New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ haberdasheryinfo.com) - Impressive Pedigree (Including Dylan, Phish, Keith Richards, Widespread Panic, Spin Doctors, Hank Williams Jr and Sun Ra Alum,) Drives Spirited Rock Album by Ewing. From Brutal Childhood to Drunken Crackhead to Triumph in Recovery, a Gut-Wrenching Journey.
Country Guitars to R&B Trumpet - Within the Same Song - as 'Single Room Saloon' Delivers Eclectic, Confident Mix
Indie rocker Sherman Ewing has assembled a notable community of musicians - including Bob Dylan, Phish, Keith Richards, Widespread Panic, Spin Doctors, Sun Ra and Hank Williams, Jr alum - for his upcoming album 'Single Room Saloon.' On the 10-song collection, set for digital release January 11th and for brick-and-mortar release in Spring 2011, Ewing evokes John Hiatt, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, The Beatles and others with his upbeat and eclectic mix of country, rock, pop and singer-songwriter tracks...Surprises abound, as Ewing opens songs (such as the boisterous, wry 'Heaven Waits',) with country guitars and then unabashedly shifts to soulful trumpet, delivers dreamy harmonies on 'Flatland', and crafts killer hooks on tracks such as 'Grey Skies Blue'. Ewing's processed vocals and understated, tense grooves drive the title track to its trumpet crescendo, and on the anthemic 'Walk On,' he reflects on the night of his mother's death. Ewing is a winning storyteller, and his down-home lyrics have an inviting quality that draw the listener in. Listen to a streaming sampler, here:
https://www.sethcohenpr.com/player/shermanewing/
The album is Ewing's commentary on his life's journey from trauma to triumph, and his observations into what he observes as a world gone crazy. Devastation...Tenacity...The will to survive under brutal circumstances...A battle for personal salvation - these themes resonate for Ewing. In addition to being shipped to an English Boarding school, against his will, at the ripe age of ten, he recalls the following as a backdrop for the album: 'having been brought up in Christian Science family and all that entailed...virtually no medical care; childhood trips to the dentist where drilling was done without anesthesia; witnessing the excruciating death of both parents, who chose prayer over medicine in their losing fights with cancer; a personal battle with drugs that took me to the streets, and finally rediscovering my own spiritual path through recovery.' In fact, addiction and recovery are addressed in the title track and in 'Happiness', respectively. In 'Heaven Waits', Ewing jabs at our superficial world and finds dark humor in the concept of living simply in order to die and reach heaven. 'Flatland' imagines children as our soldiers...
'Single Room Saloon' was produced by Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed, Aerosmith,) and contributors include Jojo Hermann of Widespread Panic, Dylan/Keith Richards drummer George Recile, Dylan bassist/Musical Director Tony Garnier, Phish lyricist/keyboardist Tom Marshall, the renowned Ivan Neville, NY rock guitarist Zak Soulam, trumpeter Michael Ray (Sun Ra, Kool and the Gang,) guitarist Jimbo Walsh and Ewing's core band, which features guitarist Anthony Krizan (formerly of Spin Doctors,) keyboardist Rob Clores, and the rhythm section of John and Kevin Hummel. Sherman Ewing wrote or co-wrote all tracks, and performs vocals and guitars.
More about Sherman Ewing:
Sherman Ewing's diverse music can be traced back to his native Minnesota, a virtual rock and roll holy land of the Mid-West, home to such wide ranging musical progeny as Bob Dylan, Prince, and Paul Westerberg. But his sound also suggests the gritty, street-wise New Yorker he's been for the past 17 years. Like the unrefined and direct sounds of his fellow Minnesotans The Replacements and Husker Du, Ewing was also influenced by England's punk music. Sherman experienced this first-hand after being sent to a boarding school in England during the birth and peak of the Punk movement.
Ewing returned to the States and later attended Columbia University where he met John 'Jojo' Hermann of Widespread Panic. The two classmates played together in Sherman and the Bureaucrats. Ewing continued to develop his sound playing with various New York bands throughout the '90s.
Then, in 2002, Sherman launched his solo career and teamed up with producer Godfrey Diamond - Ewing and Diamond's collaborative chemistry was immediate, and the two began to write and record songs.
Their first album, 'Bluemoon', was a rock/pop launching pad, and in the years since its release, Sherman has been touring the U.S. on a regular basis, including several opening stints for his friend Jojo Hermann.
'Single Room Saloon' marks a dynamic step forward in Ewing's maturity as a songsmith, and delivers his most personal writing-to-date.
