American Love Song finds Ryan Bingham honing his creativity on two distinct levels, the personal and the cultural. The record is co-produced with Charlie Sexton, the superb Austin guitarist who has played for years in Bob Dylan s touring band. American Love Song was recorded at Arlyn Studios and Public Hi-Fi in Austin with additional recording at Matter Music/Stella Sound in Los Angeles.
Joe Bataan’s career offers a true All-American success story. Born on November 15, 1942 to African-American and Filipino parents in Spanish Harlem, Bataan briefly led a street gang and spent time in a correctional facility on a stolen car charge before emerging in the mid ‘60s to author his own unique blend of boogaloo, doo wop, and soul. Bataan’s sound caught the ears of Fania Records, who signed him for a string of eight successful albums before Bataan left to co-found the Salsoul label—he also came up with the name, a combination of salsa and soul—where he recorded three albums, of which this 1975 record was the first. You’ll hear a little disco and funk mixed in with the salsa and soul on this release, whose “East Coast Side” and “West Coast Side” were recorded on opposite sides of the country. But no matter where Bataan laid down the tracks, he made sure to get the best musicians—playing on Afrofilipino is a veritable Who’s Who of session cats including Richard Tee, John Faddis, Cornell Dupree, Randy Brecker, and David Sanborn. For the first-ever vinyl reissue of this classic Latin R&B album, we’ve given it a brand-new remastering (by Mike Milchner at SonicVision), and pressed up 1000 copies in opaque yellow vinyl…hip-shakin’ stuff! Available from Real Gone Music.
A Psalm In Rock by movie makeup artist Don Rutherford – available now!
In music as in love, one + one can add up to…not two but a new and greater one.
On Heart Songs two of the world’s greatest guitarists, Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles, make this clear. Both are masters of their instrument, honored by the iconic Chet Atkins with the rare designation of CGP (Certified Guitar Players). Emmanuel has twice been voted “Best Acoustic Guitarist” by readers of Guitar Player Magazine and honored as both a “Member of the Order of Australia” and an official “Kentucky Colonel”. Knowles is a Grammy winner, a member of the National Thumb Picker’s Hall of Fame, and editor of the respected FingerStyle Quarterly.
Their early journeys were dissimilar. Emmanuel began his in Australia, grew up on the road with his family’s band, settled as a teenager in Sydney and left his rock band to launch a spectacular solo career. Knowles followed a more academic path, eventually earning a Ph.D. in physics from Texas Christian University but then electing to pursue his true love of music.
Inevitably they would cross paths, become friends and perform on stages and clinics around the world. Their styles were distinctive but for that very reason they meshed seamlessly, with Knowles generally creating sophisticated but compelling foundations over which Emmanuel’s guitar would soar in astonishing yet always musical flights.
The more they got to know each other, the more they talked about someday recording together. Busy schedules made this difficult; still, the idea simmered on the front burner until, finally, the time was right.
Available from Sooper Records now!
Monobody is:
Al Costis: electric bass, vibraphone, lap steel guitar
Collin Clauson: keyboards
Conor Mackey: electric guitar, keyboards, vibraphone, programming
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya: drums, percussion
Steve Marek: electric bass
Matt Attfield played trombone on “Echophrasia”
Engineered by Steve Marek and Conor Mackey
Mixed by Steve Marek and Conor Mackey
Mastered by Carl Saff
Album Artwork by Randi Stella
