The Dustbowl Revival Announce New Album; Premiere Video for “Honey I Love You”
Tara Joan
Posted On April 28, 2017
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Over the past few years, The Dustbowl Revival has been making a name for itself with a vibrant mix of vintage Americana sounds. Critics have proclaimed that this eclectic eight-piece “would have sounded utterly at home within the hallowed confines of Preservation Hall in New Orleans’ French Quarter” (Los Angeles Times) and their “upbeat, old-school, All-American sonic safaris exemplify everything shows should be: hot, spontaneous, engaging and, best of all, a pleasure to hear” (L.A. Weekly). Rob Sheffield, in Rolling Stone, hailed them as a great band “whose Americana swing was so fun I went back to see them again the next day.”
Their new eponymous album, due out on Signature Sounds on June 16, 2017, however, finds the Los Angeles-based ensemble evolving and refining its music. Their always-joyous sound now reveals a more soulful, funky side that exudes deeper emotions and taps a more modern vibe.
This exhilarating new sound jumps out on the album’s opening tracks, “Call My Name” and “If I You Could See Me Now.” Drummer Joshlyn Heffernan and bassist James Klopfleisch lay down a righteous groove that trumpeter Matt Rubin and trombonist Ulf Bjorlin supercharge with their big blasts of horns. This Stax-style soul builds to a pair of showstoppers: “Good Egg” and “The Story.” The former is a dynamic number that showcases Liz Beebe’s sexy, full-throttled vocals as well as Bjorlin’s dirty trombone solo). On “The Story,” Beebe teams with band founder Zach Lupetin for an emotionally charged love song that features some infectious interplay between the horn players and the string-men (mandolinist Daniel Mark and fiddler Connor Vance).
The album’s first single, “Busted,” also exemplifies the sonic leap taken by the band. Spotlighted by Beebe’s slinky jazz vocals, the song mixes traditional American music styles, like the blast of R&B horns and the in-the-pocket drums, with some inventive touches, such as a mandolin plucked like a hip-hop inspired piano, and the upright bass and fiddle played through wah-peddles. The group has said that recording “Busted” was like a door opening for them to create something familiar yet stylistically fresh.
Even the album’s more acoustic number, like “Debtors’ Prison” and “Got Over,” aren’t as old-timey as they might first appear. “Debtors’ Prison” initially suggests a throwback busker tune, but a closer listen reveals an all-too-contemporary ode with Lupetin singing about the struggles of trying to survive in today’s troubled economic times. Similarly, on “Get Over,” Lupetin delivers another modern-day portrait about a scuffed-up soul battling a whirl of problems who winds up “sitting on the kitchen floor … eating all the ice cream, 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.” Things get a little more optimistic on the sunnier, Bill Withers-inspired “Honey I Love You.” Featuring a guest spot by multi-Grammy-winner and fellow genre-bender Keb’ Mo’, this track serves up a timeless slice of sweet, silky soul music.
The evolution in the band’s sound has been very much an organic one. Since Signature Sounds released their last album, With a Lampshade On, the Dustbowl Revival has been out on the road, winning over audiences with their free-flowing, joyous live performances. After playing more than 200 shows a year during the last four years, the Dustbowl Revival came to realize that they had outgrown the confining label of a retro-minded band playing music from a bygone era and needed to move in new directions.
To help them achieve their adventurous musical vision, the band turned to the Grammy Award-winning producer Ted Hutt, who brought with him a background of working with a musically diverse set of acts. A founding member of Irish-American Celtic punk band Flogging Molly, Hutt has not only produced punk groups like Dropkick Murphys and the Bouncing Souls, but also the progressive acoustic outfit Old Crow Medicine Show (whose 2014 release Remedy earned Hutt the Grammy), Memphis Americana rockers Lucero and New York City roots troubadour Jesse Malin. With Hutt’s assistance, the Dustbowl Revival created what they have called “the tightest, funkiest thing we’ve ever attempted.”
2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the Dustbowl Revival’s formation. It was back in 2007 when Lupetin, a Midwestern transplant to Los Angeles, posted an ad in Craigslist in hopes of creating a group inspired by brass band and string band traditions. Over the years, the group has been an inclusive outfit that frequently shifted in size before solidifying in its current eight-piece lineup.
