Kurt Shanks & Ted Brown touring NZ to showcase new releases
Kurt Shanks and Ted Brown touring NZ to showcase new releases
Ted Brown and Kurt Shanks are partners in song this month, touring the country to jointly celebrate new recordings and releases.
Los Angeles-based Brown will be previewing songs from his second solo album “An Unwide Road”, and Shanks is celebrating the vinyl release of his acclaimed solo debut “Blood Line Heart”.
The pair will play together and solo, kicking off a run of 11 shows tonight (Wednesday November 15), as part of Greg Johnson’s 20th Anniversary Tour., as well as their own release show their own release show at Auckland’s Whiskey Bar (with The Bads) on Wednesday November 28.
The Greg Johnson tour takes in Hamilton (Nov 14th), Devonport (15th), New Plymouth (16th), Auckland (17th), Wellington (22nd), Tauranga (23rd), Matakana (25th), Waiheke (29th), Lyttleton (30th), Christchurch (Dec 1st) and Auckland again (2nd). Full dates and details at plus1.co.nz
Variously described as rock, folk, country and everything in between, both Shanks and Brown are looking forward to performing their songs as a duo, and leaving the musical categorisation to others.
Shanks’ “Blood Line Heart” album was initially released in August on CD and digital download.
To coincide with the tour and excellent album reviews (see below)- a limited edition vinyl record of 120 was pressed at Rainbo Records in Los Angeles, for release this month.
The LP features an extra track “Seven Flights Up”, is pressed on juicy black 180 gram vinyl, and will be officially released at the Whiskey show, and also available at the Greg Johnson shows and independent records stores.
Ted Brown’s new “An Unwide Road” is his second solo album after his highly praised “Shaky’s Blessing” debut. The album is produced by Wayne Bell and recorded at Roundhead in Auckland.
Brown has called Los Angeles home for the past decade, and loves being able to play to audiences in the States and his native New Zealand.
Says Ted: “I’m really looking forward to trying out the new tune on Kiwi crowds. The new album is available worldwide in January but local audiences will have the chance to purchase pre-release CDs at the show.”
What the critics have said…
Kurt Shanks
– Blood Line Heart
“Line him up alongside the
likes of You Am I, or the Hoodoo Gurus. “Blood Line
Heart” has an energy and tunefulness just begging to be
heard live.” Mike Alexander, Sunday Star
Times.
“An impressive solo debut from the former
Stellar* bassist… rises above the ruck thanks to quality
tunes and good lyrics.” Nick Ward, Nelson Mail, August
10 2012.
Ted Brown
“Understated mid-tempo
magic that's part country-rock, part singer-songwriter
balladry…frequently it's just plain pop-lovely - great
heart-on-sleeve tunes.” Russell Baillie, NZ Herald,
review of Ted Brown’s Shaky’s
Blessing
“Shaky’s Blessing’ an unassumingly
fine album” – Tony Parker, NZ
Musician
ENDS