GA-20, JD Simo
10/21/21
MOTR Pub, 1345 Main St, Cincinnati, OH
Free, 10pm, 21+
JD Simo… The Chicago-born, now Nashville transplant is like a one-man crusade dedicated to keeping music real, raw, and honest. No matter the setting and no matter his role (whether it’s wingman or bandleader) JD’s presence infuses the situation of the moment with the music that’s been fueling him pretty much his whole life, spiced with influences that straddle both decades and dimensions.
As a songwriter, guitarist, and producer he has worked with the likes of Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel, Luther Dickinson, Dave Cobb, Blackberry Smoke, and even been a member of Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh’ “Phil & Friends.”
Now he comes forth with his most unique, original and rawest effort yet, Mind Control, which drops November 5th 2021.During lockdown last year, he started cutting tracks in his makeshift studio on a weekly basis. Joined by longtime collaborator Adam Abrashoff on drums and the addition of longtime friend, bassist-producer-engineer Adam Bednarik (Justin Townes Earle), they mused a proverbial soup of shared influences.
Hill country trance blues of Junior Kimbrough, RL Burnside and Asie Payton. Hypnotic Afro Beat of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen. Psychedelic warps of Captain Beefheart, Funkadelic, and Jimi Hendrix. The old school blues of John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker and Lightnin Hopkins. As well as the raw fuzzy rock of The Stooges and Nirvana.
Mind Control is the product of three like-minded buddies huddled in a humble setting, making music to make them feel good. The songs stark revealing nature, is the product of them using the creative process for therapy and enjoyment. Because they simply had to, for no other reason than they couldn’t not! They love it too much. A positive theme of growth, self help and struggles with addiction and mental health lay along side a haunting, low down musical landscape. It’s raw, funky and real. Such is life.
JD Simo’s Mind Control will be available November 5th on limited vinyl, CD and digital/streaming formats via Crows Feet Records.
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Blues music is revered for its timelessness. The best blues – no matter how old – sounds as fresh and visceral today as it did when first recorded. The high-energy electric blues trio GA-20 – guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman – know this well. Since first forming in 2018, GA-20 has drawn inspiration for their primal, original music from late 1950s/early 1960s blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. They use rare and vintage gear (including at times the famed Gibson GA-20 amplifier for which the band is named), creating powerfully raw, driving music that is at once traditional and refreshingly modern. The band’s dynamic self-penned songs sound and feel as fresh and real as the old blues they love and perform, including songs by Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells and especially their favorite, Hound Dog Taylor. According to Stubbs, “Not enough people know just how cool Hound Dog Taylor was.”
Now, Colemine Records – working in partnership with Alligator Records – will release GA-20’s new full-length album, GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It…You Might Like It!, featuring 10 songs written or performed by the Chicago blues legend. From the fiery first single and album opener She’s Gone to the blistering Sadie to the all-time Hound Dog classic Give Me Back My Wig, GA-20 deliver one electrifying track after another. According to Stubbs, “We feel a strong connection to the unique setup of two guitars and drums with no bass, and we all have massive appreciation of Hound Dog’s raw and no-frills sound. It’s essentially what we try to do as a band.”
According to Colemine Records owner Terry Cole, Try It…You Might Like It! is a natural fit for both labels. “Teaming up with Alligator for this release feels like a perfect pairing! Alligator was created to give Hound Dog Taylor a home, and over the last 50 years, the label has established itself as a perennial winner in the blues world. With GA-20, we’re really excited about applying some of the old-school production techniques found on most of our soul records to the blues genre. Using just a few mics and recording live, all together in one room, is really what makes so many classic blues, soul, and R&B records so special!”
Alligator’s president Bruce Iglauer is thrilled to be working with the band. “GA-20 absolutely glory in the rough-edged, unvarnished Chicago blues of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. GA-20 are among the very few artists who have captured the band’s raw essence. Hound Dog would be proud that they are delivering his music so well. They rock the house!”
Matt Stubbs is a 12-year veteran (and still a member) of blues master Charlie Musselwhite’s touring band. He’s performed with James Cotton and John Hammond, among many others. Faherty played rock and metal guitar until he was bitten by the blues bug. The two met in Boston, and their mutual love of traditional electric blues, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll led them to write, perform and eventually record their modern vision of this life-altering music. Upon forming in 2018, GA-20 quickly began to draw a following, and the band soon signed with acclaimed soul/R&B label Colemine Records, releasing their debut, Lonely Soul, in 2019 to widespread critical and popular acclaim. The album premiered in the #2 position on the Billboard Blues Chart. Their EP Live Vol. 1 seemingly came out of nowhere to debut at #1 a year later. Medium.com declared, “This is the kind of music that travels through time while taking from the era where it was born and turning it into something fresh. Dirty and raw…timeless and modern.”