In 2008, Zach Lupetin and the Dustbowl Revival released their debut album, The Atomic Mushroom Cloud of Love. They followed up in 2010 with You Can’t Go Back to the Garden of Eden, which included “Dan’s Jam,” a song that won the Independent Music Awards’ “Americana Song of the Year.” The next year, the band, now known just as the Dustbowl Revival, put out Holy Ghost EP and their 2013 Carry Me Home CD featured more than 25 Dustbowl Revival-ists. That was also the year the L.A. Weekly crowned them the city’s “Best Live Band.”
The Dustbowl Revival found a bigger audience when Signature Sounds released With a Lampshade On in 2015. The video for “Never Had To Go,” starring band fan Dick Van Dyke, became an Internet sensation. The group went on to open for bands ranging from Lake Street Dive to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, while also appearing at such festivals as Delfest, Floydfest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and, more recently, Norway’s Bergenfest and
This new album reveals the band moving in an exciting new direction. Instead of Dixieland jazz and Depression-era folk songs serving as musical mile markers, this CD mines an energizing vein of soul, funk and roots-infused rock that evokes the work of Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin and classic Stax recordings, and fits the band alongside such contemporaries as Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and St. Paul & the Broken Bones.
No Depression is pleased to bring you the video for the warm, soulful track “Honey I Love You,” which presents an unconventional, yet charmingly sweet, look at finding that perfect person and a love that lasts a lifetime. A few of the band’s members spoke about the video, which you can enjoy in full above.
“’Honey I Love You’ took a new shape when we were in the studio rehearsing for this album. In working with Ted Hutt (our producer), we changed the groove and made it a lot more soulful, both in feel and execution. The change took my performance of the track to another level, allowing me to present a deeper emotional response. Zach’s an exceptional songwriter and the song has always been great to sing, but the band’s collaboration on the track really kicked it up a notch for me. Between Keb’ Mo’s guitar playing on this track and the changes we made internally, it makes it an exciting introduction to our new album!” – Liz Beebe (lead singer, ukulele, washboard)
“”Honey I Love You” was written when I first started falling for the gal I’m going to marry – it’s a love song about love songs really – I wanted to challenge the pessimist inside me to give into something sweet and good, even when you know it may break your heart. The introspective soul of Bill Withers and Al Green were definitely inspirations here.”
“I’m really happy with how ‘Honey I Love You’ turned out especially – what Keb’ Mo’ added totally brought it together – this sly and sweet electric-guitar bounce that only he could have played. We’ve been experimenting with merging these folk and soul rhythms together – I think the tune really needed that extra sparkle, with a rhythm glue underneath. We’ve admired Keb’ for years and met him down in Nashville last year – super happy he got to lay it down.
Liz and I really dig singing this one – it feels personal – and like much of this record, it’s more of a conversation more than a song – I’m saying we will screw this love affair up somehow – it won’t work out. And she says – but why not? What if there is a happy ending? I’ve seen both sides – falling in love and then knowing you’re in the wrong place with the wrong person. And then, the sweetness when it does work.
When we were searching for a video for this song we knew there were too many ways it could become stupid and syrupy – two people falling for each other, roaming around town. Director Jay Arcansalin submitted an unexpected twist to the love story – what if one of the people wasn’t even real? Like maybe falling in love in your imagination is the sweetest thing of all. He wanted to approach it more as a short film and that really spoke to us.
