOWN STOOGES RARITIES

While on a break from touring this year, the members of the live touring version of The Stooges (James Williamson, Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & drummer Toby Dammit) got together and recorded songs that were originally penned by Iggy Pop and James Williamson in 1973/74 as the follow-up to their quintessential album Raw Power. While a number of these tracks have found their way onto inferior-sounding bootlegs and unofficial releases over the years, they were never properly recorded since the band didn’t have a record deal at the time.

Williamson always wanted to revisit these songs and has done so with a powerhouse lineup of musicians and singers who don’t disappoint on his forthcoming solo album entitled Re-Licked.

Re-Licked will feature many of these lesser-known Stooges rarities properly recorded and mixed for the first time. This 16-track collection includes songs as “I Gotta Right,” “Rubber Leg,” “She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills,” “Wild Love,” “Pinpoint Eyes” and many others, fronted by a wealth of talented vocalists such as Mark Lanegan, Alison Mosshart (The Kills, Dead Weather), The Orwell’s Mario Cuomo, Jello Biafra, The BellRays’ Lisa Kekaula, Ariel Pink, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, The Icarus Line’s Joe Cardamone, Carolyn Wonderland and others.

The vinyl & CD versions of this album will also feature a deluxe package including an in-depth 24-page booklet with liner notes & photos, as well as a fascinating ‘making-of’ Re-Licked documentary on DVD, giving the viewer a fly-on-the-wall experience of being in the studio with all of these great musicians. The mp3 version of the album will also include this deluxe package in digital format.

Re-Licked will be available worldwide Oct. 29, 2014 on CD, vinyl & digital formats worldwide via Leopard Lady Records.

RE-LICKED TRACK LISTING

01. Head On The Curve (w/ Jello Biafra)

02. Open Up And Bleed (w/ Carolyn Wonderland)

03. Scene Of The Crime (w/ Bobby Gillespie from
Primal Scream)

04. She Creatures Of The Hollywood Hills (w/ Ariel Pink)

05. Til The End Of The Night (w/ Alison Mosshart from
The Kills, Dead Weather)

06. I Gotta Right (w/ Lisa Kekaula from The BellRays)

07. Pinpoint Eyes (w/ Joe Cardamone from
The Icarus Line)

08. Wild Love (w/ Mark Lanegan & Alison Mosshart)

09. Rubber Leg (w/ Ron Young from Little Caesar)

10. I’m Sick Of You (w/ Mario Cuomo from The Orwells)
Bonus Tracks:

11. Gimme Some Skin (w/ Caroline Wonderland)

12. C*ck In My Pocket (w/ Nicke Andersson from
The Hellacopters)

13. Heavy Liquid (w/ Lisa Kekaula)

14. Wet My Bed (w/ The Richmond Sluts)

15. C*ck In My Pocket (w/ Gary Floyd from The Dicks)

16. Rubber Leg (w/ J.G. Thirlwell aka Clint Ruin, Foetus)

“An avalanche of raw riffs… and Williamson playing white-knuckled leads like he absolutely refuses to let the Stooges’ music go gentle into that good night.” – PREMIER GUITAR

JAMES WILLIAMSON (photo: Heather Harris)

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

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PREVIOUS 2014 PRESS RELEASE FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON & CAROL WONDERLAND’S NEW SINGLE “OPEN UP AND BLEED”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A HI-RES PHOTO OF JAMES WILLIAMSON (PHOTO: TANYA ALEXIS) & “OPEN UP & BLEED” RSD SINGLE ART

While on a break from touring this year, the live touring version of The Stooges got together and recorded songs that were originally penned by Iggy Pop and James Williamson in 1973/74. These songs were never properly recorded since the band didn’t have a record deal at the time.

James Williamson always wanted to revisit these songs and has done so with a powerhouse lineup of singers who don’t disappoint on his forthcoming album entitled Re-Licked. “Open Up & Bleed”/”Gimme Some Skin” is the first single from Re-Licked, which will be out later this year. The Stooges’ James Williamson, Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & touring drummer Toby Dammit are joined on both tracks by Texas blues singer & guitarist Carolyn Wonderland, who adds her own forceful and soul-drenching takes on these two rarely heard gems.

Re-Licked will also feature other lesser-known Stooges tracks properly recorded and mixed for the first time. Songs such as “I Gotta Right,” “Rubber Legs,” “She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills,” “Wild Love” and others will be fronted by a wealth of talented vocalists such as Jello Biafra, Mark Lanegan, Ariel Pink, Lisa Kekuala (The BellRays) and others to be announced soon.

