Holiday Blues (feat. Whit Wright)

#79 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is Holiday Blues, featuring the sweet and melancholy sounds of pedal steelist, Whit Wright. Originally from Huntsville AL, Whit started out on guitar in sixth grade and then ventured into the mysterious art of pedal steel while along the way teaching himself piano. He spent almost a decade on the road with the North Carolina band American Aquarium before jumping into the deep end of the session musician pool in Nashville TN. Brad Cook, Jason Isbell, Scott Solter, Jon Ashley, Chris Stamey are just some of the producers putting Whit to good use since his arrival in Music City. In a relatively short period of time, Whit has added artists such as Colter Wall, Elizabeth Cook, Jim Lauderdale, Kacey Musgraves, Anton O’Donnell, Charlotte Marshall, and Wheeler Walker Jr. to his list of credits. I hope this track might help soothe some of the anxiety and pressure that can often overtake the intended spirit of the holiday season. Stay safe, be kind, enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Derrek Phillips (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums and myself on guitar and bass. The track was recorded at NTA in San Bruno, CA with additional tracking by Derrek at The Phamily Room and Whit at Wright’s Cabin. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

Make Me (feat. Lachy Doley)

#78 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is Make Me, featuring the whammy clavinet wizardry of Lachy Doley. One late night, a few years back, I was venturing down a YouTube rabbit hole and I stumbled upon an absolutely mesmerizing live performance by the Lachy Doley Group. I immediately reached out via the miracle of the internet and in no time at all, we were making music. He asked if I wanted him to play B3 (organ) or whammy clavinet? I had never heard of whammy clavinet so of course, that's what I chose and that is what you are hearing on this track. Lachy is from Adelaide, Australia and as well as fronting the aforementioned Lachy Doley Group (including 2 charting LP's and an Australian Music Award), he has worked with Jimmy Barnes, Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Powderfinger. What is whammy clavinet, you ask? Well, here's a good entrance to the rabbit hole: https://youtu.be/UpajvAc9MJk 

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA with additional tracking in Adelaide, AU. Mixing and Mastering duties were handled by the infamous F-Bomb. 

Prescience of Mind (feat. Scarlet Rivera)

#77 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series is Prescience of Mind, featuring the legendary and gifted violinist, Scarlet Rivera. A member of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and an integral part of the sound of Dylan's album Desire (including the iconic track Hurricane). Scarlet continues to play amongst the Gods. She is good friends with Joni Mitchell and performed at Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration with Brandi Carlisle. She has played Carnegie Hall with the Duke Ellington Orchestra as well as working with the Indigo Girls, Keb Mo, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and most recently Eric Andersen. Scarlet has also just released, All Of Me, a solo album which is her maiden voyage as lead vocalist. Check out the incredibly timely track Lady Liberty and the tribute to Joni, Songbird. It really is an honor to have Scarlet as a comrade and collaborator. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. The Grammy winning and extremely personable, Matt Winegar (Primus, Fantastic Negrito), mixed and mastered this one! And a special shout out for facilitating and engineering Scarlet's tracks; Eduardo Del Signore.