The Lucky
Losers Deal Winning CD, Blind Spot, on
May 18 from
Dirty Cat Records
San Francisco’s
Finest Male/Female Duet-Fronted Band Delivers the Goods with Soul and Style on
Their
Third Album
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Veteran blues vocalists Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz,
aka The Lucky Losers, deliver a soulful ‘60s retro sound on their third CD, Blind
Spot, coming May 18 on Dirty Cat Records, distributed through CD Baby.
Watch a
video about recording the new CD here:
Recorded
at award-winning Greaseland Studios (John Nemeth, Wee Willie Walker, Billy
Price) in San Jose, California, Blind Spot continues The Lucky
Losers’ long-standing relationship with acclaimed producer/engineer, Kid
Andersen. Bringing back the lost art of the vocal duet, the album is solely
comprised of original material created by Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz
alongside their illustrious and multi-talented songwriting partner, Danny Caron
(Charles Brown). Blind Spot features scintillating musical
contributions from six-time Blues Music Award nominated guitarist, Kid
Andersen, International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Award winning
violinist Annie Staninec (Rod Stewart), 2018 BMA nominated saxophonist, Nancy
Wright, and guitarist Laura Chavez (Nikki Hill), who was listed as one of
the “Top 50 Sensational Female Guitarists” by Guitar Play Magazine.
Vocalist/harmonica
master Phil Berkowitz says about the recording sessions: “Cathy, Kid and I are
all on the same page musically. And Kid has an intuitive understanding of our
creative vision. When people hear this album, they will be reminded of Willie
Mitchell's Hi Records, as well as Stax. We love singers like Ann Peebles and
O.V. Wright. We went to great lengths to make our album sound like it came from
that late ‘60s and early ‘70s era. We were going for that warm, live, Memphis
sound with all that great, spontaneous ensemble playing. We also drew heavily from
early ‘70s psychedelic soul. When you hear ‘Alligator Baptism,’ for example,
artists like Curtis Mayfield might come to mind. You will hear all the
percussion, the horns, the harmonies, the street-wise stories, etc. But that is
just one facet of our diverse style. We also love electric Americana pioneers
like J.J. Cale, The Band and Bob Dylan. But we are blues artists at heart—Cathy
and I—so you will hear plenty of blues in the mix. We brought in marvelous Bay
Area players, and we blended these styles together.”
Blind
Spot is a road warrior’s tale. The
album is a primal call to awareness in the eye of an irresistible storm. Caught
between hope and catastrophe, The Lucky Losers take a fearless ride into the
unknown, witnessing the good, bad, and ugly of contemporary America through a
fractured rear-view mirror. Traveling through a winding soundscape of modern
blues, vintage R&B, and Americana, Blind Spot presents
unvarnished testimony to the fragile and fleeting state of our world. From the
redemptive embrace of love in “The River,” to the erosion of human dignity in
“Alligator Baptism,” to the “do or die” determination of “Take the Long Road”
and “It’s Never Too Early,” The Lucky Losers express the challenges they face
as they try to maintain a firm grasp on the wheel.
“Phil
and I have travelled some of the loneliest highways in America to bring our
music to the people,” says Cathy Lemons. “And in all those travels what we see
is a kind of distraction everywhere--almost to the point of madness. I feel so
overwhelmed by all this information pouring in from my phone, from the news,
from tragic headlines. Now that can be a funny or it can be deadly. For
example, in a song we wrote called ‘You Left it Behind,’ we talk about losing
our wallets, our keys, our passports, our clothes--on the road. But on the
other side of the slapstick comedy there is the dark side. ‘Last Ride’ is about
the mass shootings, the natural disasters, and all the divisiveness we are
seeing right now in America. This album is about this separation from real
experience--seeing life through a screen.”
The Lucky Losers are hitting the road across the country to
tour in support of Blind Spot Cathy Lemons - vocals/percussion;
Phil Berkowitz - vocals/harmonica; Ian Lamson – guitar (who toured with Elvin
Bishop and plays on the album); Robby Yamilov – bass; and Jon Otis - drums (son
of the legendary Johnny Otis).
The Lucky Losers Tour Dates
Thursday, April 12, Flagstaff
Brewing Company,
Flagstaff, AZ
Friday, April 13, The Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, April 14, The Raven Cafe,
Prescott, AZ
Sunday, April 15, House of Bards, Tucson, AZ
Tuesday, April 17, Cowgirl BBQ, Santa Fe, NM
Wednesday, April 18, Santa Fe Brewing Company Santa Fe, NM
Thursday, April 19, Funky Door, Lubbock, TX
Friday, April 20, Keys Lounge,
(w/Ally Venable Band), Fort Worth, TX
Saturday, April 21, Kingfish, Fayetteville, AR
Sunday, April 22, Huey’s Midtown,
Memphis, TN
Tuesday April 24, The Local,
Nashville, TN
Wednesday, April 25, Lafayette’s, Memphis, TN
Saturday, April 28, Blind Willie’s, Atlanta, GA
Sunday, April 29, Daniel Day Gallery,
Birmingham, AL
Tuesday, May 1, Natalie's Coal Fired
Pizza and Live Music, Columbus, OH
Thursday, May 3, Slippery Noodle, Indianapolis, IN
Saturday,
May 5, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL
Sunday,
May 6, Smoke Daddy
BBQ (Wrigleyville Location), Chicago, IL
Tuesday, May 8, BB’s Jazz and Soups, St. Louis, MO
Wednesday,
May 9, Nathan P.
Murphy's, Springfield,
MO
Thursday, May 10, The Jazz Depot
at The Oklahoma Jazz Hall Of Fame, Tulsa,
OK
Friday, May 11, Puebla Tacos Y Tequileria, Norman, OK
Saturday,
May 12, The Shamrock, Wichita, KS
Sunday,
May 13, Lincoln’s
Roadhouse, Denver, CO
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