James Williamson & Carolyn Wonderland’s new limited vinyl single “Open Up & Bleed”/”Gimme Some Skin” will be available at independent record stores worldwide on Record Store Day, April 19th.

FOR MORE INFO ON JAMES WILLIAMSON:
http://straightjameswilliamson.com

FOR MORE INFO ON CAROLYN WONDERLAND:
https://www.facebook.com/wonderchicken

FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

Download two new hi-res photos of Janet (photo credit: Jared Swafford), along with Safe Distance album art

The highway’s empty nobody’s looking out
We could be down the road before they know
But we gotta leave right now

There are few things that are more healing than getting the hell out of town. Maybe it’s a solo trip. Maybe you bring a friend. Definitely a lot of music. Don’t say a thing to anybody. Just get in the car and go. Work it out on the road.

Safe Distance – the new album from singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Janet Simpson, isn’t a concept record, but it does take a journey. From Nashville to Reno (well, almost), to running away from demons, retreating from your troubles, hiding in plain sight, and returning liberated – ready to skip away again while your past looks on with a dropped jaw. But nothing here rambles aimlessly: Simpson’s characters long to get free (and succeed) while navigating it all with confident purpose. They are reflective but never middling. They hurt but move to healing – or take the time to care for others. And they don’t shy away for a good time – even if they’re having too much of one.

The songs of Safe Distance came to party as well. “Nashville Girls,” the album’s first single, kicks everything off with plenty of swagger and style – less an indictment of artists but those who are attracted to the noise art makes. “Reno” and the “Safe Distance” pair “Ditch Trilogy” Neil Young with Lucinda William’s gutbucket sense of meter. The [Dixie] Chicks would kill for a comeback song as breezy and carefree as “I’m Wrong” – a song born for a sunny-day-windows-down adventure. The Fender Rhodes powered vamp of “Mountain” is lust in search of the perfect parking spot. And “Wrecked” is an immaculate kiss-off that moves mercurially with slyly wicked lacerations worthy of Nick Lowe or Van Dyke Parks.

But it’s not all raucous: The albums more subdued moments often conjure thick, stormy atmospheres. “Slip” and “Ain’t Nobody Lookin’” conjure the late night bleariness of classic Tom Petty but with choruses he could never pull off. “Double Lines” has a steely-eyed saunter the recalls the late Ennio Morricone. “Silverman” is so stark that it will leave you frozen in time. “Awe & Wonder” also takes advantage of the Rhodes – letting its bells ring out into an ether swimming in synthesized voices and fretless bass.

This last detail is worth mentioning because some of the album’s sonic touchstones were late ’80s – early ’90s boomer statements by Bonnie Raitt, George Harrison, and Paul Simon – influences that were somewhat off the radar of the wunderkind engineer / mixer Brad Timko, who has been producing amazing records with a mix of analog and digital gear from the Communicating Vessels studio in Birmingham, AL, where Simpson and her band call home. Simpson and Timko worked closely in order to achieve the albums sonics, where minimalism reigned supreme. The songs were loosely written and rehearsed, but the band plays with supreme tautness, leaving plenty of room for Simpson’s powerful voice and lyrics – always sharp and occasionally hilarious – to haunt the air just so.

Unbelievably, Safe Distance is the first time that Simpson has widely-released an album under her own name. This is not to say that she hasn’t been busy: Since getting her start in Atlanta in the late ’90s, Simpson has sheltered her dark whimsy under the guise of Delicate Cutters, wielded formidable guitar attacks with bubblegum skronkers Teen Getaway, toured the U.S. and Europe as a crucial member of Wooden Wand and the World War IV, and found a new writing partner in fellow Birmingham, AL musician Will Stewart – with whom she fronts the lean, atmosphere-forward duo, Timber, while also lending her many formidable talents to his solo material (and vice versa). It’s a lot to take note of – and still doesn’t cover her being the secret weapon on dozens of other albums for a wide array of artists. But Safe Distance proves once again that Simpson is a force of nature – and it’s her best work yet.

Janet Simpson’s Safe Distance will be available on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming platforms on March 19th via Cornelius Chapel Records. Click here to pre-order. 