GA-20 hit the road hard, performing live at every opportunity, earning new fans at every club, concert hall and festival they played from coast to coast. Now with GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It…You Might Like It!, GA-20 unleashes this timeless, down and dirty music, making it breathe and live as forcefully today as it did back when Hound Dog Taylor was spitting fire. Alligator’s Iglauer says, “No one made a more wonderfully glorious racket than Hound Dog, Brewer Phillips and Ted Harvey.” GA-20 certainly comes close, as the racket made by Matt Stubbs, Pat Faherty and Tim Carman is also pretty damn glorious. “Ultimately,” says Stubbs, “we think Hound Dog fans and blues fans will love this record, and we’re proud to bring his sound to a new audience.” – Marc Lipkin
GA-20’s new album GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It…You Might Like It! will be available August 20th on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming formats via Karma Chief Records & Alligator Records. Click here to pre-order.
GA-20 & JD SIMO 2021/2022 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
[* GA-20 only]
[# JD Simo only]
Aug 14 3rd Street Music, Hamilton, OH *
Aug 19 Showboat Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ *
Aug 25 Live From RELIX Studio *
Sep 03 Blue Ocean Music Hall, Salisbury, MA *
Sep 28 Black Cat Washington, DC
Sep 10 Fall Feast, Durham, NC #
Sep 29 118 North, Wayne, PA
Sep 30 Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Oct 01 Bank of New Hampshire Stage, Concord, NH
Oct 02 Narrows Center For The Arts, Fall River, MA
Oct 03 Daryl’s House, Pawling, NY
Oct 05 The Linda WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, Albany, NY
Oct 06 Buffalo Iron Works, Buffalo, NY
Oct 07 Abilene, Rochester, NY
Oct 08 King Of Clubs, Syracuse, NY
Oct 09 Thunderbird Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 10 The King of Clubs, Columbus, OH
Oct 12 Grand Theater, Wausau, WI
Oct 13 Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI
Oct 14 The Washington, Burlington, IA
Oct 15 Jazz UpFront, Bloomington, IL
Oct 16 Martyrs’, Chicago, IL
Oct 17 Dakota, Minneapolis, MN
Oct 19 Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI
Oct 20 Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, Cleveland, OH
Oct 21 Motr Pub, Cincinnati, OH
Oct 22 Purple Fiddle, Thomas, WV *
Oct 23 HMAC Stage on Herr, Harrisburg, PA *
Oct 30 Weeks Bay Plantation, Fairhope, AL #
Nov 02 Knuckleheads Saloon, Kansas City, MO
Nov 04 Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
Nov 05 Chipper’s College Lanes, Fort Collins, CO
Nov 06 The Animas City Theatre, Durango, CO
Nov 07 Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM
Nov 09 191 Toole, Tucson, AZ
Nov 10 Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
Nov 11 Coach House Concert Hall, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Nov 12 The Siren, Morro Bay, CA
Nov 13 The Mint, Los Angeles, CA
Nov 14 Soda Bar, San Diego, CA
Nov 16 Felton Music Hall, Felton, CA
Nov 17 Cornerstone Craft Beer & Live Music, Berkeley, CA
Nov 18 Humboldt Brews, Arcata, CA
Nov 19 Wow Hall, Eugene, OR
Nov 20 The Jack London Revue, Portland, OR
Nov 21 The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
Nov 25 Blues On Whyte, Edmonton, AB, Canada *
Nov 26 & 27 TBA, Calgary, AB, Canada *
Dec 17 Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA *
Jan 07 City Winery, Nashville, TN
Jan 08 Revolution Music Room, Little Rock, AR
Jan 10 Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery, Oklahoma City, OK
Jan 11 Tulips FTW, Fort Worth, TX
Jan 12 Antone’s, Austin, TX
Jan 13 Sam’s Burger Joint, San Antonio, TX
Jan 14 Continental Club, Houston, TX
Jan 15 New Orleans, LA
Jan 18 Buddha Live, Ft. Myers FL
Jan 19 Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Jan 20 Tuffy’s, Sanford FL
Jan 21 Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
Jan 22 Union Hall, Lakeland, FL
Jan 23 Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, Ponte Vedra, FL
Jan 25 Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC
Jan 26 The Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh, NC
Jan 28 Grant’s Lounge, Macon, GA
Jan 29 Vinyl at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA
