2022 Summer News: New Record, Video, Productions and Tour Dates w Sarah Borges
Eric Ambel released You Asked For It: The Shut In Singles Series on Lakeside Lounge Records today. The release is accompanied by a video for Ambel’s interpretation of “Honky Tonk Women”. Mojo Nixon, who is playing the track on his SirusXM show, praised, “Finally – a honky tonk version of “Honky Tonk Women” – way to go Roscoe!” View the video here and listen to the album here.
When the COVID pandemic imposed an extended hiatus at Cowboy Technical Services, his 24-track analog/digital Brooklyn recording studio, veteran producer-guitarist songwriter Eric Ambel turned his attention to creating a series of new digital singles that found the versatile rocker exploring some challenging new musical territory, from the bare-wires groove of “From a Better Place” and the delinquent swagger of “It Ain’t Easy Being Cool” to Ambel’s memorable readings of classics by Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison and Creedence Clearwater Revival. This personally charged body of recordings now forms the basis of You Asked for It, Ambel’s latest release on his own Lakeside Lounge label.
“At the beginning of the pandemic,” Ambel explains, “while locked out of the studio and sheltering at home, I decided to release some tracks I had on hand through Bandcamp as the Shut In Singles Series. Between March of 2020 and April of 2021, I released 11 different tracks. Some were previously unreleased, others had been on various compilations that were long out of print. You Asked For It is all of those tracks, presented with their original artwork and notes, plus one more, a version of “Honky Tonk Women” that I recorded with my old friends Jimbo Mathus and Keith Christopher. I hope you enjoy it; after all, You Asked For It!” The album is available on CD with a 28 page booklet at the Store page.
Jimbo Mathus produced the recording and directed the video for Ambel’s unique arrangement of the Rolling Stones classic. Filmed in Taylor, Mississippi the video features Mathus, “Captain” Kirk Bowie Russel, John Kveen and Memphis songstress Amy LaVere as the band.
Ambel did not ride out the pandemic uploading tracks to Bandcamp from home. Known in the studio as “the live guy”, Ambel explains “the isolation necessitated a shift to a 70’s style overdub approach where the order of each person’s contribution becomes really important. That said, file sharing and studio-to-studio streaming software like AudioMovers were incredibly helpful.” In the last 2 years Ambel has produced albums for Ward Hayden & The Outliers Free Country, Emily Duff Razor Blade Smile, Esquela A Sign From God, The Year Of, Loud & Clear June Star frontman Andrew Grimm, A Little Heat in addition to working on records and tracks for The Sad Bastards of Brooklyn, Mary Lee’s Corvette, Jimbo Mathus, Marc Berger, Surreal McCoys frontman Erik V. Huey and Portland, Oregon songwriter Jerry Joseph.
Ambel will be touring this summer and fall with Sarah Borges as they promote her latest Roscoe produced record, Together Alone, released by Blue Corn Music. They will tour UK in November, dates are on the Gigs page with more to come as they are finalized.
