Austin Texas Musicians Have the Cure for Toxic Holiday Music.
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Psychologist and journalist Linda Blair claims that Christmas music is harmful to the psyche. A "super group" of Texas based, international blues artists seem to have come up with a cure.
Executive Producer and vocalist Pete Monfre brought a tight knit group of touring pros in 2014 to advocate for paying musicians a living wage. The project is releasing a non traditional holiday album entitled "An Austin Blue Christmas". "I don't know who Linda Blair is but I find that traditional Christmas music is played out. That's why we decided to upset the apple cart and do something really different."
An Austin Blue Christmas brings together artists from Austin's heyday of Stevie Ray Vaughan with today's top performers. It's a rollicking, blues fueled journey through the road of Christmas music less traveled.
"We had no interest in producing the typical holiday fare…" says Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff, leader of the award winning horn section, The Texas Horns. "We wanted to do something different. Something authentic that people could listen to any time of year."
Produced by Mark Epstein (long time Johnny Winter bassist) with engineering by Grammy Award winner Stuart Sullivan, the album was recorded primarily live in the studio with a full band of over 15 performers.
An Austin Blue Christmas delivers a tight, punchy sound on numbers like Albert King's funky Santa Claus Want's Some Lovin' and Freddy King's "Christmas Tears" featuring Storyville's Malford Milligan delivering a scorching vocal performance on the song.
The world renowned Red Young brings the goods on piano throughout; swinging hard on Charle's Brown's Santa's Blues and with his trademark Hammond B3 powering a Muscle Shoals inspired White Christmas duet and an original New Orleans version of Silent Night - both as an instrumental and as a bonus track with vocals by Soul Man Sam Evans channeling Otis Redding.
An Austin Blue Christmas also features a "who's who" of the blues including "Mr. Antone's" Derek O'Brien on guitar, Mark Epstein on bass, studio ace Kevin Hall on drums and a host of singers ranging from Malford Milligan (Storyville) and Guy Forsyth to Austin favorites Jacqui Walker, Michael Cross, Soul Man Sam Evans, Pete Monfre and Jeska Bailey performing a sparse rendition of "Please Come Home For Christmas" supported only by a lone Dobro.
According to Monfre,"An Austin Blue Christmas is a testament to the heart and giving nature of the pro musician community…" referring to the unanimous decision to donate profits to charity. "It's tough being a musician in music cities where the rising costs of living force out the most talented citizens that make those cities thrive. "This album is as much about great music as it is about a music community stepping up. It's a beautiful thing."
The album will be officially released on December 4, 2018 at a special CD release event in downtown Austin, Texas featuring all 15 artists who performed on the album. For more details on the Austin Blues Revue including high resolution images and video see the band's press kit https://austinbluesrevue.com/epk.
For more information about the album including how to purchase, artist list, songs and sample tracks - click https://austinbluexmas.com.
About The Producers
Pete Monfre - Executive Producer
Monfre is a long time veteran of the blues industry with decades of experience performing in dance halls, festivals and juke joints across America. As a sideman he has toured for several Grammy Award winning artists including Pinetop Perkins and Howlin' Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin.
Mark Epstein - Producer
Epstein has recorded and toured with a host of major artists - notably Johnny Winter and Joe Bonnamassa. He has produced work for the History Channel, Sony, Virgin, Orion Pictures and many others.
Media Contact: Pete Monfre, Clarity Marketing Support, Inc., 512-6637393, [email protected]
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SOURCE An Austin Blue Christmas
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