New York, NY --- Mascot Label Group has announced a May 28
release date for Popa Chubby's Universal Breakdown Blues. For the prolific Popa Chubby, who was born Ted Horowitz,
the album marks a premeditative return to the world of Blues. Over the course
of his career that dates back to 1994, his tempestuous, soulful playing has
never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms,
a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy,
Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson," Popa
Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.
His career has always been about
moving forward and carving a place for himself in the imposing terrain of the
music business, overcoming odds to continue growing and maturing as a creative
force. He has built a constantly increasing base of fans across the world,
where in many territories he is a star. A native New Yorker, Horowitz's first
gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he reflects was a "crazy
Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called Screaming Mad
George who had a horror-movie inspired show." Right from the start he was
immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater, and learned from George and others
playing CBGB’s at the time that included the Ramones, the Cramps, Richard Hell,
whose band, the Voidoids he joined that rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous. He
reflects, "Musicians like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols weren’t just bands.
They were a threat to society."
The Blues however was the
foundation of his playing style. He recalls, "Since I’d grown up on Hendrix,
Cream and Led Zeppelin, when I started playing blues in New York clubs I
understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. It wasn’t just from playing
in punk bands, as Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut
or shoot you out of necessity if they had to, and Little Walter packed a gun and
wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is a real part of the Blues and I keep
it alive in my music.”
Following two initial albums on
his own Laughing Bear label, he was signed to Sony’s briefly revived O-Keh
Records, the one-time imprint of Mamie Smith, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong
and other influential blues and jazz artists. His 1995 release Booty and The
Beast was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd. Popa Chubby came into his own
as a songwriter with 2002’s The Good, The Bad & The Chubby with the
affectingly sincere post-9/11 testimonial “Somebody Let the Devil Out.” His next
album, 2004’s inspired Peace, Love and Respect upped the ante as an
election year protest album with hard-cutting tunes about First Amendment rights
(“Un-American Blues”) and corporate war-mongering (“Young Men”). After tipping
his hat to Hendrix with the three-disc Electric Chubbyland set and tour
in 2006 and 2007, Popa Chubby’s subsequent three albums including 2010’s The
Fight Is One have chronicled his desire to reconnect with his rock and blues
roots while pushing both genres boldly into the future — a task expertly
accomplished by an extraordinary blend of song craft, musicianship and
personality. His most recent release prior to Universal Breakdown Blues,
the live disc Back To New York City wraps this dichotomy neatly in to a
package that that is Popa Chubby. He shares, "People look at me and expect a
certain thing, and don’t realize there’s more behind the picture. They see a
big, burly guy with tattoos, and they expect to get beat over the head. And you
will get beat over the head, but you’ll also get rocked to sleep, and
there’ll be poetry in there too.”
Universal Breakdown Blues features a dozen compelling
songs where searing guitar lines and heartfelt lyrics are the stars. His
offerings provide a parallel to the lament that inspired such blues icons as
Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson, digging deep and coming up with some of the
most intense repertoire he has ever written. His catchy, sublime slices of his
fractured life are offered in a manner where the sentiments sung are relatable,
and amongst the most universal of themes, he explores the passage of love, loss
and having to find the path back. Amongst the originals, Popa Chubby offers a
mind-bending version of the classic "Over The Rainbow." He wrings out every
emotional nuance out of the song in an inventive manner. He shares, "I started
doing that song a couple of years ago, and crowds just go crazy for it. There
is so much emotion there. I'm good at rearranging and I just went for it. I'm
all about going for the big moments and there are not many songs that are as big
as that one. So I thought, 'why not cover it? I do what I want to do.'" The
complete track listing features the dozen songs, "I Don't Want Nobody," "I Ain't
Giving Up," "Universal Breakdown Blues," "The Peoples Blues," "Rock Me Baby,"
"69 Dollars," "Over The Rainbow," "I Need A Lil' Mojo," "Danger Man," "Goin'
Back To Amsterdam (Reefer Smokin' Man)," "The Finger Bangin' Boogie," and "Mind
Bender."
Popa Chubby is his own man for
better or worse. He reflects, "I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the
inspiration is drawn from within Universal Breakdown Blues. There are
my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation. Everything
is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need
something.”
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