Mailorder English

We’ve lost count of how many albums Rich Hopkins has released. There are quite a few and most of them were even released on Blue Rose Records. But at some point every series ends, and this has happened with the latest work – “The Gift” is released exclusively on Hopkins‘ own label, San Jacinto Records. This is not because the masters had a falling out with his long-standing German label. The connection is still good, “best friends” so to speak, but the market has changed a lot in the last few years, musicians are founding their own record labels and marketing their new works themselves, at concerts, on their own website or even digitally via the relevant platforms. The latest figures from the music industry prove them right – just 13% of sales are generated through CD sales, with vinyl at 6% not even half of that, the rest is sold digitally. However, this is also a milkmaid’s calculation, because these proportions depend very much on the genre and the target groups, and so we cannot understand why for many artists the CD plays no role at all and sometimes only rely on vinyl. This is also the case with the new Hopkins album: It is released exclusively as a vinyl LP and we offer it exclusively in Europe via the Blue Rose mail order.

With Rich Hopkins and his wife Lisa Novak moving back and forth between their homes in Tucson, Arizona and Austin, Texas, the new album was recorded in more diverse locations and with more diverse musicians than ever before. We count a total of musicians in the album credits, including long-time companions such as Mike Therieau, Goerge Duron, Jon Sanchez, Falcon Valdez, Duane Hollis, Ernie Mendoza and Lars Goransson, who also produced the album together with Rich and Lisa. Additional singing guests included Lisa’s daughter Hannah Novak as well as Carey Bowman and Brad Brooks.

And the music? Nobody would have expected that Rich Hopkins would suddenly take different musical paths, and that’s not what happened. He puts everything into the songs again, as his many loyal fans know him. Sometimes you get the impression that the concentrated energy flows into his guitar work one last time and that he could have found a conclusion with the new album “The Gift”. But knowing Rich Hopkins, he will soon announce that he is working on a new album.

Kommentare deaktiviert für New album by RICH HOPKINS & LUMINARIOS – „The Gift“ only available on vinyl and exclusively in Europe through us!

SHIZZOE, HANK One More Day CD
€ 16,90^*

SHIZZOE, HANK One More Day 2-LP
€ 39,90^*

«One More Day», Hank Shizzoe’s 17th album, IS OUT NOW on CD, limited edition Double LP and Hi-Res-download. 13 songs, six originals, a handful of traditionals and carefully selected covers, all played by a crack band and sounding mighty fine.

«One More Day» is an Americana-album with a clear focus on songs – and guitars. Although there are only a few guitar solos on these 13 tracks, the music is driven by six string artistry. Tasteful electric guitar textures go hand in hand with expertly captured acoustic instruments, resulting in classy arrangements and sounds. The album covers a wide musical spectrum from hard driving rock to laid back foot-tappers and gentle, warm folk songs.

Hank: «My songwriting gained more depth, I work a lot more on my songs, give them time to grow. I used to write impulsively, following the initial spark. These days I tend to try out different keys, beats and arrangements. By the time we went into the studio a lot of these songs – and that includes the traditionals and covers – had seen a great variety of incarnations. We were very focused and at the same time left room for spontaneous developments. Interplay between musicians is really important, even more so when you play with masters. You move air together. Resonance is what you’re after. I think we succeeded beautifully and I’m very proud of this, my 17th album.»

«One More Day» was recorded in early 2024. One session with the full band (Tom Etter on guitars, Michel Poffet on upright bass, Simon Baumann on drums) and one session in a folk setup with Etter and Poffet plus irish singer Shirley Grimes. Guests include Luke Bulla from Austin, TX on fiddle. He was a member of Lyle Lovett’s Large Band and played with everybody from Tony Rice, Shawn Colvin and Ricky Skaggs to Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell and Patty Griffin. The man’s a master on his instrument! The great Ben Jeger played Hammond Organ and piano, Christian Brantschen tinkles the ivories on one song. All recorded with top notch studio equipment, expertly mixed and mastered. You won’t believe your ears!

Kommentare deaktiviert für Swiss Americana mastermind HANK SHIZZOE is back with his first album since five years – One More Day !

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters CD
€ 17,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS We Are All Drifters: A Tribute to the Continental Drifters 2-CD
€ 17,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters LP
€ 25,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Continental Drifters Story BUCH
€ 24,90^*

Over the almost 30 years that Blue Rose Records has existed, many artists and bands have ended up on our label, but there are very few who have had as big an impact on us as the CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS.

Together with Pete Wells and Kate Jacobs, the New Orleans quintet’s debut album was the first that we released in this country in the fall of 1995. Not only did four more albums follow on Blue Rose (Vermilion, 1998, Better Day, 2001, Listen Listen, 2001 and Nineteen Ninety-Three, 2003), the “supergroup” around Vicki Peterson, Susan Cowsill, Peter Holsapple, Mark Walton, Robert Maché and Russ Broussard also delighted German fans with several tours (Carlo Nuccio was still on drums on the first in 1996). Another extensive European tour was booked for the release of Better Day, which should have taken the band to the next level, but 9/11 put a sad end to all the planning and hopes. Even worse – hurricane Katrina four years later scattered the band members all over the country, Mark Walton to Las Vegas, Peter Holsapple to Winston-Salem in North Carolina or Vicky Peterson to California. Only Susan Cowsill and Russ Broussard remained in New Orleans. This also marked the end of the Continental Drifters and the five musicians had to make a fresh start.

Of course they stayed in touch and ultimately the band got together every now and then in the following years for a festival or an anniversary show, most recently in May 2023 in New Orleans such as at the “Chickie Wah Wah” club (see photo). The band had lost none of their unique esprit over the years and one can once again raise hope that there could be more to come than “just” another show show here and there.

There are many people for whom the Continental Drifters is not only a very special band, but also made up of special people. Sean Kelly is one such person, a young journalist from Georgia who has taken on the task of creating a very special tribute for the band. Over several years he collected stories and facts about the band (we at Blue Rose Records were also able to contribute our experiences to him) in order to write it all down in a book. That wasn’t enough, he planned and produced a tribute album and brought in many musicians to revive the music of the Continental Drifters. The result was a double CD with 25 songs, interpreted by artists such as Steve Wynn, Debbi Peterson, Don Dixon, Marshall Crenshaw, Rosie Flores, Kim Richey, Caitlin Cary, Dayna Kurtz and Garrison Starr from Blackberry Smoke. And that’s still not enough – the record label Omnivore Records is releasing a best of album with 15 songs on CD and 11 on vinyl that covers the history of the Continental Drifters.

Sean Kelly explains: “I look at this project as a way of saying thank you to a group of people who have enriched my life for nearly 20 years as friends and family, and way longer as musical heroes. The Drifters are a band that didn’t get their commercial due, but impacted the direction of the lives of those who loved them–myself included. I hope that this will be a rock and roll story that is relatable, as music biographies often are not. There was no fame, no private jets, no chart topping. Instead, just hard working, passionate artists who belonged to each other and that’s what it was all about. To say I’m eternally grateful to the Drifters for the opportunity to tell this story would be a serious understatement. I conducted so many interviews over the past few years, and I really put a lot of care into doing this as honestly as possible. We have a great team working on this project and I am so lucky. Unbelievably gratetful to my friends Tim Lee and Susan Bauer Lee for publishing this book and putting out this tribute. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited for what’s ahead!“

The biography book White Noise & Lightning – The Story of the Continental Drifters and the tribute CD We Are All Drifters will be released on 26.09.2024, the album White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters on 13.09.

Kommentare deaktiviert für The CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS finally receive the appreciation they have deserved! Pre-Sale has started for all 4 items!