The Joe Romeo and the Orange County Volunteers self-titled release is officially out this week. I realize this post could easily be filed in the shameless self promotion category, as I played lead guitar and helped with the arrangements and sounds for the sessions, in addition to supporting the songs as an Orange County Volunteer. However, the unmastered roughs have been in regular rotation at my house for nearly a year (hey, I've got to check my work!), and I'm still excited about the songs and performances. The music still sounds fresh and cohesive to me after numerous listens.
Joe gets a lot of comparisons to Springsteen and Hawks-era Dylan, and rightfully so, but my personal perspective on his music--and the way that I've always approached it--is that it is a combination of a mid to late 60's West Coast sound crossed with a New York raw simplicity. Essentially, I find it to be a nice marriage of Arthur Lee's Love and NYC's Television. I had a lot of fun recording with the great band--Rock Forbes on the drums, Alex Bowers on the keys, and Mitch Rothrock and Anthony Lener taking turns on the bass. The whole recording was tracked and mixed in 6 full days by the tasteful yet sonically sleazy Rick Miller (Southern Culture on the Skids) at my favorite local studio, Kudzu Ranch. Dave Harris from Studio B did the mastering.
Give it a listen on Joe's website.
