John Statz
| Shows at the Purple Fiddle |
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John Statz recorded his new album with an all-star band in the middle of a Vermont ice storm.“We had to keep the stove burning the whole day, and then the electricity went out for ten minutes,” concedes Statz. “Luckily, we were just rehearsing.” John Statz will release Tulsa on March 10, 2015.
After years of DIY touring everywhere from Eastern Europe to Mexico, the Wisconsinite who now resides in Colorado fell in with fellow Midwesterner Jeffrey Foucault, a critically acclaimed songwriter and veteran of the americana circuit. A fan of Statz’s last album (2012’s Old Fashioned, produced by Bo Ramsey), Foucault offered to produce his next record while the two were on tour together in Colorado.
The resulting Tulsa is beautiful blend of soft americana and smooth folk with echoes of The Jayhawks and
Whiskeytown. “John writes songs you can’t shake,” says Foucault. “They follow you around all day and run
through your head at 3 a.m. Open hearted, horizon-line songs.”
“Jeff kicked my ass. He pushed me to crank out well-written songs,” continues Statz. “He’s such a great
songwriter himself and I felt like I had to step up my game. And then there is the absolutely amazing band…”
The band John speaks of features Billy Conway (Morphine) on drums, Mark Spencer (Son Volt) on electric
guitars and pedal steel, Jeremy Moses Curtis (Booker T) on bass, Jeffrey Foucault on guitars and vocals,
Caitlin Canty singing harmonies and Matt Lorenz on fiddle.
“Tulsa feels like how I was always supposed to make a record. Hunkered down for three days, living and eating
with the band, tracking live, all during the raging ‘Polar Vortex’.”