Guitarist-singer Howard
Glazer’s new CD, “Stepchild of the Blues,” is the result of a successful mix of
the old and the new.
On the CD, Glazer performs
with several old friends. On the production end, it is his first recording
completed at his home studio.
“It is the first one I’ve
done all by myself,” said Glazer, who admitted to quite a learning curve as he
experimented with his new software. “I engineered it and mixed and produced it
myself.”
Because he had complete
control of the recording and mixing process, Glazer was able to get the exact
sounds he wanted.
A couple of his previous
recordings – “Brown Paper Bag” and “Liquor Store Legend” -- were done quickly.
“Especially ‘Liquor Store
Legend,’” he said. “That was done in a couple of sessions because we needed to
get it done on time before I went on a Scandinavian tour.
“On this one, I had a
little more time to think about how I wanted the songs to be presented.”
On “Stepchild of the Blues”
(which debuts at a CD release party on Saturday, Dec. 21 at the New Place
Lounge in Dearborn), Glazer chose to redo three songs from his prior CDs. The
first track, “Don’t Love You No More,” was on “Brown Paper Bag,” and he redid
the title track and “Gas Pump Blues” from the CD “Liquor Store Legend.”
“Gas Pump Blues,” which
features Glazer on resonator guitar, is one of two songs on the new CD recorded
with Harmonica Shah. Shah, who was honored by the Detroit Blues Society as a
Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2000, is one of several of Glazer’s former
musical partners who appear on the CD. Glazer played guitar in Shah’s band for
five years before they parted ways.
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| Harmonica Shah |
According to Glazer, both
of the songs with Harmonica Shah were recorded in one take. It was their first
recording together in 10 years.
“We’re closer friends now
than we used to be,” said Glazer, who will be performing with Shah as a duo at
Cliff Bell’s in Detroit on Dec. 29. “Everything is good with us.
“It’s fun to play with him.
He is really into Delta blues, which I love.”
Glazer’s current band
members, bassist Chris Brown and drummer Charles David Stuart, perform on the
new CD, as do several special guests.
Chuck Bartels, bassist
with R&B singer Bettye LaVette’s band, plays on three tracks. Glazer asked if
he was interested in participating, but Bartels was going on tour. Glazer
waited for him to return.
“He’s a good friend,”
Glazer said. “We played together in the mid to early ‘90s. He’s a really nice
guy and a great friend. I think the world of him as a person and a player.”
Organist Larry Marek, who lives
in Hawaii, was another major contributor to “Stepchild of the Blues.”
“I’ve been playing with
him off and on since we were going to Wayne State University and played in the
jazz band in the late ‘70s,” Glazer said. “It’s the first CD we’ve done
together, although we have played a lot together over the years.”
Vocalists Maggie McCabe
and Stephanie Johnson, who both performed on Glazer’s last CD, “Wired For Sound,"
return and sound fantastic.
The cover art was done by
another longtime friend, photographer Dennis Matea.
“It was a lot of fun,”
Glazer said. “Everyone who contributed to the record was a pleasure to work
with. Every last one of them had great vibes and great performances.
“Even when we took the band
photo for inside the CD (cover) at Maggie’s house, we had a really fun time.”
The camaraderie translates
on “Stepchild of the Blues,” Glazer’s fourth recording. He has also been
featured on two Harmonica Shah recordings, several by singer Sweet Claudette,
and Emanuel Young’s “Live In Detroit with
Howard Glazer And The EL 34s.”
Glazer recently dropped “The EL 34s”
from the band’s name, due to media and fan confusion. An EL 34 is a vacuum power
tube used in amplifiers, but non-musicians didn’t understand the reference.
“I
am happiest about this record of all of them I have done so far,” Glazer said. “I
was able to do it the way I wanted, as far as production, guitar and vocal
tones and drum sounds.
“I’m happy with the end
result.”
A CD release party for “Stepchild
of the Blues” (Lazy Brothers Records) will be held at 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21
at the New Place Lounge, 22723 Michigan Ave,
Dearborn. (313-277-3035). There’s no cover charge. For more information on Howard
Glazer, click howardglazer.com.
Peter
Green tribute
Rattlesnake
Shake, a side project of The Muggs and guitarist Brett Lucas (Bettye LaVette),
performs a tribute to Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac on Friday, Dec. 20 at
Cadieux Café in Detroit.
Admission
is $5.
Rattlesnake
Shake will be one of five bands performing at a party at Captain Jack’s
Lakefront Bar and Grill in St. Clair Shores on New Year’s Eve. Also on the bill
are the Jody Raffoul Band, The Detroit Daggers, The Muggs, and the Billy
Raffoul Band.
Rattlesnake
Shake is also on the bill at the two-day Anti-Freeze Blues Festival at the
Magic Bag on Jan. 3, 2014.
