The Bramblemen

In 2005 Rich Bloom began writing a film treatment. He then decided to write some songs for the soundtrack. The movie is still a work-in-progress, however the Bramblemen were born as a result. He enlisted his old friend and band mate Ed Watkins to play drums. Ed brought in Michael Bodycomb to play bass and Rich would sing, play guitar and provide the material. In 2005 they recorded five original Rich Bloom compositions (two can be heard here, "Weekend Fever," and "Long Gone Man.") at Hi-Top Productions in Stamford CT. Owner Steve Hansen engineered and provided guitar, organ, dobro and harmonica parts. In 2006 Rich re-connected with another old band mate, Harley Fine. Fine had established himself as one of NYC's leading independent producers and was just launching his new recording/production facility: Zeroville Studios in Long Island City. With Fine producing, The Bramblemen recorded two new Rich Bloom songs, "Drag Strip Rally," and "Long Road Back," both heard here. For these recordings, the group was augmented by Laura Fay Lewis (The Blisstones) on background vocals and Mark Bickerton on lead guitar. In addition to playing bass, Michael Bodycomb provided the keyboard parts. Ed Watkins contributed very cool percussion embellishments along with his drum parts. Rich played guitar, sang lead and backgrounds and Harley rang the bells. The Bramblemen have issued these two songs as their first single release. Finally Evan Mazunik has been added to the lineup on keyboards.