New Releases! Igor Prado Band and My Own Holiday

Available February 17th! Pre-Order Now! Visit our online store or call 818-907-1600

Igor Prado Band - Way Down South Click here FEATURING: Kim Wilson - Sugaray Rayford Rod & Honey Piazza Mud Morganfield - Lynwood Slim Mitch Kashmar - Junior Watson and more! “Keeping the Blues Alive” is the ubiquitous mantra that’s become the battle cry of the modern-day blues community. To those unaccustomed with this tenet, the phrase can often imply that this enduring, beautiful and quintessential American music is hastily approaching its twilight years. One merely has to cast an eye southward, towards the Equator in São Paulo, Brazil, to find evidence that the blues is still a vital and thriving form of soulful communication, courtesy of the strikingly talented and notably youthful quartet, the Igor Prado Band. At 11-years old, Igor Prado fell in love with the guitar. Completely self-taught, this promising lefty learned to play a right-handed guitar upside down. Together with his brother Yuri Prado on drums, these two siblings embarked on a remarkable 15-year journey beginning in 2000, which encompasses numerous recording and production credits, in addition to sharing stages with many of the idioms most revered veterans. Bolstered by the auspicious talents of bassist Rodrigo Mantovani and saxophonist Denilson Martins, the Igor Prado Band eventually came to the attention of the well-traveled and finely-tuned ear of American blues harmonica player and vocalist, Lynwood Slim. A lifetime bond forged out of mutual respect and admiration was formed, culminating in the expertly crafted and highly acclaimed 2010 release, Brazilian Kicks on Delta Groove. Today, the Igor Prado Band has become one of the most popular and in demand blues outfits for any artist seeking mature and authoritative, yet sympathetic backing support in South America. Way Down South represents the very best of these frequent collaborations with recording sessions gleaned from south of the border and spanning 2011-2014. Here Igor and the boys are joined by a myriad of talent assembled from the Delta Groove roster and beyond including Kim Wilson, Sugaray Rayford, Mud Morganfield, Mitch Kashmar, Rod and Honey Piazza, Junior Watson, Monster Mike Welch, Wallace Coleman, Omar Coleman, JJ Jackson, Randy Chortkoff and Raphael Wressnig. Of special note are two songs featuring the late, great Lynwood Slim performing memorable renditions of Lowell Fulson’s Baby Won’t You Jump with Me and Paul Gayten’s You Better Believe It. Although it may be a long way from São Paulo to America, the passion and dedication found within the grooves of these recordings will most certainly make the distance between these two locales feel that much closer. Way Down South dispenses any notion that the blues is not only alive, but doing quite well indeed, thanks in large part to this incredible Brazilian ensemble. Igor Prado Band - Way Down South Click here My Own Holiday - Reason to Bleed Click here Don’t think of My Own Holiday as a blues/rock band, even though the duo of Joey Chrisman and Nick Bartolo claim that as a fair description. Don’t think of them as a White Stripes / Black Keys homage, even though their stripped-down, just-guitar-and-drums instrumentation might lead you to lump them into that category. And don’t think of My Own Holiday as this year’s flavor or a flash in the pan – they’re in it for the long haul. My Own Holiday hails from Lake Arrowhead, CA, an inland resort community far enough away from the superficial glitz and glamour of Los Angeles to have allowed the band to create their own unique sound unpressured by any of the trendy bandwagon jumping that is de rigueur in the showbiz mecca. Vocalist/guitarist Chrisman has been writing original songs since he was in sixth grade, and over the years has honed his craft to create an original voice that incorporates influences from classic rock, post-punk, pure pop, and Dylan-esque folk among others, often infused with a darkness and danger that belies the relatively bucolic surroundings of his upbringing. Drummer Bartolo meshes perfectly with Chrisman’s vision, laying down a rhythmic drive that is both in-the-pocket and dramatic enough to push the music into previously uncharted territory. Their self-described “broken-down” approach to their music emphasizes the propulsive drive and relentless groove at the core of their sound, while at the same time putting the focus on the songwriting. The band’s minimalist approach leaves little opportunity to hide flimsy material behind instrumental gymnastics and gimmickry – without great original songs, little else matters. And My Own Holiday has the ‘great originals’ category sewn up, with songs strikingly evocative of love, loss, hope, longing, sin and redemption – often in a single tune. My Own Holiday distills a large portion of the best that rock music has had to offer over the last half century into a compelling sound that is all their own. You could spend a lot of time picking out all the various influences, but in the end, it would be a pointless exercise, because My Own Holiday doesn’t really sound like anyone else. They’re an original band, with an original vision, and the only way to really ‘get’ them is to listen. That is most decidedly NOT a pointless exercise – in fact, it’s almost guaranteed to pay dividends. My Own Holiday - Reason to Bleed Click here

Eclecto Groove Records artist: My Own Holiday - Reason To Bleed - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (February 17, 2015), Reason To Bleed, from My Own Holiday and it's raggedly cool! This two piece band featuring Joey Chrisman on guitar and vocal and Nick Bartolo on drums opens with Hold On Me, a stripped country blues rocker. With a blues overtone and that just ready to break up to on guitar tone this track is a great start. Up next is Razorblades, another simple rocker with definite roots to the old blues via Ted Nugent, Ozzie, Jack White and the Keys. I especially like the simple full tube distortion guitar solo. Very cool. Two Coins has a really nice feel with all melody on Crisman's vocals, with guitar riffs and drums punching. Excellent! Memphis has a more folksy feel with straight chord strumming (mildly distorted) and drums. Devil In Me actually sounds like what I would think a band would sound like if Jack Bruce and Josh Homme put it together. Very cool! Reason To Bleed has a traditional blues drone note and straight simple rhythm. With rough and tumble drums, this is one of the most radio worthy with a particularly memorable melody and cool guitar solo. Whiskey In The Well is a quiet acoustic ballad which is very nicely written and soft compared to the wide open nature of most of the rest of the release. Nice contrast! On The Floor Blues is one of my favorite tracks with strong tie to early American blues rock like Mountain but with a much more simplified and less amplified sound. Excellent! Smile is a boogie track with distorted vocals and a simple boogie guitar rhythm. Again bringing on the obtuse loose guitar work sets the track apart. Stone Free has a much fuller rock sound sounding less like a 2 piece band and more polished. Single note guitar soloing has more a punk effect. Very cool! Stranded is a sensitive ballad with a straightforward melody. This is another track that could easily garner widespread radio play due to it's universal feel. Don't Shine On Me has a really cool R&B feel with a great groove. The simplicity of the instrumentation compared to the dynamics of the execution, and another loosely grinding full bodied guitar solo makes it another of my favorites on the release. Wrapping the release is Right Back Where I Started has a simple country ballad feel. Clean vocals and acoustic guitar accompaniment makes this a nice closer for the set. I think that this is an excellent release with guts and teeth. I saw one of the bands that they have been compared to on tv this weekend. This other band, who I really liked has added additional instruments and it took away nearly every drop of edge that they had and the polish was way to apparent. My Own Holiday is a new deal and if you like stripped down rock with a blues edge... this is it!

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