AUSTRALIAN ROOTS LEGEND ANDY BAYLOR ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM
BLUES FROM THE IRENE BUILDING WILL BE OUT OCTOBER 19
MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY LAUNCH DATES ANNOUNCED BELOW
There’s countless talented musicians in this country, but it’s unlikely that any of them can claim to have been hand-picked by both Bob Dylan and Robert Plant to open shows for them. Andy Baylor however, can do just that. But this accomplished musician and multi-instrumentalist (he plays guitar, violin, mandolin, viola and piano to name just a few) is not one to beat his own drum – so to speak. Modest and totally free of any pretension, Baylor has well and truly earned his place on any list of Australia’s finest Roots Musicians in a career spanning over 40 years.
Blues, Cajun, Western Swing, Zydeco, Rockabilly, Country, Hillbilly, Pop and Funk laden Soul – you name it, Baylor can play it, and play it very, very well. The man behind The Dancehall Racketeers, The Honeydrippers, The Banksia Band, The Hip Hillbillies and Cajun Combo, Baylor has also performed with the likes of Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Jay McNeely, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Richard Frankland, Slim Dusty and countless other musical luminaries.
And in great news for his many friends and fans, Baylor has announced a new LP – his first since 2012’s Reel Of Joy. The new album, Blues From The Irene Building (out October 19) is a musical testament to Baylor’s dedication and long-time love of the blues in all its forms. Featuring cool original blues, funky instrumentals and ballads, Blues From The Irene Building is an album about changes all around us.
Andy – always on the lookout for a recording space that’s real, lowdown and funky, discovered The Irene Building and holed-up one long hot summer with his long-time collaborators, Pete Beulke on bass and Sharkey Ramos on drums. Together they cooked up a collection of songs and instrumentals; off-the-cuff, no frills, raw emotional riffs and heartfelt playing, with Andy furiously writing ‘stream of consciousness’ poems and lyrics on scraps of paper. Now, several summers later Blues from the Irene Building is the result.
To celebrate the release of the album, Andy is heading out for a number of showcase performances in his old stomping grounds of Melbourne and Sydney during November. Dates below.
MORE ABOUT BLUES FROM THE IRENE BUILDING
Blues From The Irene Building opens with High Risin’ Apartment Blues, a hypnotic minor blues number with Andy rolling out subdued but intense guitar licks over a funky groove. The album then moves into the swing based Some Love, a chocolate box list of assorted states of love and switches gear into a powerful riff–based lost love blues ballad with The Look In Your Eyes.
A centrepiece of the album is Restless Spirit Blues– a “manifesto song” dealing with the fact that so many things in our life are beyond our control – it’s perhaps the pivotal song in the collection…a declaration of strengths and weakness. “If you can understand this song you can understand my whole musical journey” says Andy.
Good Good Good Rockin’ Guitar is an old style jump blues song that gives a nod to Andy’s long-time love of roots style R’n’B and Melbourne’s bar-room culture. Blues is Real is a funky soul–type number while Money Talks is a heavy dropped tuning riff with a gospel message.
There are several instrumental tracks featured on the album which not only highlight Andy’s skill as a composer but also display his diverse guitar talents – from swing-driven jazz, funky Southern–style and finger-pickin’ High- Life. The album was engineered by Steve Fraser and mixed and mastered by Sharkey Ramos.
ANDY BAYLOR TOUR DATES
Thu November 8
Dog’s Bar
54 Acland St, St Kilda VIC
From 9pm
dogsbar.com.au
Fri November 9
Lomond Hotel
225 Nicholson St, East Brunswick VIC
From 9pm
lomondhotel.com.au
Sun November 11
Drunken Poet
65 Peel St, West Melbourne VIC
From 4pm
thedrunkenpoet.com.au
Fri November 23
Gasoline Pony
115 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville NSW
From 7pm
gasolinepony.com
Sun November 25
Marrickville Bowling Club
91 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville NSW
From 4.30pm
marrickvillebowlingclub.com.au
