NEW YORK (Messenger Records) - American songwriter Chris Whitley is currently recording his next full-length album for Messenger Records in upstate New York. The album is produced by legendary Grammy-winner Malcolm Burn, who last worked with Chris on Whitley's much-heralded debut, 1991's Living With the Law.
The as yet untitled disc follows two previous internet-only CDs, War Crimes Blues and Weed, which will be made available in stores this September. Those two solo acoustic albums are starkly poetic and from-the-hip. War Crime Blues is a mesmerizing recording of 8 original songs and 3 covers of songs by Lou Reed, The Clash, and the jazz standard "Nature Boy." Weed is a set of vivid home recordings that recast some of Whitley's best songs in a solo light.
The new disc, by contrast, will be a full-band affair featuring Matthias Macht and Heiko Schramm, the same musicians who performed on Chris' 2003 album Hotel Vast Horizon. No release date has been set.
Chris will be touring North America this fall. Current dates include:
7.14.04 Ottawa, ON Cisco Systems Bluesfest
7.16.04 Toronto, ON Cisco Systems Toronto Bluesfest
7.20.04 New York, NY South Street Seaport
9.15.04 New York, NY Knitting Factory
9.16.04 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
9.17.04 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
9.22.04 Ottawa, ON Rainbow Bistro
9.23.04 Toronto, ON Hugh's Room
9.28.04 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
9.30.04 Ferndale, MI Magic Bag
10.02.04 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music
10.06.04 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
10.07.04 Iowa City, IA The Mill
10.08.04 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
10.09.04 Denver, CO Lion's Lair
10.11.04 Park City, UT Club Suede
10.14.04 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
10.19.04 Palmer, AK Vagabond Blues
10.20.04 Anchorage, AK Snow Good Theatre
10.23.04 San Francisco, CA 12 Galaxies
10.29.04 Los Angeles, CA Viper Room
11.06.04 Houston, TX Rhythm Room
11.19.04 Lake Worth, FL Bamboo Room
11.20.04 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Riverwalk Blues & Music Fest