BTW: "We just wanted to make a great record, write a lot of songs," Hot Club singer-violinist Elana James tells P&P, "but also play some of the songs that inspired us, which is how we were able to include 'Someone to Watch Over Me' and Tom Waits. Whit (Smith) and I also experimented a little and came up with some stuff you might not normally associate with the band so far — the song 'One Step Closer' is definitely not our usual style, but we really love that one (it was mostly Whit's idea) and also 'Reunion' uses some musical ideas that might be a little more 'Hot Club' than 'Cowtown,' but it all felt natural to us."
Why so long between albums?
"The time between albums just reflects the natural passing of time for the band," she says. "We took some time away from each other for a couple of years and all did different projects. Whit started a different band' I did, too, and made a record and toured with Bob Dylan (in his band and with my own band)' Jake toured with Wayne Hancock and recorded with Kim Lenz.
"We still gravitated back toward each other, though, and found ourselves playing together again. Even once when we hadn't played together for a year, we had a show and we got together and ran a ton of songs and there they were — it was like brushing the dust off of what felt like a 2,000-year-old tomb and finding the colors are as vibrant as ever, in fact, even richer, somehow. And so here you have 'Wishful Thinking.' I think it's the best album we've made yet — it's darker and a little more ruminative, but there is a lot of joy."
(Sum Genius/Khepera/ Ingrooves/Universal, Aug. 18, 2009)
Sugar Red Drive
"Sugar Red Drive" (producer: former Pound member Pat Gasperini, father of drummer P.J. Gasperini; Hear here)
(Sugar Bear, Aug. 18, 2009)
BTW: "We all shared a common goal in wanting to make the best record possible, yet still maintaining our love for it," Sugar Red Drive guitarist Jim Kanuss tells P&P. "We wanted to write songs that we like."
Working with drummer P.J. Gasperini's father, producer Pat, proved to be a perfect fit, Knauss says.
"In my eyes, he's one of the best songwriters I've ever heard," Knauss says of Pat. "Extremely talented person. He just thinks of these little things on the fly that make you go 'holy cow.' "
"Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae" (15 new recordings of old classics; featuring Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Rita Marley, Dawn Penn, etc.; project was also made into a film documentary; Hear/read here)
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