NASHVILLE |DATE: JULY 16, 2012
FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/MITCH SCHNEIDER/CLAIRE JULIAN
CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD
TO OPEN
‘THE MAGIC DOOR’
ON SEPT. 11
FOLLOW-UP COMPANION ALBUM TO THEIR CRITICALLY
ACCLAIMED ‘BIG MOON RITUAL’ ALBUM
RELEASED THIS PAST JUNE
Photo credit: Matthew Mendenhall
“In an age of people just writing songs to fit in to commercial formats, we feel we’re making
recordings for the connoisseurs, people who are into music on a deeper level… We’re
interested in songs that we feel fit into our version of the cosmic California boogie.”
—CHRIS ROBINSON
Just a few months after the June 5 release of their acclaimed debut BIG MOON RITUAL album, the CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD—Chris Robinson (lead vocals, guitar), Neal Casal (guitar, vocals), Adam MacDougall (keys, vocals), George Sluppick (drums) and Mark Dutton (bass, vocals)–is set to release the companion album THE MAGIC DOOR September 11 via Silver Arrow/Megaforce. Both albums were recorded in two marathon sessions earlier this year at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles with producer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Devendra Banhart, Papercuts) after the band wrapped up a 118-show 2011 tour during which the band road-tested all the material.
“I would say very early on in the recording–within the first two days,” says ROBINSON when asked about the moment he realized two albums would emerge. “Thom had encouraged us to remain true to the arrangements we had been playing all year on the road. We inevitably had some longer pieces and felt that the performances were strong enough that we didn’t want to edit them for any extraneous reasons.”
The Magic Door contains seven songs: six originals–“Someday Past The Sunset,” “Vibration & Light Suite,” “Appaloosa,” “Little Lizzie Mae,” “Sorrows Of A Blue Eyed Liar” and “Wheel Don’t Roll”–plus a cover of Hank Ballard’s “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go,” a CRB set list staple. The songs (written by ROBINSON, with Neal Casal on “Wheel Don’t Roll” and Casal and Adam MacDougal on “Sorrows Of A Blue Eyed Liar”) are all free flowing and some lengthy, with “Vibration & Light Suite” clocking in at 13:56. This is music that is in no hurry to reach its destination but firmly knows where it is going and the speed at which it is traveling.
On the album as on the road, ROBINSON continues to grow as a guitarist alongside guitarist Neal Casal. “I look at music as a conversation and Neal’s a very eloquent speaker on guitar and I’m just trying to keep the conversation interesting.”
CRITICAL QUOTES ABOUT ‘BIG MOON RITUAL’ AND THE BAND’S LIVE PERFORMANCES
“….created a roots-o-licious collection of tunes…beautiful guitar tones, inventive parts, gorgeous solos, and killer vocals all around.”
–Matt Blackett, GUITAR PLAYER, June 2012
“…a full immersion into Southern psychedelics, nine-minute song swoops, extended grooves and wailing vocals. Robinson may have assembled an ace new band (including Ryan Adams guitarist Neal Casal), but Big Moon Ritual is Robinson’s baby. He celebrates his idols (The Allmans, The Dead, CCR and Zeppelin abound) and showcases himself—his vocals lead the charge, and Casal’s guitar daydreams replace his brother’s heavy riffing. It’s a record informed by the road: vast seas of soulful jamming and Robinson’s free-flowing vocals come together now and then for a blowout chorus.”
–Justin Jacobs, RELIX, June 2012
“…hour-long dose of cosmic American music…”
–Darryl Sterdan, TORONTO SUN, June 5, 2012
“With all songs spacing out past the seven-minute mark, it’s the most psychedelic record Robinson’s made, but earthy, with big mountain jams made for a Jodorowsky flick marathon.”
— Brent DiCrescenzo ,TIME OUT CHICAGO, June 14, 2012
“Robinson and co. strike a psychedelic balance between lush jamming and bluesy rocking. The result is a real trip down the rabbit hole complete with some of Robinson’s most poetic lyrics and truly impressive musicianship. It’s a fascinating, fiery, and formidable introduction to the group and one of the year’s most mind-blowing records.”
–Rick Florino, ARTISTDIRECT.COM, July 9, 2012
“…this sounds like a record of the classic, top-shelf sort…there’s a warmth to this record…that is enveloping…the band stretches in ways that most bands rarely allow themselves anymore, developing a strong groove that is frankly intoxicating..”
–Jeff Slate, EXAMINER.COM, June 18, 2012
“…sweetly appealing due to Chris’s gentle soul and his band’s laidback but real roots/Americana expertise.”
— John Petric, THE OTHER PAPER (Ohio) June 28, 2012
“Sometime over the last couple of decades, Chris Robinson became one of America’s classic rock heroes… With only seven tracks, Big Moon Ritual packs a big wallop: None of the tracks on the album are under seven minutes in length and the mellow monster of an opener, “Tulsa Yesterday,” clocks in at just under 12 minutes.”
— Alex Biese, ASBURY PARK PRESS, June 26, 2012
“With some psychedelic touches, a pinch of funky groove and a dose of rock, these men have refined their sound over the last few years.”
— Sara Fazio, AQUARIAN WEEKLY (New Jersey), June 26, 2012
“Chris Robinson’s sound is like a pot of musical gumbo….dishes out Southern rock, psychedelic blues and folk twisted into a soulfully polished product. And he tops it all off with his signature howl — a unique powerhouse of a voice that’s effortlessly vintage.”
— TOLEDO CITY PAPER, June 12, 2012
“…Though each track on “Big Moon Ritual” is expansive, the songs are also tightly constructed, making for an engrossing sonic experience.”
— Robert Fulton, WASHINGTON EXAMINER (D.C.), July 4, 2012
“…carefree and freewheeling…create a sound that is warm and organic…they use each song as a platform for instrumental odysseys..a worthy adventure…”
–Timothy Finn, KANSAS CITY STAR, July 11, 2012 (live review)
“…If you like the Black Crowes, if you like the Grateful Dead, if you like the Allman Brothers, you will be rewarded…guitarist Neil Casal is one of the very few side men I’ve heard who is truly plugged into Garcia’s way of playing to the melody.”
— Matthew Shelter, RELIX.COM, June 28, 2012 (live review)
Here are the in-progress tour dates for the CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD:
Fri 7/13 Denver, CO Cervantes Masterpiece
Sat 7/14 Alta, WY Targhee Fest
Sun 7/15 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Wed 7/18 Crystal Bay, NV Crystal Bay Club
Thu 7/19 Chico, CA Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Fri 7/20 Santa Barbara, CA Lobero Theatre
Sat 7/21 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriets
Sat 8/11 Tulsa, OK Cain’s
Sun 8/12 Wichita, KS Cotillion Ballroom
Tue 8/14 Little Rock, AR Revolution Music Room
Thu 8/16 Chattanooga, TN Track 29
Fri 8/17 Memphis, TN New Daisy Theater
Sat 8/18 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Sun 8/19 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre
Tue 8/21 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
Thu 8/23 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
Fri 8/24 Bearsville, NY Bearsville Theatre
Sat 8/25 Amagansett, NY Stephen Talkhouse
Sun 8/26 Amagansett, NY Stephen Talkhouse
Thu 10/18 Live Oak, FL Magnolia Festival
www.chrisrobinsonbrotherhood.com
Bio and press releases here:
http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/the-chris-robinson-brotherhood/
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