When it's got that sound...it's Shower-Tone!
Shower-Tone Records is thrilled to announce the release of "Last Fool Here" -- the debut album by
J.P. McDermott and Western Bop.
(click here for info on how to buy it!)
Critical praise for "Last Fool Here"
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL THE REVIEWS!
"Masters of red-hot rockabilly and rowdy honky-tonk"
~ Richard Harrington, The Washington Post
"Five Stars -- Recommended!"
~ Uncle B, BlackCat Rockabilly
"The local king of old-fashioned rockabilly and roll. I've heard the new album and it rocks! ...a masterful collection of rockabilly five years in the making and worth the wait."
~
Joel Sparks, OnTap Magazine
(Click
here for Joel's review of the highly unusual and very cool CD
release party)
"Hot damn diggety dog! Is there anything better than a rockabilly boogie to make a person smile and shake? Heck, no - especially when it's J.P. McDERMOTT AND WESTERN BOP that are ripping it up."
~ Dave Nuttycombe, Washington CityPaper
"There are very few artists in the Washington area playing classic Buddy Holly-inspired honky tonk and rockabilly and, for our money, none do it better than J.P. McDermott and Western Bop."
~ Fritz Hahn, The Washington Post
-
You can pick it up On-line at your favorite spot:
-
You can buy it by the song at
-
It's even in actual physical stores like:
-
The House of Musical Traditions, Takoma Park, MD
-
Joe's Record Paradise, Rockville, MD
-
Borders Books & Music, Silver Spring, MD
-
WestSide Café, Frederick, MD
-
Pick up a copy (or two) today!
Click here to get to CDBaby (and listen to 2 minute samples of all songs):
or
Also available by the slice at iTunes!
J.P. & the band are available for radio call-ins and other promotional events. Please contact us for more info!
J.P. McDermott & Western Bop | Contacts: | PO Box 8116 |
Last Fool Here, the first album from J.P. McDermott & Western Bop, is a sit-up-and-take-notice collection of red-hot rockabilly and vintage honky tonk from a singer who can really sing, with a band that can really rock.
A
Fool’s Paradise
Perhaps
it was foolish to wait and worry as the studio tracked down some of
the last reel-to-reel tape ever manufactured in order to finish the
mixing of their debut release, Last
Fool Here, but what
J.P. McDermott and Western Bop have found in their fool’s
paradise is real rockabilly: the straight-up, genuine article, and
their CD delivers it with authenticity and authority.Any doubts are
cast aside by the very first track -- My
Damn Baby is
a raucous, rocking original number --
this is going to be a ball! McDermott teams up with veteran
Washington DC rockabilly guitarist Bob Newscaster (Tex Rubinowitz,
Billy Hancock) on several originals including the high energy rocker, Go
Cat, Go! and
the Tex-Mex flavored Lucky
Stars.
One of McDermott’s own, Not
Enough of You,
takes a straight-forward ballad, and builds it up to an exhilarating
finish, thanks to J.P.’s soaring vocals. Another of
McDermott's songs, Last
Fool Here,
closes the record. A last call waltz, it summons up the lonely
feeling that hits "when they turn off the jukebox, and they put
up all the chairs".
Despite
the passion and enthusiasm J.P. McDermott brings to these memorable
songs, he could be considered the “last fool here” in that
title song because nobody records this way anymore; most music today
is direct to the hard drive with digital mixing and editing. But Last
Fool Here
was made the old-fashioned way -- on magnetic tape using aging analog
equipment -- more dependent on vacuum tubes than computer chips.
Many of the tracks were recorded with the entire band playing live,
all in the one room -- it's a pain to mix, but there is no better way
to capture the exhilarating raw feeling of live music. But this
isn't mimicking the old process for some sort of history project --
what comes across is not an academic exercise, but a celebration of
heartfelt honky tonk tunes and the thrill of rip-roaring rockabilly.
In
addition to originals, the collection has plenty of well-chosen
covers. A particularly fine rendition of Johnny Cash’s Cry
Cry Cry features
an authoritative guitar solo from J.P. along with his solid
vocals. It’s not surprising that McDermott was named
Country Vocalist of the Year by the Washington Area Music
Association. After listening to him on the Harlan Howard
classic, Heartaches
for a Dime,
it’s clear that this band is fronted by an impassioned and
powerful singer who does more than just energize the rockers.
J.P. possesses the tone and control to deliver what the Washington
Post has called "honky tonk the way it should be".
It might seem foolish for J.P. to sweat it out to capture the vibrancy and purity of a good strong rockabilly song like That Ain't Nothin' But Right , but he beams with pride when local critics call him “the keeper of the rockabilly flame.” The Washington area has always been a welcome home for roots music, and J.P. likes to tell the story of the Buddy Holly song, Blue Days, Black Nights. Buddy used to fib that the song was a big hit in Washington, DC(it was so far from Lubbock, TX, how would anyone be the wiser?) but the record never actually got much play. Here, J.P. McDermott gives the song new life, turning out the classic rockabilly sound with sparkling simplicity. Buddy Holly got the western and bop rocking and now it is J.P McDermott’s turn to keep it rolling.