New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The power and mystery of Coyote Motel's incendiary, soulful live performances is captured on album for the first time on the new Still Among the Living, an eight-song collection recorded during the band's only 2020 concert, at Nashville's 5 Spot. The set list runs from the riveting title track, an autobiographical song about surviving abuse, to the Mississippi ghost story "The River," to "Homegoing," which features vocalist Luella Melissa Mathes and draws from the deepest wells of tradition, to an explosive, sonically allusive jam on the blues classic "Tin Pan Alley," featuring guest Nashville guitar legend Stan Lassiter. The album will be released on November 20, 2020.
Still Among the Living follows the band's two heralded 2019 releases, the electric album Coyote Motel and the acoustic EP Learn to Love the Moon.
Music journalist Keith A.
Gordon has described Coyote Motel as "a near-perfect fusion of blues, country, rock, and folkish elements that shouldn't work but instead sounds like Ted Drozdowski invented the entire Americana genre." And Elmore's
Peter Lindlbad says, "Ted Drozdowski is one of the most imaginative guitarists currently exploring the outer reaches of cosmic roots music. [He has] inventive guitar chops, deep respect for the blues and an off-kilter artistic vision that's delightfully mad, but also completely organic." And Anthony DeCurtis, in Coyote Motel's liner notes, observed that Ted is "a virtuoso who soars, but never shows off. Why would that be necessary? When you possess talent as strong as his, your only duty is to express it honestly."
That honesty is one of the qualities that shines through the new Still Among the Living's stories and songs, which capture Coyote Motel's authentic, unvarnished approach—with each concert being an entirely unique creative experience. For selected shows, that includes the addition of the Darling Lucifer lightshow and the dancers of Suspended Gravity Circus. Besides Drozdowski, the band's members are bassist Sean Zywick, drummer Kyra Curenton, vocalist and guitarist Luella Melissa Mathes and percussionist Laurie Hoffma. Together they distill a diverse array of influences that includes Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Son House, Pink Floyd, R.L. Burnside,
Junior Kimbrough,
Jessie Mae Hemphill,
Tom Waits and
Sonny Sharrock—all audible as part of the foundation of Coyote Motel's reservoir of sound and spirit.
"Like many artists, we had a busy schedule of concert and festival dates just starting to take off as the shutdown began," says Drozdowski. "Thankfully, we had recorded this show, so, with Still Among the Living, we can at least say hello in sound and share a musical hug with all the fans and friends we were so looking forward to seeing this year."
In addition to the 5 Spot recordings, Still Among the Living includes a live-in-the-studio version of "Josh Gibson," one of the album's two songs about social justice, that was cut and filmed for Monkey Riot Recordings and can be viewed on YouTube.
Still Among the Living, released by Dolly Sez Woof, a label named by Ted's dog, will be primarily available on all major digital platforms along with a limited CD pressing.
