Join US for a performance by Rev. SHAWN AMOS in The Green Room at
CROSSTOWN ARTS . Doors at 7pm | Performance 7:30pm
Since 2018's acclaimed, politically charged "The Reverend Shawn Amos
Breaks It Down," The Rev has been on the road non-stop with The
Brotherhood — a cohesive band of legit titans featuring drummer
Brady Blade (Buddy & Julie Miller, Dave Matthews, Indigo Girls),
bassist Christopher Thomas (Norah Jones, Carly Simon, Macy Gray), and
the long-time Rev aide-de-camp/guitarist Chris "Doctor" Roberts. All
are friends from a life in music who are now gathered on a singular
mission.
2019 also saw The Rev alighting in Texas, where the South begins, the
West ends, and something else is taking shape — a world away,
geographically and culturally, from his native LA. It is in the hill
country of Texas where the Rev and the Brotherhood convened for a new
recording slated for a 2020 release. Blade, Thomas, and Roberts
provide not only musical but also spiritual and emotional support for
embracing new territory, artistically and otherwise.
“All I’m doing is singing and playing harp,” the Rev says. “I
couldn’t imagine making this music with people who are not
friends.”
Prior to emerging as the Reverend in 2013, folks knew Shawn Amos as
producer (Solomon Burke’s Live in Nashville, and Shout! Factory box
set Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones), content creator for
companies looking for ways to tell their stories on the internet, and
Americana singer-songwriter who’d grown up in a dramatically
dysfunctional L.A. home (a story the Rev serialized as Cookies & Milk
in the Huffington Post).
Unlike past Shawn Amos collaborations with Matthew Sweet and Solomon
Burke, the Brotherhood is in it for the long haul. “Everybody feels
pride of ownership,” the Rev says of Blue Sky. The band has already
hit the road and will tour through 2020.
“These songs are really special to Shawn,” says Brady Blade, who
previously hosted the Rev’s debut album (produced by Mindi Abair) at
his Shreveport studio, and laid down drums. “It’s up to us whether
we’re ready to jump in and contribute 150%. If we’re not, it’s
not a brotherhood.”
Clearly, from the barn-burning blues stomp of “Counting Down the
Days” to the smoky R & B of “Water” to the rollicking “27
Dollars,” the Brotherhood is, indeed, down.
The material showcases Shawn Amos’ songwriting like no previous Rev
outing; here furious, there vulnerable; here gadabout and crazy, there
forlorn and tender; all buoyed by musicians emboldening a beloved
family member.
“When I first played blues,” the Rev says, “I had no interest in
writing. I put up a firewall between the Rev and my Americana past.”
He's referring to his three Shawn Amos albums, lauded
singer-songwriter offerings featuring Ray Parker, Jr., Solomon Burke,
and the Jayhawks’ Mark Olson. “But I slowly got the bug again.
This is the first time I’ve had the space to try to be more of a
singer-songwriter within the confines of the blues.”
Brady Blade says, “Brotherhood, to me, means togetherness, being
able to interact with each other in a more personal way because it’s
not like, ‘Oh, he's my boss. I'm just the side guy.’ The
Brotherhood, in this context with Shawn, helps drive the music.
Because the tension has to be there. Also, the happiness has to be
there. For all of us, the happiness has definitely come out on this
record.”
Happiness due in part to a creative spirit fully immersed in the work,
able to access and manifest the nitty-gritty because his brothers have
his back. “My whole artistic life has been a process of: How do I
get all of me to show up?” the Rev says. “I fought hard to be
here, so I’m gonna make sure all of me shows up.”
art
2308
Views
31/01/2020 Last update