JANE LEE HOOKER TAKES NO B!
CD Out On April 15
These ladies mash
up the grit and attitude of NYC
And hold nothing
back
"Blistering.
Sweaty. Raw…” - Tom Tom Magazine
On April 15th Ruf Records group, Jane Lee Hooker
will release No B! a record filled with blues and rock covers as
well as originals that stick like glue with grinding guitars backed by a
pounding drum beat. Produced and recorded by Matt Chiaravalle at Mission Sound,
Brooklyn, NY and Mercy Sound, NYC, it’s bound to shove new life into their
fans.
"These women do more than just pay tribute… they mix
in elements of punk and classic rock to give them such a distinct, hard-edged
sound." - Guitar Girl Magazine
Tearing out of their native New York these five rockers fuse
the sticky thrills of golden-era punk and blues with a healthy slug of modern
attitude. “Not a lot of bands can capture the excitement, sweat, and charisma
of the ’70s bands we grew up listening to,” they say. “But we can, and we
do.”
Who are these chicks?
Dana “Danger” Athens: Vocals
“Hightop”: Guitar
Tina “T-Bone” Gorin: Guitar
“Hail Mary” Z: Bass
Melissa “Cool Whip” Houston: Drums
Between the five members, they have decades of experience playing,
recording, and touring both nationally and internationally. Individually, the
members have performed for thousands of fans while sharing bills with the likes
of Motörhead, MC5, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Deep Purple.
Guitarists Hightop and T-Bone honed their love of
blazing dual leads in Helldorado in the ’90s. From there, Hightop joined
Nashville Pussy, T-Bone joined Bad Wizard, and both toured endlessly
around the world. But when their time with those bands ended, they realized
they missed the rush of trading guitar solos with one another, leaving
audiences howling with joy. They quickly recruited Hail Mary, who played bass
with Hightop in the punk band the Wives. Cool Whip sat behind the drum kit and
got the nod before she even finished slamming out the first song of her
audition.
And no other singer in NYC can bring a crowd to its knees
harder or faster than Dana "Danger" Athens.
“Black-clad New York blues revivalists Jane Lee Hooker ripped the balls out of Muddy Waters’ Mannish Boy." - Evelyn McDonnell, Populism (live review)
When it came to tracking No
B! last year in Brooklyn, the five-piece were equally clear in their
mission statement. “We told our producer, Matt Chiaravalle, that we wanted it
to sound exactly like the album “Hard Again” that Muddy Waters and
Johnny Winter did in 1977,” recalls High Top (who coincidentally chose her
nickname after Mud’s shout-outs to Pinetop Perkins on that record). “It’s
the album that both Tina and myself played along to when we were kids, to learn
how to solo. I still think it’s one of the greatest albums ever recorded and
some of the finest from Muddy and Johnny.”
Ten of these tracks find the band
digging back into the blues songbook, exhuming a fistful of standards including
Muddy Waters’ “Champagne And Reefer,” Willie Dixon’s “Shake For Me” and Albert
King’s “The Hunter.” In each case, Jane Lee Hooker claims ownership, pouring on
the rocket fuel until even the dustiest standard becomes a stinging punk-blues
thrill-ride, driven by jackhammer rhythms, twin lead guitars, and Dana’s
scorched-earth vocals.
"…captures the nostalgic
feeling of classic blues-rock, a ballsy punch in the face…This all-female
ensemble of virtuosos knows when to step out of the pocket to balance the
explosive driving force of Dana Danger Athens’ vocals." - Tom Tom Magazine
“We basically play songs we like,
and they end up turning into something that has our own take on it,” says the
band of their respectful-yet-rebellious approach. “Like Mean Town Blues”: it’s
such an amazing song, and our version pays tribute to that. We feel the spirit
of Johnny Winter is with us on the ride.”
No B! is a testament
to the band’s own songwriting skills that original tune “In The Valley” stands
shoulder-to-shoulder with the celebrated moments on the track listing. “We’ve
been having a blast taking the spirit of these amazing classics we’ve been
playing and developing a style to write our own original songs,” says the band.
“There are thousands of masterpieces out there that so many people don’t even
know about. And at the same time, there are enough shitty songs in the world –
we’re not interested in adding to them.”
In the era of cut-and-paste,
computer-driven recordings, No B!’s production was as
minimalist, and the results explode out of the speakers. “We played live,”
continues High Top, “and we used no effects. We all played in the same
room at the same time. Most songs were done on a first take. I don’t think we
played anything more than twice!”
They drive the van at 100mph with their music. You can’t call
them girls; you call them chicks. They are by no means new to the game. This
five-headed punk-blues juggernaut is coming for your hearts and eardrums.
Are they bleeding yet?
TOUR DATES:
02/27
- Tupper Lake, NY - Rock n Blues Review
03/03
- Kennett Square, PA - Kennett Flash
03/11
- Jim Thorpe, PA - Mauch Chunk Opera House
03/12
- Rehoboth, DE - Dogfish Head Brewery
03/24
- Harrisburg, PA - HMAC
03/25
- Cleveland, OH - Happy Dogs at Euclid Tavern
03/26
- Blawnox (Pittsburgh), PA - Moondog's
03/30
- New York, NY - Webster Hall (A Celebration of Adam Roth)
04/20
- Rochester, NY - Dinosaur BBQ
04/21
- Syracuse, NY - Dinosaur BBQ
04/23
- Albany, NY - Move Music Festival
04/30
- Orlando, FL - Moonstone Music Festival w/ Kiss, Def Leppard, Vintage Trouble
05/06
- Stillwater, OK - Willie's Saloon
05/08
- Tulsa, OK - Guthrie Green Concert Series
05/13
- Marlboro, NY - The Falcon
06/02-05
- Hunter, NY - Mountain Jam w/ Beck, Gov't Mule, Wilco, Chris Robinson's
Brotherhood
08/21
- Long Branch, NJ - West End Park Summer Concert Series
09/08-09
- Las Vegas, NV - Big Blues Bender Festival w/ Beth Hart, Delbert McClinton,
Tab Benoit
09/27-28
- Sayville, NY - 25th Annual Seafood Festival
