Chicago-Based
Roots Goliath Frank Bang & the Secret Stash Set to Unleash New Double
Dare CD on May 21 from
Blue Hoss
Records
Former Buddy
Guy Band Guitarist Spreads His Gospel of Musical Truths on Eclectic Fifth Album
CHICAGO, IL – Blue Hoss Records announces a May 21 release
date for Double Dare, the new CD from former Buddy Guy Band
monster guitarist Frank Bang & the Secret Stash. As its title implies,
Chicago-based Bang’s new CD (his fifth release), displays an artist not afraid
to take chances, and showcases a wide palette of roots sounds inspired from his
blues, rock and country influences – all awash in his scintillating electric
guitar and slide work.
Double Dare was produced by Umphrey’s McGee and
Rod Stewart producer/engineer Manny Sanchez and recorded at the Windy City’s
I.V. Lab Studio. Bang’s lead vocals and assortment of guitars are backed by a
core band of Bobby Spelbring on drums and Ryan Fitzgerald on bass, augmented
with guest musicians on harmonica, guitars, keyboards and sax. The 11
all-original song disc kicks off with the blazing title track, wherein Bang
launches a mind-blowing caldron of slide guitar blasting straight into the
stratosphere. Other highlights include the riff-based rocker, “Lose Control;”
the celebration of life’s simple joys, “This Is What It’s All About;” and
“Wonder Woman,” a warm slide guitar powered tune about the inspiration and
healing power of love. “I knew I had a song with heart and meaning, and that set
the bar for the rest of the songs that I wanted to write,” he explains.
Similarly, “All I Need” chronicles the turns of life over a bed of gently
grinding six-string and a glide of organ, brought to an emotional arc by Bang’s
soaring solo.
With six years having passed since the release of his last
CD, And They Named It Rock and Roll, Frank Bang has experienced
several personal and professional highs and lows, all of which have informed the
music on his new album. And he pays that experience forward with the insightful
songs on Double Dare. “I felt that I really had to
step up my game and write songs that had a deeper meaning, because I realized my
music had a deep meaning for a lot of people,” Bang says. “People would, and
still do, tell me my music lifted them when they were down, and helped them
through hard times. I wanted to live up to that.
“There isn’t one thing on this album that isn’t true,” he
adds. “There are stories about my family, about my life and experiences, about
things that have struck me as funny or interesting. Even the guitar sound goes
right back to the buzz I got plugging an electric guitar in for the first time —
getting that real pure tone and letting it rip.”
Born and raised in Chicago, Frank Bang’s musical influences
initially revolved around the music he heard at home while growing up. Bang saw
his first live music at the lounge where his mother waitressed. His father, a
Chicago police officer, was initially disapproving of his son’s interest in
playing guitar. But Bang persevered, and at age 16 bought a cheap six-string and
amp that he was only allowed to play in the garage.
After initial excursions into rock, when Frank turned 21 he
made his first visits to Chicago’s blues clubs, where he learned that the
genesis of most of the music he was digging at the time came from the blues
root. After a false start in college, he quit school and got a job at Chicago’s
Hard Rock Café, which led to him transferring to other Hard Rock locales in San
Diego and Houston. A chance encounter in San Diego with the great Stevie Ray
Vaughan set him on the righteous path back home to Chicago and all its blues
wonders.
When Bang moved home, he got a one-night-a-week job at Buddy
Guy’s club Legends as a doorman. Over the next few years, his involvement in the
club grew to even occasionally traveling with Guy and his crew to major
concerts. And after the club had closed for the night, Frank and his newfound
musical buddy Wayne Baker Brooks, son of blues giant Lonnie Brooks, would drag
the amps out on stage after hours and play together, trading licks and trying to
learn some of what they’d just heard that night.
Besides expanding his guitar vocabulary, Bang - whose real
surname is Blinkal - got his professional name during his Legends years. He’d
occasionally take time off to road manage for guitarist Larry McCray, who
started calling him “Bang” due to the speed at which he accomplished tasks — as
in “bang,” job done.
Bang began playing during the Monday night Legends jams and
soon assembled his own blues-rock group, the Buzz, who became regulars at the
club. He also came into his own on slide guitar — which plays a major role in
Double Dare — after discovering the daredevil musicianship of
Robert Randolph, Aubrey Ghent and the other slide-based players from the
Holiness Church sacred steel tradition.
Eventually, the man himself - Buddy Guy - took notice and
asked Frank to join his band on second guitar.
Bang circled the world five times with Guy, headlining clubs
and theaters, and opening on major tours in some of the biggest arenas and
amphitheaters. Along the way, Bang shared the stage with the Rolling Stones,
Santana, Robert Plant, R.E.M., Jimmie Vaughan, Dave Matthews, B.B. King, Clapton
and other blues and rock titans. He also performed alongside Guy in many
television appearances, including the The Tonight Show and Late Night
with Conan O’Brien.
Bang continued to forge ahead on his own, too. In 2004, he
cut his debut album, Frank Bang Alive One, followed by the studio
set, Frank Bang’s Secret Stash in 2005. In 2006, he made
Homegrown Live from Martyr’s. With 2007’s And They Named It
Rock And Roll, Bang’s songwriting skills took a significant leap
forward, which led to his developing the songs that play out on Double
Dare.
“I’ve set a high bar of artistic maturity and musical
integrity for myself,” he says, “and I hope people hear that in this
album.”
Frank Bang & the Secret Stash will continue to tour in
support of
Double Dare, playing showcase clubs and festivals
throughout the spring and summer, including some high profile gigs as part of
the Van’s Warped Tour in July. He’s managed by Vickie Markusic of Vincent,
Markusic & Associates (773) 472-2063 /
vickiemarkusic@gmail.com; and booked
by Sara Vale of AXEcess Entertainment (916) 955-0121 /
saravale8@gmail.com. For more information,
visit
www.frankbang.net.
I just received the new release, Double Dare from Frank Bang & The Secret Stash. Bash, an ex Buddy Guy band member delivers his 5th release and it's quite unpredictable and interesting. Opening with the title track, Double Dare, Bang has the joint rockin. Having traces of Rory Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix, Bang plays some wicked slide. Burnin' Up The Wind is a cool modern blues rock track with traces of Willie Dixon. Russ Green plays some drifting blues riffs on harp and Bang sings the blues complimented by nice slide work. Next up is Lose Control demonstrates a unconventional approach to the blues such as that shown by Chris Duarte or Eric Gales. Bang has a sound all his own with hot horn interludes from Greg Ward and interesting guitar work.. God Fearin' Man is a great blues rocker with a crisp drum rhythm by Bobby Spelbring and continuing a strong set of driving blues rock tracks. Wonder Woman has a more solitary sound featuring excellent vocals and resonator slide work from Bang. As the track picks up steam it starts to take on the life of a Led Zep style track with nice electric slide work, additional harp work from Green, Ryan Fitzgerald on bass and really nice drums work from Spelbring. Nice track! My Own Country Way is a catchy acoustic foot stomper with real nice resonator guitar work from Drew Pentkowski and Phil Miller and some of the best vocal work on the release. 18 Wheels of Hell rings back to the trucker sounds of the 70's or the country rock sound first popularized by the likes of Charlie Daniels. Spelbring really drives this track home being right on the mark. Finishing up with acoustic number Mattie's Girl, Bang accompanies himself with some real nice finger/slide guitar work and soulful vocals. This is a pretty cool release with a slice of blues rock, country and acoustic blues to please less hard core listeners.
