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Once upon a time (1987 to be exact), a group of guys jammed out blues in a garage somewhere in New Jersey.
However, it took them 33 years to really do it again in the same way.
In between, Blues Traveler made every boyhood rock ‘n’ roll dream come true. They burst onto the scene with a trio of gold-selling albums—Blues Traveler [1990], Travelers and Thieves [1991], and Save His Soul [1993]. Then in 1994, Four went six-times platinum and spawned the definitive “Run-Around,” which garnered a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group.” They logged another platinum album with Straight On Till Morning in 1998 and spent the next twenty years selling out shows on multiple continents. In 2018, Hurry Up & Hang Around kicked off a new era with the guys firing on all cylinders. However, they look back and leap forward on their fourteenth full-length album, Traveler’s Blues [Round Hill Records].
This time around, the quintet—John Popper [vocals, harmonica], Chan Kinchla [guitar], Tad Kinchla [bass], Ben Wilson [keyboards], and Brendan Hill [drums]—reimagined and recharged classics from the American blues songbook and a few surprises, making the record they were always meant to make.
After finishing up a marathon tour cycle in support of Hurry Up & Hang Around, the musicians returned home only to be faced with quarantine just like the rest of us. They wanted to do a new record, but they didn’t want to do it the same way.
Kicking around ideas, it made perfect sense to handpick timeless tunes, invite a few friends to the party, and throw down on some old school blues.
“There’s a lot of onus on us to honor traditional blues values and follow them,” he explains. “While paying homage to the original ‘You Got Me Runnin’,’ we took everything and ran with it in the Blues Traveler way.”
Swaggering piano struts through tambourine on the Mississippi Sheiks staple “Sittin’ On Top of the World” [feat. Warren Haynes] before Popper and Warren trade verses, and Chan and Warren trade licks.
“It’s an old blues song, but we brought a modern jam vibe to it,” he continues. “We’ve known Warren since 1990 when we opened up for The Allman Brothers. We’ve played with him in various ways for three decades. He’s an amazing musician and a wonderful guy. It’s cool we’re still rocking together after all these years.”
Then, there’s their take on the Gnarls Barkley smash “Crazy” [feat. Rita Wilson & John Scofield]. As the beat simmers, Popper leans into the iconic lyrics with palpable charisma before Scofield rips a lead and Rita delivers a powerhouse counter-vocal. On Son Seals’ “Funky B****,” which Phish also does a live version of, they dive into a fluid jam and proudly “Let our Blues Traveler flag fly,” according to Chan. “Roadhouse Blues” serves as a raucous Doors tribute and revs up into a “cool harmonica vehicle.” “Need Your Love So Bad”—originally made famous by Little Willie John—brings them into new territory altogether, while Nina Simone’s “Trouble in Mind” [feat. Keb’ Mo] concludes with a scorching soul duet uplifted by bass-y piano, lyrical soloing, and vibrant harmonica.
In the end, Blues Traveler came back home and played the hell out of the blues on Traveler’s Blues.
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Jon Reep is a nationally touring comedian whose contemporary country point of view has won over legions of fans in comedy clubs, on tv and in film. As a stand-up he’s built a following through his hilarious comedy specials and winning appearance on Last Comic Standing. As an actor, he just wrapped a role in Tig Notaro’s Netflix Series One Mississippi and guest starred in an episode of Black-ish. He’s also appeared in Eastbound and Down, the feature film Into the Storm, and may be best known as “Raymus, the pot smoking farmer” from Harold and Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay or as “Hemi Guy” from Dodge’s popular ad campaign.
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Rose-Garcia is an independent artist through and through. Thanks to the donations of fans and the modest homegrown talent, the singer/songwriter has been able to record and release and number of albums and EPs. These included “Roll the Bones” in 2011, a folk album with a tender and teasing playfulness to it and the eight-track Donor Blues EP, a very lo-fi recording with a big heart.
In preparation for a 2013 Halloween show in Colorado, U.S., Rose-Garcia with friend and fellow musician Esme Patterson of Paper Bird, spent a few hours in Patterson’s house writing a song. Wearing bold Halloween costumes, the pair took the newly created sheet music on stage and received a unexpected whirlwind of a reaction, for the weave-like texture of the male and female vocals. The song was called “Dearly Departed” and has since only expanded on that success, with over four-million plays on Spotify and a performance on late night TV show ‘Conan’.
The single “Dearly Departed” featured on Shakey Graves’ 2014 album “And The War Came” which many of the songs also adopt a similar male and female vocal arrangement. Since the release the pair have played too sold out audiences in Portland, Oregon, New York, San Francisco, California and Chicago, U.S. with increasingly bigger shows and festival slots.
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