NASHVILLE |DATE: AUGUST 8, 2012
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN
DAVE STEWART
TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM
‘THE RINGMASTER GENERAL’
SEPTEMBER 4 IN THE U.S.
AND SEPTEMBER 3 IN EUROPE
DAVE STEWART holds a special place in his heart for Nashville. That’s where the legendary British singer, songwriter and guitarist has now recorded two albums: 2011’s critically praised The Blackbird Diaries and the forthcoming THE RINGMASTER GENERAL, set for release September 4 in the U.S. and September 3 in Europe via Weapons of Mass Entertainment/Surfdog. The album was produced by STEWART and Mike Bradford.
A potent and distinctive musical gumbo with rock, blues, country, rhythm & blues and psychedelia, THE RINGMASTER GENERAL was recorded and mixed by John McBride at the famed studio he owns with Martina McBride, Blackbird Studio. It features 13 new songs–including striking duets with Alison Krauss, Diane Birch and Joss Stone–as well as one sung with and co-written by Jessie Baylin. The blistering guitar skills of Orianthi are featured as well. As with The Blackbird Diaries, STEWART is backed by some of the finest musicians in Nashville including: guitarist Tom Bukovac, drummer Chad Cromwell, bassist Michael Rhodes, steel guitarist Dan Dugmore and Mike Rojas on piano. ***See STEWART’s cut-by-cut song description below.
Says STEWART: “Well to me Nashville has that electric music energy feeling that you get when you arrive in certain cities or towns like Kingston, Jamaica and Havana in Cuba, except Nashville also has the feeling of being in the heart of a huge country (which it is) and it feels kinda like coming home.”
He elaborates: “But it’s mainly about the people I work and play with there. I’ve been so fortunate as to have landed in the arms of the McBrides and becoming part of an extended family. John McBride and I share the same crazy passion for sound and all the guys in the band I record with (and the girls) are up for that wild adventure I like to bring in the studio. All the musicians know I’m going to do lots of different experiments in songwriting and performance and they also know that I don’t know what it’s gonna be yet so it makes for an interesting time, a white knuckle ride, and a wild party of sound.”
STEWART’s love for Nashville is captured in the documentary THE RINGMASTER GENERAL. The film will premiere at a VIP event Wednesday, August 22 VIP at Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre, with a limited number of general admission tickets to be made available to the public: www.belcourt.org. Each ticket includes a free limited edition vinyl copy of STEWART’s album THE RINGMASTER GENERAL.
THE RINGMASTER GENERAL documentary captures STEWART through the whirlwind recording process of two explosive albums. This tongue-in-cheek documentary follows STEWART’s adventures in songwriting, letting the viewer witness his eccentric but compelling methods of creativity. The days were filled with mayhem and martinis, while a circus of characters cross STEWART’s path; many muses appear to join in the fun including Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, Colbie Caillat, The Secret Sisters, Joss Stone, Stevie Nicks, Jessie Baylin, Diane Birch and Orianthi.
In other news, STEWART hit the road to open three shows for Sugarland in April and will do the same honors for as many shows in August (see dates below). Overseas, he will perform four shows throughout the U.K. They kick off September 3 with a special homecoming show at the Empire Theatre in STEWART’s Sunderland hometown and includes stops in Birmingham, Manchester and London. While in London, STEWART will host European press and media, screen his movie, and give a Songwriting Master Class for upcoming songwriters at www.thehospitalclub.com on September 6 where STEWART is Creative Director.
‘THE RINGMASTER GENERAL’
Cut By Cut
“I Got Love” (Featuring Joss Stone)
“This is a song about knowing you are loved by someone in the present but not able to break the ties from past hurt.”
“Just Another Fall” (Duet with Diane Birch)
“This song is about the disappointments coming one-by-one when a relationship crumbles.”
“A Different Man Now”
“I was writing about a specific person and how just by seeing their name on a poster triggered a whole series of memories.”
“Drowning In The Blues” (Duet with Alison Krauss)
“A love song to a stranger–someone to hold and comfort you or me in times of hopelessness.”
“Girl In A Catsuit”
“A song about the craziness of being a performing artist and the emotional circus it causes in your brain.”
“Slow Motion Addict No. 2”
“It’s basically a song about sex…”
“You Took My Love”
“This is a song about being a man and admitting that sometimes you want to cry your eyes out.”
“God Only Knows You Now” (Duet with Jessie Baylin)
“A song about someone who is so lost in a haze of emotional problems and drugs, etc. yet carries on performing on stage even though they can’t feel it anymore.”
The Ringmaster General”
“It’s a song where I’m looking at myself like a modern day medicine man or circus ringmaster. I was using Fellini imagery from movies La Strada and The Clowns, etc. I see my life like this.”
“Story Of Success”
“This is a song about the banality of the world we live in bombarded with random images and stories from all sorts of media the scramble our brain and how I’m running away from that.”
“A New Song For Nashville”
“This is a tongue-in-cheek song about me being in Nashville coming from the north east of England and being cheeky enough to write a country song, I imagined the cover of Dylan’s album Nashville Skyline while I was singing it.”
DAVE STEWART TOUR DATES IN THE U.S.:
DATE CITY VENUE
Thurs 8/23 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Fri 8/24 Memphis, TN Fedex Forum
Sat 8/25 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre
DAVE STEWART TOUR DATES IN THE U.K.:
DATE CITY VENUE
9/3 Sunderland Empire Theatre
9/4 Birmingham Symphony Hall
9/5 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
9/7 London Shepherds Bush Empire
About DAVE STEWART:
“An explosive musician, deft guitar player, innately recognizes the genius in other people and puts it into play without being manipulative.” – Bob Dylan
“Jack of All Trades Master of All of Them” – The Sunday Times
“He’s the musician’s musician.” – Rolling Stone
For a full bio on STEWART, click here: http://weaponsofme.com/employee/19/
http://www.facebook.com/davestewart
http://twitter.com/davestewart
http://www.youtube.com/user/DaveStewartOfficial
