Concord Records artist: Danielle Nicole - Wolf Den - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Wolf Den, from Danielle Nicole, and it's dynamite! Opening with title track, Wolf Den, Danielle Nicole who has a super voice leads the way on vocal, playing a funky cool bass riff highlighted by Mike "Shinetop" Sedovic's keyboard work. Very nice opener. Anders Osborne sets the stage for, How You Gonna Do Me Like That, an R&B style track with solid vocals, a great bass riff and tight drums by Stanton Moore. Shinetop takes a nice keyboard solo on this track giving it an authentic "era" feel and Nicole shines on bass. On soul ballad, Take It All, Nicole really shines on vocal and her bass work is spot on. A simple yet clean and tasty guitar solo from Osborne gives Nicole a vocal breather but this track is all soul and solid. Rocker, You Only Need Me When You're Down, has a great driving tom tom rhythm and over driven guitar tone from Osborne. A breakout guitar solo highlights this track with it's Spencer Davis like feel. Very cool! Somber ballad, Just Give Me Tonight, shows extremely expressive vocal work on Nicole's part. Osborne digs down with a really nicely phrased guitar solo of his own, making this one of my favorites on the release. Easin' Into The Night has strong commercial potential with it's easy feel, strong melody and an almost Bonnie Raitt feel. Didn't Do You No Good has a rock beat with just a twist of country and a pinch of soul. Putting me in mind of a contemporary Aretha track, Rock Steady, this track has great movement with strong vocal from Nicole, really cool bass riffs from Nicole, a hard driving bottom from Moore and rock guitar from Osborne. Super! On Waiting For Your Love, Nicole shows the composure of Stevie Wonder with really really nice vocals and excellent guitar work from Luther Dickinson. One of my favorite contemporary funky blues tracks, I Feel Like Breakin' Up Somebody's Home, is up next and Nicole sounds like she means business. Her vocals are powerful, her bass work authoritative and with super guitar work by Dickinson, this track slams it! It Ain't You is a solid R&B style radio track which makes you take a few double takes at the photo on the CD cover, to believe that that voice is coming out of that lady. Very nice! New Orleans flavored, In My Dreams, gets a great drum rhythm from Moore and bass line from Nicole. Her vocals are solid and natural and with the addition of slick guitar riffs from track author, Anders Osborne and flavorful key work from Shinetop, this track will get you squirming in your seat. Wrapping the release is super funky, Fade Away. This is a really nice track to conclude such a hot release with an almost Little Feat styling and Nicole's bass riffs and sassy vocals leave you wanting more. This really is an excellent release and one that definitely suggest that you check out!

 

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Danielle Nicole Announces Tour In Front of 9/25 Concord Records Release WOLF DEN

KANSAS CITY BLUES-SOUL SINGER DANIELLE NICOLE

ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES IN SUPPORT OF SOLO DEBUT

Ex-Trampled Under Foot Singer-Bassist Makes Concord Records Debut
With September 25^th Release Of New Orleans-Flavored Wolf Den

August 4, 2015– Danielle Nicole has already spent years on the road touring with her brothers, Nick and Kris Schnebelen, in the sibling band Trampled Under Foot.  However, this time around will be different.  Singer-bass player Danielle Nicole and her band are embarking on her first tour as a solo artist in support of her forthcoming album Wolf Den due out on Concord Records on September 25^th, 2015.

“I am beyond excited to hit the road with my new band,” Nicolle commented. “I really hope everyone digs the new sound of Wolf Den as much as I do! 

From the first notes of her new album one truth becomes self-evident: this girl oozes groove. There’s so much funky, bluesy soul coming out of her, you wonder if her heart beats in syncopated time.

The Kansas City-raised daughter of musicians already had a solid blues foundation, but she found that groove — or new variations of it — in New Orleans, where she worked with GRAMMY^®-winning producer-guitarist Anders Osborne to craft her solo debut.

You can hear and feel that Big Easy influence snaking through each of the 12 tracks on Wolf Den. From the tasty jazz-blues licks of “It Ain’t You” to the chunky Voodoo-Chile crunch of the rocker “Didn’t Do You No Good.” The funk gets particularly delectable in “How You Gonna Do Me Like That,” “You Only Need Me When You’re Down” and “In My Dreams,” which showcase Nicole’s versatility and range with nods to gospel and girl-group pop as well. (“Take It All” shows further appreciation of that genre; it’s one more example of Nicole’s willingness to both pay homage to and build on what came before.)

Nicole calls the sound “blues-based roots,” and it’s clear those roots reach deep — straight to the melting-pot heart of American music. She discovered them early, thanks to her parents and big-band singer grandmother. When Nicole’s father heard her belting out Koko Taylor’s “Never Trust a Man” at age 12, her destiny was clear.

Influenced by artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Paul McCartney, the Neville Brothers, Sarah Vaughan and Janis Joplin (the latter of whom she recalls, “…a white girl playin’ the blues; I could relate…”), Nicole started gigging at 14 and picked up the bass at 18, when she and her brothers decided to join forces as Trampled Under Foot. As that band wound down after 13 years, Nicole formed her own band.

“People move to LA and New York to make it big and be famous. I just like to tour the music and play the blues,” Nicole says. “I’d love to have a hit and I write my music with honesty and the full intention of being the best that I can, but I’m not looking for the million-dollar house in the hills. I’m not looking to be a pop princess.”

“That’s what I love about the roots genre: You can have longevity and you can make a decent living at it. And you can explore so many other lanes of music,” she explains.

Yes, you can travel wherever the groove takes you. And with talent like hers, that could be any direction she wants.  You can catch her at all of the dates listed below…

Danielle Nicole Tour Dates

8/06/15            Sioux City, Iowa                                 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino     

8/07/15            Lincoln, Nebraska                               Zoo

8/08/15            Chanute, Kansas                                 4th Annual Blues Blast

8/15/15            Wausau, Wisconsin                             Big Bull Falls Blues Festival

8/22/15            Kansas City, Missouri                        Knuckleheads Saloon                    

8/28/15            Morgantown, Indiana                         Bean Blossom Music Festival 

9/6/15              Pueblo, CO                                         Colorado State Fair       

9/25/15            Columbia, Missouri                             Roots N' Blues N' BBQ Fest          

10/2/15            New York, NY                                    Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 2)

10/4/15            Philadelphia, PA                                 World Café Live

10/5/15            Vienna, VA                                         Jammin Java

10/09/15          Detroit, Michigan                                The Fillmore

10/10/15          Kalamazoo, Michigan                         Kalamazoo State Theatre

11/10/15          The Reef                                             Boise, ID  

11/11/15         Spokane, Washington                           Big Dipper

11/12/15          Seattle, Washington                            The Barboza

11/14/15          Portland, OR                                       White Eagle Saloon

11/17/15          Santa Cruz, California                        Moe's Alley Blues Club  

11/18/15          San Francisco, CA                              Biscuits and Blues          

11/19/15          Los Angeles, CA                                 The Mint

11/21/15          Phoenix, Arizona                                 Rhythm Room                       

11/27/15          Wichita, Kansas                                  The Cotillion Ballroom

12/19/15          Davenport, Iowa                                 Redstone Room