Spin Doctors guitarist/songwriter ERIC SCHENKMAN will now be releasing his self-produced third solo album, WHO SHOT JOHN?, January 11, 2019 via VizzTone Records. Originally set for release October 26, SCHENKMAN has recently joined forces with VizzTone Records, which prompted the change.
“I’m delighted to be releasing my new album on VizzTone,” ERIC SCHENKMAN says. “I like how Bob and Richard keep pushing good music forward. I’ve always got a foot in the blues!”
VizzTone label group president Richard Rosenblatt says, “We are thrilled to be releasing ERIC SCHENKMAN’s great new album. As soon as I heard the music I knew it would be a perfect fit for us, and I told him so in particularly emphatic terms. ERIC has been a member of the VizzTone family since we released the Godboogie album in 2017, and VizzTone partner Amy Brat has been an important part of the Spin Doctors’ publicity team in recent years, so I knew this was the right home for his powerful new music.”
WHO SHOT JOHN? showcases the many sides of ERIC SCHENKMAN from raw, rockin’ blues to funk/soul/pop. With its elemental lineup of guitar, bass and drums, and songs that seldom stray beyond three chords it’s radio-friendly and familiar enough to draw listeners in. After that, the complexities reveal themselves. The proof is in the beats, in the intimacy of those late nights on the stage and through every moment of WHO SHOT JOHN? It’s even expressed in the title track, an old American colloquialism meaning “cut the bullshit, let’s get real.”
Already performing a residency in his current hometown of Toronto every Wednesday at Grossman’s Tavern, SCHENKMAN perform with The Spin Doctors as part of their 30th anniversary show at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY on November 8, presented by Relix magazine. Tickets are now available here. More solo shows are currently in the works and will be posted online in the coming weeks.
SCHENKMAN’s unique artistry emerges in the exhilarating anarchy of “Agent Orange.” The sensuous rumba feel of “Fortune Teller.” The rock ’n soul infused love song “Only A Fool.” The Americana-tinged “Lincoln’s Feat.” The steady, pulsing grove of “Locked in the House.” And the hard-hitting rock of “No Pain.” Every track digs in deep and doesn’t let go, thanks to SCHENKMAN’s voice, commanding guitar and powerfully emotional lyrics.
WHO SHOT JOHN? is both classic and immediate. And, as SCHENKMAN would likely admit, it’s overdue. “I’ve been playing the Ontario blues circuit for about a decade,” he explains. “I have this long history as a guitarist in relationship to the blues up here in Canada. And I’ve been writing songs in a couple of different idioms. So WHO SHOT JOHN? comes from a convergence of my three worlds — vocals, guitar and songwriting. It’s about my life. Where I’m at now.”
As Vintage Guitar praises: “ERIC SCHENKMAN’s third solo album blends his ‘90s hit-making artistry with visceral axemanship, volatile rumble, and the blues. He delivers A+ Chicago blues vernacular with unfettered vocals and twisted narratives yielding gritty tales of tortured relationships.”
The new album kind of launched itself, beginning in December 2017, when SCHENKMAN went to visit Van Romaine in Newark. A bona fide groove master, Romaine plays drums with Enrique Iglesias and with the Steve Morse Band. Together they recorded the foundation for about half the songs on WHO SHOT JOHN?
The rest of the guitar/drum basics were nailed when SCHENKMAN asked another longtime pal, North Mississippi Allstars drummer Cody Dickinson, to play electric washboard on the title track. That session led to Dickinson playing drums on the rest of the tracks which were recorded at the Checkerboard Lounge just south of Memphis.
The next step was to invite Canadian blues veteran, Shawn Kellerman who plays with Lucky Peterson, to co-produce and play bass. As the production continued in Kitchener, New York and Los Angeles, it became clear SCHENKMAN accomplished what many have tried: each track crackles with the live energy he has cultivated for the last 30+ years on stage.
SCHENKMAN attributes this both to his choice of songs and to the caliber of his fellow musicians. “All of us are live players. These guys love to play live. You can feel that throughout the album.”
