With a fresh take on both urban and country blues, Scrapomatic arrives with a convincing array of raw, outspoken and emotional tracks as they make their Landslide Records debut. ALLIGATOR LOVE CRY, the bands second CD release, demonstrates a solid foundation of potent blues, overlaid with a stunning mixture of jazz, sweet soul, highly charged vocals and a memorable taste of scat.
The new album, enriched with themes that reverberate from street to bayou, has songs that can rock you down to sleep or stand up and slap you blind. Produced by five-time Grammy award-winning producer John Snyder and recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, LA., ALLIGATOR LOVE CRY boasts an exuberant collection of powerful songs that explore the often-blurry heights and depths of everyday life and the inner workings of the soul. Eleven originals surround cover tunes by The Replacements (Goddamn Job) and a public domain sing-along (I Belong To The Band). The album kicks off with Louisiana Anna, a laconic tribute to the Southern bar scene (or is it?) by way of a booming tuba backing, while the searing Horsemeat nails the harsh reality of street life. Conversely, So Much Love shows affection personified and a great big heart. Other standout originals include Lotus, an intriguing take on eccentric Manhattanites, the slide guitar driven, humor-laced Aint Got The Smile, and the melancholy but cathartic Graveside Blues.
The release is bolstered by an accompaniment of a savvy group of artists. Highlighting the guest appearances is new EMI Manhattan artist Kristina Beaty (vocals, violin) whose fiddle work and vocal harmony shine on the wayward travel epic, The Long Way Home. Beaty also soars on lead vocal for her own composition, The Other Side. Other musicians featured include Jeff Lipstein (drums, percussion) formerly with And You Shall Know Them By the Trail of the Dead and rock-legend David Johansen; George Rush (electric and acoustic bass, tuba, and vocals), formerly with Dan Zanes, and on loan from country-rock outfit Hem; and Robert Campo (trumpet) who made his name as a sideman with blues institution Clarence Gatemouth Brown.
Hailing from Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and schooled individually in jazz, roots and blues music, Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen began playing together in the mid-1990s. After being recognized with Minnesota Music Award nominations for Best R&B Group and Best Male Vocalist, the duo decamped to Brooklyn, NY in 1997 and have since stomped their way through nearly every venue in the metropolitan New York area, including Carnegie Hall. In 2003, they recorded their self-titled debut album at Dockside with Snyder, which was released on his Artists House label. Chosen by the Boston Herald as one of its top ten hidden pearl releases of the year, the newspaper called it the perfect blues appetizer. The Savannah Morning News said Scrapomatic reaffirms that good music still has the power to feed the soul.
Aside from his Scrapomatic duties, Paul Olsen remains active in New York City as a bandleader and an ASCAP award-winning songwriter, for Transition from the duos first album. Mike Mattison joined The Derek Trucks Band in 2002 as its lead singer, and performs 125 dates annually with the renowned guitar virtuoso. SONGLINES, his first studio album with the group, was released on Columbia Records in February 2006 and garnered critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today among others. Mattison is also featured on the recent DVD release by the DTB, SONGLINES LIVE.
Scrapomatic will tour the country beginning in late September in support of ALLIGATOR LOVE CRY, which will be released nationally by Landslide Records on October 3, 2006.
