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“The songs come first,” says Rotten Belly Michael.
Rotten Belly Blues send signals early in the proceedings of their self-titled new album - actually their third, but the first released nationally - that these are no ordinary blues songs, and no ordinary blues band. The new CD, Rotten Belly Blues, is set for release October 6, 2009. There are 13 tracks on this collection that defy any conventional classification. The entire album was recorded live in the studio. Each tune is a moment captured in time, usually done in one take and honestly presented as a true performance. Rotten Belly Blues was recorded at one of the country’s premiere studios, Right Coast Recording in Columbia, PA.
“Some of those songs give me goose bumps!” says producer Bobby Gentilo.
“Bobby was an integral part of the way this record works,” says Rotten Belly bassist Jon Mertz. “When we decided not to do any overdubs, that meant that the producer had to be prepared to deal with a lot of crazy stuff. Riding herd over the lot of us must have been a challenge.”
You can hear a thousand oblique references in the music, from the classic to the modern, but nothing sounds stolen. “We are not imitating anything”, insists Michael.
Several incarnations of Rotten Belly Blues have been criss-crossing the U.S. for the last couple of years; the band on the new CD is the core of the sound and the sensation.
“It’s the blues because we say it is,” says Michael. “When we rock it’s still the blues; if you detect a country accent, then it’s country blues. When it gets jazzy, it’s still the blues. IT’S ALL THE BLUES.”
Songs of honesty and dishonesty, absolution, purchased passions, greed and love gone wrong. Here are wrestling resonator 6-strings, spooky electric guitar, barrel-house piano, thumping drums, dual bassists, rowdy choirs, boozy slide, rollicking horns: it’s all here. From full-tilt rocking blues to stripped down and chilling acoustic tunes.
Rotten Belly Blues is a testament to all the musicians that took part in these sessions: Erica Shellenberger (vocalist), Dave Crane (guitar/harmonica), Jon Mertz and Matt Gochenauer (bassists), Kyle Morgan (piano/guitar/vocals), Dominick Billett, Dale Wise, Jason Hoffheins (drums), Will Markley (piano/vocals), Dave Groninger (guitar), Mark Auker, Alex Smith (percussion), Jason Roach and Ben Frazier (horns).
The music sounds timeless and unconcerned with trends.
“It will stand up to time’s passing,” says Rotten Belly Michael.
“Just like the blues always has.”
THIS IS THE BLUES FOR THE 21st CENTURY.