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Janet Simpson (photo credit: Jared Swafford)

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FOR MORE INFO ON JANET SIMPSON:
https://www.janetsimpsonmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/Janet-Simpson-2127798867244847

FOR MORE INFO ON CORNELIUS CHAPEL RECORDS:
http://www.corneliuschapelrecords.com

FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: Tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

Click here to download a few new hi-res photos of Jeremy (credit: Michael Wilson) along with Ties of Blood and Affection album cover art

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When Jeremy Pinnell released OH/KY in the summer of 2015 to stunned acclaim, it felt like an entire career compressed into one knock-out album. This unassuming northern Kentucky singer-songwriter sauntered and ripped through ten instant country classics that tracked as so confident and comfortable that it could have been mistaken for a seasoned musician’s creative peak. The songs themselves, reverent of Americana’s most enduring traditions, presented the man’s scope – his misadventures, loves, failures, and contradictions. Hailed as a “mind-blowingly good” (Greg Vandy, KEXP) “tutorial on classic country music” (Popmatters), Pinnell’s debut immediately differentiated as authentic and unflinching.

If OH/KY was the self-assured introduction of an unconventional new talent, his 2017 album Ties of Blood and Affection presents a canny lateral move. Instead of doubling down on the stark themes and values of his debut, this sophomore album finds Pinnell finding comfort in his own skin and achieving the redemption only hinted at in his previous batch of haunted songs. Here Pinnell joyfully embraces the working life, family obligations, and faith. His new stories delve into acceptance and survival, all the while investigating his most challenging chapter yet: adulthood. While “If life don’t get any better / I’m alright with this” isn’t an out-right triumph, it’s an honest revelation.

Musically, Ties of Blood and Affection also maintains a comfortable and confident stride. Pinnell’s songs are shot through with honest and classic elements; rooted in his steady acoustic guitar, the tunes chug along in a spring-reverb dream from somewhere between, say, 1955 and 1975 – unearthing a sweet secret cache of songs that “Waylon Jennings might have written if he had cut a record with Alex Chilton” (Portland Tribune).

Jeremy Pinnell’s Ties of Blood and Affection is out now on CD, digital and streaming formats via SofaBurn Records. Order here.

TIES OF BLOOD AND AFFECTION TRACK LISTING:
1 Ballad of 1892
2 Take the Wheel
3 Feel This Right
4 Different Kind of Love
5 I Don’t Believe
6 I’m Alright With This
7 Best I Could Do
8 Ain’t Nothing Wrong
9 The Way We See Heaven

MORE INFO ON JEREMY PINNELL:
http://www.jeremypinnell.com
https://www.facebook.com/jeremypinnellohky

MORE INFO ON SOFABURN RECORDS:
http://www.sofaburn.com

MEDIA REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com

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PRESS RELEASE FOR JEREMY’S 2015 ALBUM OH/KY: 

JEREMY PINNELL BIO

Jeremy Pinnell, Northern Kentucky’s son from across the river, is a soft-spoken man, born to an area that is equal parts Southern hospitality, Northern attitude and Midwestern charm. Raised from humble beginnings of singing in church and learning the guitar from his father, his craft quickly made heads turn and rooms fall silent. But with his departure from home at 18 to venture into the unknown with only his music, this young man soon found himself surrounded by the demons of the world he used to try and sing away.

The stories told are true, not embellished folklore. (”With an almost uncomfortable accuracy — the kind of dark, ominous emotions most people try to bury” – Citybeat Cincinnati). Jeremy will not speak of them – only sing. While he has returned to his humble beginnings and is living an honest life, his experiences must be heard to be believed. They are real, and most importantly, never forgotten.

OH/KY tells the story of the next 18 years of Jeremy’s life, and it’s a damn good story. It has all the things people love to read about. And most of all, it’s a true story that’s been recorded in the most honest way possible. The album was cut over the course of three days in a recording studio located in the small river town of Covington, KY. The group of players on the album are The 55s, a honky tonk band out of The Queen City who lay the foundation so Jeremy’s voice can shine and his story can come to life.

Jeremy Pinnell’s new debut studio album OH/KY is out now via Sofaburn Records. Order here.

OH/KY TRACK LISTING:
1. The Way Country Sounds
2. Rodeo
3. Loose Women
4. Big Bright World
5. Sleep Song
6. Light Me Up
7. Outlaw Life
8. Them Days And Nights
9. Cold Cold Wind
10. Angel Of Mine

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO JEREMY’S DAYTROTTER SESSION!

JEREMY PINNELL VIDEOS (FEEL FREE TO POST & SHARE)

LIVE IN KEXP’S STUDIO

“FEEL THIS RIGHT”

“DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE” [LIVE @ CANDYLAND STUDIO

MORE INFO ON JEREMY PINNELL:
http://www.jeremypinnell.com
https://www.facebook.com/jeremypinnellandthe55s

MORE INFO ON SOFABURN RECORDS:
http://www.sofaburn.com

MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com