Thursday, February 14, 2008

Was (Not Was) Go "BOO!" With First New Album in 16 Years

Was (Not Was), the seminal, indestructible art-funk collective from Detroit have just returned from 16 year hibernation. They are finally ready to ensnare the innocent with its snaky beats and brain-virus lyrics. The new album and Rykodisc debut, "BOO!" is set for release on April 8, 2008 in the U.S. / April 7, 2008 UK and worldwide.

In a quasi coma since 1992, when they opened a 4-month tour for Dire Straits (?) across Europe, Don and David Was are again ready to rumble and are planning an endless series of live dates accompanied by special guests and friends the boys have bonded with over the years.

Was (Not Was) will perform a special sneak-peak engagement on Valentine’s Day at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, with special guests Kris Kristofferson and Brian Wilson, and will also be hitting SXSW in March. Kris Kristofferson makes a guest appearance on the closing track of Boo! -- a swirling, psychedelic spoken word number, Green Pills in the Dresser.

With "BOO!" David Was (flute, harmonica, keys and vox) Don Was (bass, keyboards, percussion, programming, vox), Sweet Pea Atkinson (lead vocals) and Sir Henry Bowen (lead vocals) have created an album brewing with the unconventional lyrics and funk-driven R&B beats for which the band is known.

And, as is the Was (Not Was) way, a host of additional players join in on the party: Donald Ray Mitchell (lead vox), David McMurray (sax and horn arrangements), Randy Jacobs (guitar) Jamie Muhoberac (keyboards) and Luis Resto (keyboards), just to name a few. The album was produced by Don and David Was, engineered and mixed by Rik Pekkonen, Krish Sharma and Don Was.

Of course, that's not all the lads were up to all those years. Don Was stepped to the fore as a producer after working with Bonnie Raitt on the Grammy-winning Nick of Time, staying in constant demand for the next decade and working with everyone from, The Stones to Iggy to Kristofferson to the B52's to Elton John and Brian Wilson, to drop just a few names.

David Was went Hollywood and produced two soundtrack collections for the X-Filesand wound up scoring two network TV dramas. And together, Don and David produced the Grammy-winning Roy Orbison/k.d. lang duet of Crying as well as Bob Dylan's Under the Red Sky album. They also started a badminton club for ex-cons called the Birdie Men from Alcatraz, or so it was rumored.

The band reformed to play the Sundance Film Festival in the winter of 2004 and made a triumphal return to London's Jazz Café the following fall.

Was (Not Was) may have been napping, but they never stopped having nightmares! The results will soon storm the barricades of radio, concert halls and festivals 'til they are sent to their rooms to do more audio homework. Stay tuned. Don't drop out, not just yet!

BOO! The New Album
Tracklising -

01. Semi Interesting Week
02. It's A Miracle
03. Your Luck Won't Last
04. From The Head To The Heart
05. Big Black Hole
06. Needletooth
07. Forget Everything
08. Crazy Water
09. Mr. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
10. Green Pills In The Dresser (ft. Kris Kristofferson)

BLASTS FROM THE WAS (NOT WAS) PAST:

Shake Your Head (ft. Kim Basinger)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ruXryKPTA

Walk The Dinosaur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNRsIFKLDBk

Spy In The House Of Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8bZ3zf_4l0

Plus . . .

Was (Not Was) on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/wasnotwasfreaks

No comments: