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Preacher Boy Biography It’s been quite a journey for Preacher Boy… The beginning… His musical debut was on Blind Pig Records (Preacher Boy And The National Blues), and upon its release he was immediately hailed as an "alt-blues wunderkind." He cemented that reputation with his second album (Gutters And Pews), also on Blind Pig. Both were widely heralded for their songwriting and profound originality, and are featured in The Rolling Stone Jazz And Blues Album Guide. A sea change beckons… After two years of performing across the US, Preacher Boy left for the UK and Europe, and began to tour regularly overseas. An accompanying EP (The Tenderloin EP) was jointly released by Blind Pig and Manchester, England-based independent Wah Tup Records. The experimental years… Preacher Boy opted to leave Blind Pig and sign with Wah Tup. He then released his notably experimental third full-length album (Crow). Absent were the ragtime free-for-alls, the slide guitar workouts, and the twistedly colloquial narratives. In their places came powerful and atmospheric songs that transcended anything resembling traditional musical genre, with deeply intense lyrics, sophisticated instrumentation, and a sweeping encapsulation of influences. Uniting it all was the fiercely evocative howl of Preacher Boy’s vocals. Unanimous praise for the disc came from Mojo, Melody Maker, and other pop music publications recognizing Preacher Boy as "A songwriter of startling originality." The Eagle-Eye connection… Multi-platinum artist Eagle-Eye Cherry heard Crow, and shortly thereafter Preacher Boy began touring solo acoustic as his support act, and regularly sitting in during Eagle-Eye’s sets each night. The pair also began writing together, and have since collaborated on Eagle-Eye’s second and third albums (Present/Future and Sub Rosa), including co-writing and recording the international hit "Long Way Around" with famed producer Rick Rubin. Both artists have clearly inspired each other’s work, and that influence can be felt on Preacher Boy’s fourth album (The Devil’s Buttermilk), on which he put to good use a new-found subtlety and melodicism in his voice and his writing. Although songs like "A Golden Thimble" still rang with the sound of Preacher Boy’s haunted urban delta blues, there were also tender folk gems like "She Says," mournfully narcotic ballads like "(I Woke Up With A Broken Heart) This Morning," and nocturnal torch songs like "It’s Cold Tonight." The Phoenix New Times hailed the album as "A tour-de-force from a devilishly talented performer and writer." The album was released by Los Angeles-based independent Manifesto Records. Bringing it all back home… Demanding To Be Next is Preacher Boy's fifth full-length album. It is an entirely solo acoustic offering, and features Preacher Boy singing and playing only his trusted 1936 National Steel Guitar, 1938 Martin OO18-G nylon-string, and Martin D-16 steel-string. Featuring 13 songs, the album is the purest, rawest, most intimate work Preacher Boy has ever released, and is sure to go down as a classic in his catalogue. Songs like "A Little Better When It Rains" and "Cemetery Stout" blend tender finger-picking and the ache of brass slide on National with a classic sense of lyrical storytelling, while "My Gold Canoe" has the bittersweetly alcoholic lilt of a pub ballad being sung at closing time. "Comin’ Up Aces" is rife with minor-key slide moans and howling vocals, while "Rock Skipper" is a beautifully sung and finger-picked folk lament. And long-time fans of Preacher Boy’s impassioned live shows will be happy to know that he has finally committed his unrivaled version of the Son House classic "Death Letter" to disc. With this album, Preacher Boy has made an unmistakably clear and direct statement about his musical values. The future… For the release of Demanding To Be Next, the unfailingly independent-minded Preacher Boy launched his own label, Coast Road Records, which is distributed by Redeye Distribution. The album was then released April 6, 2004, and has since been supported by multiple solo acoustic tours, including a two weeks stint opening for the legendary Charlie Musselwhite. In addition, Preacher Boy was featured on the Queer Eye For The Straight Guy soundtrack album on Capitol Records, providing vocals for the Prophet Omega track "An Area Big Enough To Do It In." The album also features The Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Fischerspooner, Duran Duran, Elton John, and more. As Preacher Boy continues to redefine himself as a writer and performer, Demanding To Be Next marks a profound milestone in this gifted artist's career. Never before has it been so clear that Preacher Boy is a singularly original artist whose time is now. | ||
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Other artists in the Preacher Boy 'hood Vernon Tonges Jason Roebke Ellen Rosner | |||
Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |||
| 2004-11-14 (1384 days) | Dayna Malow | ||
| Preacher Boy | |||
| Lindsey Dawn | |||
