Still keeping the blues alive, Joe Bonamassa is back with a brand-new single, ‘Notches’, from a new album, that’s due out later this year
‘Notches’, was co-written with Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke fame. The lyrics allude to Bonamassa’s tenured uphill battle with the music industry. Looking back, he reflected on his past.
“Twenty years ago, I recorded a record of covers that eventually was called Blues Deluxe. It was recorded at Bobby Nathan’s studio in Manhattan. It captured an energy and purpose that always stuck with me as an artist… The music business is tough, very tough. Especially back in those days when major labels pulled all the strings and, in my case, all the punches.”
Now, Bonamassa holds the reins of power of controlling both his artistry and his business in both hands. With 24 No.1 albums, yearly sold-out tours worldwide and custom annual cruises, he obviously knows his worth.
‘Notches’ was mixed by Bob Clearmountain (Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi) Recorded in New York City at Germano Studios/The Hit Factory. The band includes Steve Mackey (bass), Lachy Doley (piano), Bunna Lawrie (didgeridoo), Bobby Summerfield (percussion), Anton Fig (drums and percussion), along with Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Prinnie Stevens on backing vocals. Long-time collaborators Kevin Shirley was on board as producer and manager/business partner Roy Weisman executive producer. The single’s cover art was produced by Hugh Syme (Rush, Aerosmith, Whitesnake).
Bonamassa’s career began over 30 years ago, opening for B.B. King in 1989 when he was only 12 years old. Today, he is hailed worldwide as one of the greatest guitar players of his generation and an ever-evolving singer-songwriter with over 40 albums to date all under his own label, J&R Adventures. His most recent album, Now Serving: Royal Tea Live From The Ryman is available now here.
This month Bonamassa heads back out on tour for 42 shows across the USA, before taking the stage for his Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea VII cruise in February 2022.
In addition to his music and shows, Bonamassa cranks out weekly programming for his radio show Different Shades Of Blue for Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel. Last year, he kicked off a new at-home weekly video interview series Live From Nerdville, that currently has over 50 episodes aired on his – With a new episode each week, he’s chatted with Journey’s Neal Schon, both Daryl Hall and John Oates, Glenn Hughes, Kiss’s Paul Stanley, Toto’s Steve Lukather, Todd Rundgren, and Peter Frampton among others.
Last summer, Bonamassa, together with Weisman, launched a new record label, Keeping The Blues Alive Records, releasing Dion’s critically acclaimed latest album Blues With Friends, JoannaConnor’s 4801 South Indiana Avenue, that debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart, and most recently Joanne Shaw Taylor’s new single, ‘If That Ain’t A Reason’, ahead of her upcoming new studio album.
You can stream/buy ‘Notches’ by Joe Bonamassa by clicking here, and you can watch the official music video, directed by Paul van Kan, right here at RAMzine.
