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  • Backdoor Man

    RADDIG-52

    Artist: Kicksville

    Label: Ropeadope Digital

    Backdoor Man
    We recorded this track simply because it was fun. Willie Dixon rocks, and this is one of his coolest bass lines ever. The lyrics are classic of course, and also beautifully dirty....

    The Music:
    Even though it's sitting on top of a house beat, I stuck to Willie's original bass line for the most part, and the slide guitar John plays is fairly close to the 1969 recording we used as the template. This song features Mookie Siegel (David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh & Friends), who was kind enough to haul in his big-ass B3 rig and lay down some righteous organ action.

    Citizens:
    Conrad St. Clair - bass, keys, percussion, programming
    Mike Stehr - percussion
    Mookie Siegel - B3, funky clav
    Chris Huntington - vocals
    John Ware - guitar

  • Southbound

    RADDIG-51

    Artist: Kicksville

    Label: Ropeadope

    Southbound
    This isn't a cover tune, but it does contain some bits "borrowed" from other artists. The main drum beat is loosely based on the beat from "Southbound Suarez" by Led Zeppelin, and some of the vocal snippets are lines from Captain Beefheart's song "Sam Was a Basket Case". As always, we re-created those bits ourselves and didn't use samples, so if you work for the RIAA don't get your panties in a bunch.

    The Music:
    This one is all about the drums - Tim Steele started playing the groove, and everything else just fell on top. It's a good example of composition by accident (in other words, smoke a shitload of pot and keep throwing ideas around until something fits).

    Citizens:
    Conrad St. Clair - keys, programming, vocal bits
    Mike Stehr - keys, programming, vocal bits
    Chris Huntington - guitar
    Tim Steele - drum kit, vocal bits

  • Tom Tom

    RADDIG-48

    Artist: JD73

    Label: Ropeadope

    1.TomTom

    Tom Tom is a very special track to me, not just because it's the closing track of my debut album Zeros and Ones; it contains what i consider to be one of the finest sax solos i've ever heard, played by my great and incredibly talented friend Jason Rae, who sadly is no longer with us. Jason's spirit clearly lives on through all the awesome music he recorded and the many great bands he was part of, including The Haggis Horns and Mark Ronsons' band, just to name a few.

    I remember the session very clearly for TomTom. Jason came down to my studio with no idea what i was going to ask him to play! I played him the instrumental of the track and remember asking him to play 'like he'd never played before!' The resulting solo was done in one take and on listening back to the track, neither of us could take in what had been played as it was so perfectly formed, building from a whisper to a frenzied crescendo! I feel this track is a very fitting musical tribute to Jason and i know everyone that hears it will agree how amazing the solo is and what an incredible talent Jason was.

    2.Waves

    This is one of the more jazzy cuts from the album, held together by the liquid drumming of Luke Flowers (Cinematic Orchesta/Haggis Horns).Im really proud of the drum sound on this track which was captured using just one mic and a vintage Urei compressor! My vision for this track was based on waves of water ebbing and flowing and trying to get that across to the listener! Its a peaceful yet funky track that takes the listener on a journey through different moods and feels. The Rhodes features as the main melodic instrument in this track and there are also a couple of solos in there as well for good measure and to take the track into a more ethereal dimension. The bass breakdown in the middle of the track has worked amazingly at recent JD73 gigs!

  • No Consequence

    RADDIG-53

    Artist: Japhy Ryder

    Label: Ropeadope

    file under: experimental indy-rock. Burlington Vermont has produced one or two great bands, but really none as forward thinking and beautiful as Japhy Ryder. i caught wind of them opening up for the roots (link) and was so blown away that i didn't even bother sticking around to see the main act. tortoise meets explosions in the sky meets the Chicago underground trio meets a total stranger in the alley with a knife, but the stranger doesn't want to kill you, she is forcing you to listen. and you do. and you hear breathtaking planes of atmospheric space, onslaughts of powerhouse rock, or heavy driving rhythms, a tight, unified voice. With a hard hitting rhythm section, riff heavy guitar, and ethereal trumpet, the group is continually bridging genres (think dub/afrobeat/jazz/hip-hop/rock) and surprising audiences (think “OMG, they sparked my crotch!”). no secret here, these guys have rocked clubs throughout the northeastern United States, playing over 150 shows a year, and now they are coming to get you.

  • Walking in Your Footsteps

    RADDIG-50

    Artist: Kicksville

    Label: Ropeadope

    The Police are a huge influence on most of us in Kicksville, both their music and their lyrical content. this song seemed like it would lend itself to getting a full Kicksville makeover (which it did), and also be a lot of fun to play (which it is). It's very difficult to write about politics or ethics and not come off like you're preaching- Walking in Your Footsteps is a great example of how to pull that off. It never says "you should do XXXX...", and on the surface it's actually kind of silly: "we have the distinction/ to laugh at our extinction..." Very Kicksville.

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