Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers, Hollywood, California. 22 April 2017.
Los Angeles based, Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers, releases their first studio album, “The EastWest Sessions”, on September 15, 2017, and its everything a rock/blues album should be…and more!
Multi-award winning, saxophonist, Mindi Abair, is a powerhouse of an artist in her own right but when she decided to enlist the talents of The Boneshakers, in 2015, they have become nothing short of a force to reckon with, and…then they decide to add legendary, blues guitarist, Joe Bonamassa, Grammy award winner, blues singer/songwriter, Fantastic Negrito…and…R&B vocalist and former member of “Was (Not Was)”, Sweetpea Atkinson to the recipe and the result is 11 tracks of dynamic marriage of rockin’ blues, that tips heavy on guitar, sax, quintessential blues vocals, subject matter and attitude. Which ironically means, it is a perfectly balanced concoction.
Mindi and The Boneshakers, recorded their first album in, 2015, which also happened to be their first live album during their first live performance. When you make a bold decision like that, you KNOW you have tremendous faith in the chemistry, talent and professionalism of your players. That chemical reaction shines through in “The EastWest Sessions”.
Mindi may be noted as an amazingly talented, saxophonist, but she also has a beautiful and powerful voice that lends itself to the blues flawlessly and part of the subject matter of this latest album is some of my favorite! Girl Power! I was an instant fan!
From “Vinyl” to “I Love to Play the Saxophone” this ass-kicking album is full of sassy and in-your-face lyrics and music. Whether it is an all instrumental or lyrical there is no sparing the rod with this one! Mindi called out all the stops and passion when it came to her music, band and featured performers.
How can you miss the mischievous placement of the surreal, Joe Bonamassa, on the track entitled, “Pretty Good for a Girl”? In my honest opinion, that is understood and “pretty good” is about as understated as it gets. If you separate the words from the music on this one, you find that Mindi, just puts it out there with attitude, grace and style. Kind of like telling someone to go to hell in such a way they look forward to the trip! Joe and Mindi play off each other in a musical battle of the wits and it is pure joy! I’m not exactly sure who won the war, but I am looking forward to future and repeated re-matches.
“Let Me Hear it from You” features the smooth vocals of Mr. Sweetpea Atkinson, who shakes things up by taking a classic rock and blues collection and transitioning it into the sounds of vintage R&B. I recently had the pleasure of seeing Mindi and the Boneshakers live for the first time, in which, Mr. Sweetpea joined them onstage for several songs. The stage presence of this gentleman is as stunning as his perfect voice and it is so much fun to watch him perform. Close your eyes and listen to the words and music and let it transport back to the 60s, in Detroit, and “The Motown Sound”.
Having listened to this marvelous compilation on repeat for quite some time now, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this is only their sophomore album but then again, it was (not was) recorded at the famed EastWest Studios in Hollywood and they only open their doors to the best-of-the-best. “The EastWest Sessions” is the best-of-the-best and should be in every music lovers’ collection!
Midi and the Boneshakers are currently touring throughout the United States and their tour schedule, preorders for “The EastWest Sessions” and breaking news can be found on social media and their website: www.mindiabair.com .
You can also find tour schedules and keep up with Fantastic Negrito, Sweetpea Atkinson and Joe Bonamassa on social media and their respective websites:
MINDI ABAIR AND THE BONESHAKERS
TOUR DATES 2017-2018
Link to dates online: http://www.mindiabair.com/tour/
2017:
Friday, November 10
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
Empress Theatre (Vallejo, CA): Tickets
Saturday, November 11
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers & Booker T. Jones
SF Jazz Center (San Francisco, CA): Tickets
Sunday, November 12
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa (Scottsdale, AZ): Tickets
Friday, November 17
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
Genesee Theatre (Waukegan, IL): Tickets
2018:
Tuesday, February 13
Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA): Tickets
Wednesday, February 14
Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA): Tickets
Thursday, February 15
Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA): Tickets
Friday, February 23
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
The Ritz Theatre (Jacksonville, FL): Tickets
Sunday, February 25
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
Capitol Theatre (Clearwater, FL): Tickets
Tuesday, February 27
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
The City Winery (Atlanta, GA): Tickets
Thursday, March 1
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
The City Winery (Nashville, TN): Tickets
Friday, March 23
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
The Tangier (Akron, OH): Tickets
Saturday, March 24
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers
Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (Pittsburgh, PA): Tickets
Mindi and the Boneshakers are:
Mindi Abair – Saxophone and Vocals
Randy Jacobs – Guitar and Vocals
Sweetpea Atkinson – Vocals
Rodney Lee – Keyboards
Derek Frank – Bass and Vocals
Third Richardson – Drums and Vocals
The EastWest Sessions Track List:
- Vinyl
- Not That Kind of Girl
- Play to Win
- Pretty Good for a Girl
- Let Me hear it from You
- Live my Life
- Freedom
- Had to Learn the Hard Way
- She Don’t Cry No More
- Done Me Wrong
- I Love to Play the Saxophone