TULSA by John Statz
John Statz recorded his new album with an all-star band in the middle of a Vermont ice storm. “We had to keep the stove burning the whole day, and then the electricity went out for ten minutes,” concedes Statz. “Luckily, we were just rehearsing.” John Statz will release Tulsa on March 10, 2015.
After years of DIY touring everywhere from Eastern Europe to Mexico, the Wisconsinite who now resides in Colorado fell in with fellow Midwesterner Jeffrey Foucault, a critically acclaimed songwriter and veteran of the americana circuit. A fan of Statz’s last album (2012’s Old Fashioned, produced by Bo Ramsey), Foucault offered to produce his next record while the two were on tour together in Colorado.
The resulting Tulsa is beautiful blend of soft americana and smooth folk with echoes of The Jayhawks and Whiskeytown. “John writes songs you can’t shake,” says Foucault. “They follow you around all day and run through your head at 3 a.m. Open hearted, horizon-line songs.”
“Jeff kicked my ass. He pushed me to crank out well-written songs,” continues Statz. “He’s such a great songwriter himself and I felt like I had to step up my game. And then there is the absolutely amazing band…” The band John speaks of features Billy Conway (Morphine) on drums, Mark Spencer (Son Volt) on electric guitars and pedal steel, Jeremy Moses Curtis (Booker T) on bass, Jeffrey Foucault on guitars and vocals, Caitlin Canty singing harmonies and Matt Lorenz on fiddle.
“Tulsa feels like how I was always supposed to make a record. Hunkered down for three days, living and eating with the band, tracking live, all during the raging ‘Polar Vortex’.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Tulsa | 4:29 |
| 2. | Old Pro | 3:16 |
| 3. | Home At Last | 3:51 |
| 4. | Exposure | 2:53 |
| 5. | Any Town Will Do | 3:28 |
| 6. | Amsterdam In Autumn | 2:41 |
| 7. | Motion Picture Soundtrack | 3:37 |
| 8. | Tannenberg | 5:07 |
| 9. | Queen Of The Plains | 3:09 |
| 10. | Tennessee | 4:40 |
| 11. | Roadkill Zone | 3:45 |
| 12. | One Way Opens | 4:10 |
Credits
Produced by Jeffrey Foucault
John Statz: vocals, acoustic guitar
Mark Spencer: electric guitar, electric 12-string, pedal steel, upright piano, wurlitzer
Jeffrey Foucault: vocals, electric, acoustic and Nashville guitars
Jeremy Moses Curtis: upright & electric bass
Billy Conway: drums
Caitlin Canty: vocals
Matt Lorenz: fiddle
Engineered by Justin Pizzoferrato at Verdant, Bellows Falls, VT, January 5-7, 2014
Mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab, Easthampton, MA, April 25, 28-29, 2014
Mastered by Alex McCullough at Yes Master, Nashville, TN, June, 2014
All songs written by John Statz (BMI) except:
~"Exposure" and "Roadkill Zone" by John Statz (BMI) and Joseph Briggs
~"Any Town Will Do" by Jeffrey Foucault, Domino Publishing Co. / ASCAP
~"Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead, Warner Chappell Music Ltd / PRS
Cover photo by Joseph Briggs
Cover design by Jeffrey Foucault
Packaging design by Jeremiah Nelson
License
All rights reserved.
One of the more prolific thirty-something songwriters working in the Folk/Americana genre today, John Statz has released nine studio albums and performed all over North America and Europe over the course of his fourteen-year career. The Boston Globe has called John’s music "electric, urgent folk; aching, sweet country-rock"