NASHVILLE |FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/LATHUM NELSON
THE BOTTLE ROCKETS ARE BACK: RELEASING ‘BLUE SKY’ ALBUM OCTOBER 28 ON SANCTUARY RECORDS GROUP; BAND INVITED TO OPEN SHOWS FOR LUCINDA WILLIAMS IN ADVANCE OF THEIR OWN HEADLINING TOUR
The BOTTLE ROCKETS will release BLUE SKY, their first album of new material in four years, October 28 on Sanctuary Records Group. Co-produced by Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule) and renowned engineer Michael Barbiero (James Brown, John Lennon, Metallica), BLUE SKY marks the return of one of America’s most original and endearing bands. The Missouri-based group, who’ve been playing their own brand of folk, rock and country since 1993, will tour extensively in support of the album. After two shows opening for Lucinda Williams (Oct. 18-19 in Minneapolis), they’ll launch a headlining tour October 30 in St. Louis.
The 13 original songs on BLUE SKY were written by the BOTTLE ROCKETS–BRIAN HENNEMAN (guitar, lead vocals), ROBERT KEARNS (bass, vocals), MARK ORTMANN (drums)–with songwriting partner Scott Taylor while the group was on a break from the music business and the daily grind of the road. The group made acoustic demos of the songs that found their way into the hands of BOTTLE ROCKETS fan Haynes. In April 2003, Haynes and Barbiero invested their time and money to record the BOTTLE ROCKETS’ new songs at Water Music Studios in Hoboken, NJ.
The result: BLUE SKY, which combines the BOTTLE ROCKETS’ trademark electric guitar vibe with acoustic, slide, 12-string and gut-string guitars to create a distinctive rock-country-blues-pop meld with a strong lyrical sensibility. Songs on the album, which was anxiously picked up by Sanctuary Records, range from the rollicking “Man of Constant Anxiety” and the rough-hewn rocker “Pretty Little Angie” to the somber “Cross By The Highway.”
The group says the sentimental “Baggage Claim” was influenced by the uncertainty everyone shares in the post-9/11 world. The song’s chorus, draped in flowing slide and steel guitar tones, expresses that sense of insecurity: “Here at the baggage claim, so many faces are all the same/Lost in the luggage by the carousel, hard to tell if all is well/Here at the baggage claim, in a crowd of confusion I call her name/Just want to hear her say, that everything’s OK.”
Meanwhile, the title track is a short, snappy song that pays tribute to the perfect lover: “We can get together in any kind of weather and you can make it turn out nice/You always have succeeded in bringing what I needed for a child-like paradise.”
The critics have always embraced the BOTTLE ROCKETS. In the December ’97 Playboy, Robert Christgau said, “Because I prefer my music savory, I’ll root stubbornly for the Bottle Rockets.” The New York Times’ Jon Pareles said (1/28/95), “…they chisel each song down to the essentials, with memorable choruses and just the right details.” And Steve Pick of the St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote (1995): “The songs are rooted in the kind of country sung by John Prine, with occasional nods to pop or Neil Young. The lyrics are insightful, vicious, funny and clever.”
Initial confirmed dates for the BOTTLE ROCKETS tour are listed below. More will be announced soon. For further information, check out:
Date: City: Venue:
Sat 10/18 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue (with Lucinda Williams)
Sun 10/19 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue (with Lucinda Williams)
Thu 10/30 St. Louis, MO Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
Fri 10/31 St. Louis, MO Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
Sat 11/1 Columbia, MO Mojo’s
Wed 11/5 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom (w/ Drive By Truckers)
Thu 11/6 Philadelphia, PA NXNW
Fri 11/7 Park Slope, NY (Brooklyn) Southpaw
Sat 11/8 Allston, MA (Boston) Harper’s Ferry
Sun 11/9 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall
Tue 11/11 Toronto, ONT The 360
Wed 11/12 Wapakoneta, OH Route 33 Rhythm & Brews
Thu 11/13 Toledo, OH Fusion
Fri 11/14 Indianapolis, IN Birdy’s
Sat 11/15 Champaign, IL Highdive
Thu 11/20 Milwaukee, WI Point’s East Pub
Fri 11/21 Madison, WI Club Tavern
Sat 11/22 Chicago, IL Subterranean
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