We shot over a few days—rolling around Venice Beach and other parts of LA with the lovely Janis Peebles as our heroine and “Sebastian” as her handsome plastic new love – and it’s kind of amazing what a good actor can do – bringing life and chemistry and palpable affection to each scene. People kind of looked at us like we were crazy out by the beach – shooting the bike scenes out of the back of my Subaru guerrilla-style. It felt like I was back in film school. We’ve never really done something like this before – and it was cool to see this bizarre little tale come to life.” – Zach Lupetin (lead singer, acoustic guitar)
Photo Courtesy: Talley Media
Tour dates:
Wed., April 26 PHILADELPHIA, PA Johnny Brendas
Thurs., April 27 WESTERLY, RI Knickerbocker Music Center
Fri., April 28 TURNERS FALLS Shea Theater
Sat., April 29 BALTIMORE, MD Charm City Folk and Bluegrass
Sun., April 30 ITHACA, NY The Haunt
Tues., May 2 SARANAC LAKE, NY Waterhole Music Lounge
Wed., May 3 S. BURLINGTON, VT Higher Ground Showcase Lounge
Thurs., May 4 FAIRFIELD, CT StageOne
Fri., May 5 PORTLAND, ME Port City Music Hall
Sat., May 6 ROCKLAND, ME The Historic Strand Theatre
Sun., May 7 EXETER, NH The Word Barn
Fri., May 12 SACRAMENTO, CA Harlow’s
Sat., May 13 VALLECITO, CA Twisted Oak Winery Concert Series
Fri., May 19 BUELLTON, CA Standing Sun Live in the Winery
Sat., May 20 SAN FRANCISCO, CA The Fillmore
Sat., May 27 DENVER, CO Denver Day of Rock
Tues., May 30 BELLINGHAM, WA The Green Frog Acoustic Tavern
Wed., May 31 VANCOUVER, BC Arts Club Theatre Company – Backstage Lounge
Thurs., June 1 SEATTLE, WA The Tractor Tavern
Fri., June 2 PORTLAND, OR Mississippi Studios
Sat., June 3 EUGENE, OR HiFi Music Lounge
Sun., June 4 FELTON, CA The Redwood Mountain Faire
Fri., June 9 NEDERLAND, CO The Caribou Room
Sat., June 10 PALISADE, CO The Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Festival
Sun., June 11 PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO Pagosa Folk ’n’ Bluegrass Festival
Tues., June 13 VAIL, CO Crazy Mountain Brewery Hot Summer Nights Concert Series
Sat., June 17 LOS ANGELES, CA Teragram Ballroom
Sun.,June 18 SAN DIEGO, CA Casbah
Mon., June 19 CLAREMONT, CA Scripps College
Wed., June 21 LASALLE, IL Uptown Grille
Thurs., June 22 EVANSTON / CHICAGO, IL Space
Fri., June 23 OWENSBORO, KY ROMP Fest
Sat., June 24 NASHVILLE, TN The Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party
Sun., June 25 JOHNSON CITY, TN The Down Home
Mon., June 26 COLUMBUS, OH Woodlands Tavern
Tues., June 27 CLEVELAND, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Thurs., June 29 ROCHESTER, NY Montage
Fri., June 30 NEW YORK, NY City Winery
Mon., July 3 PORTLAND, OR WaterFront Blues Festival
Wed., July 5 MINNEAPOLIS, MN TheDakota
Thurs., July 6 MADISON, WI The Edgewater
Fri., July 7 ANN ARBOR, MI The Ark
Sat., July 8 HARBOR SPRINGS, MI Blissfest
Wed., July 12 CINCINNATI, OH The Ballroom at the Taft Theatre
Fri., July 14 MOUNT SOLON, VA Red Wing Roots Music Festival
Sun., July 16 GREENFIELD, MA Green River Festival
Thurs., July 20 SQUAW VALLEY, CA Wanderlust Festival
Sat., July 22 SANTA MARIA, CA Presqu’ile Winery
Fri., July 28 CALGARY, AB Calgary Folk Fest
Sat., Aug. 5 LOS ANGELES, CA Mountain Gate Country Club
Thurs., Aug. 10 DENVER, CO Levitt Pavilion
Fri., Aug. 11 WILLITS, CA Uncle John’s Rendezvous
Sat., Aug. 12 DENVER, CO Levitt Pavilion
Tues., Aug. 15 RIDGEFIELD, CT Ballard Park
Wed., Aug. 16 WOODBRIDGE, NJ Music on Main Street
Thurs., Aug. 17 BOSTON, MA Brighton Music Hall
Fri., Aug. 18 PHILADELPHIA, PA World Café Live (Downstairs)
Sat., Aug. 19 COCKEYSVILLE, MD Oregon Ridge Park
Thurs., Aug. 24 TONDER, DENMARK Tonder Festival
Thurs., Sept. 7 SISTERS, OR Sisters Folk Fest
Tues., Sept. 12 COOS BAY, OR Music on the Bay
Sat., Sept. 16 MONTAUK, NY The Great Eastern Music Fest
Sun., Sept. 17 BRISTOL, TN Bristol Rhythm & Roots
Fri., Nov. 3 LOS ANGELES, CA York Manor in Highland Park
Wed., Nov. 8 ST. AUGUSTINE, FL St. Augustine Amphitheatre – Front Porch Stage
Thurs., Nov. 9 BROOKSVILLE, FL Riverhawk Festival
Fri., Jan. 5, 2018 TEMECULA, CA Old Town Temecula Community Theater
