Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers
Fresh off The Rolling Stones Zip Code Tour, which played 15 stadiums across the United States this summer, Karl Denson’s Fantastic Fall Tour is coming to a town near you. In anticipation of his upcoming release in early 2016, Karl and his band The Tiny Universe, embark on a Nationwide run that will give new and old fans the chance to experience what is highly regarded as one of the best live bands on the planet. Richmond guitarist DJ Williams, Soulive drummer Alan Evans, Greyboy Allstars bassist Chris Stillwell, Crush Effects David Veith on the keys, and Seattle’s Chris Littlefield on the trumpet along with a rotating cast of special guests including Chuck Leavell from The Rolling Stones & The Allman Brothers, guitar wiz Robert Randolph, Beto Martinez of Brownout and Sacred Steel phenom Roosevelt Collier.
Karl Denson’s most recent recorded work can be heard on the Tiny Universe LP, New Ammo. The collection showcases the grittier side of the band’s musical oeuvre, including stand outs like “My Baby” featuring singer Nicki Bluhm, ”Everybody Knows That” and his raucous rendition of The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” The album has received wide acclaim: All Music declared the effort, “easily their most musically adventurist album yet,” while DownBeat praised it as “music for both the party and for fans of instrumental prowess.”
Approaching two decades strong, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe is a prolific touring juggernaut that regularly performs over 150 shows annually. They’re currently working on material for a new studio album to be released later this year. Denson himself is an acclaimed and highly in-demand saxophonist and songwriter who first came to national attention as a member of Lenny Kravitz’s Let Love Rule-era group and is currently a member of The Rolling Stones touring band. ~ Official Fall Bio.
Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers
“Of course there’s subtext to all of these songs,” Tim says. “I probably shouldn’t admit that, because then it’s not really subtext.”
“It’s so comforting,” Nicki says, “when you feel all these emotions that you can’t even put your finger on, but then somebody says it in a song and it encapsulates that feeling that you had, it helps you navigate your life. It puts words to it. Tim’s songs have always done that for me. He’s able to lasso these huge concepts and put them into these perfect phrases. He’s inspired by so many things which is inspiring to me.” Tim-penned songs like “High Neck Lace” allow Nicki to articulate herself on a vast array of subjects, spanning aging, personal politics, intense psychological observation, the search for meaning, and the very mysteries of life itself.
Meanwhile, songs like “Mr. Saturday Night” see Nicki’s own songwriting prowess growing in melodic strength and lyrical candor, “really getting my insides on the outside in an uninhibited way.” Inspired by a photo of a cowgirl in rose covered regalia, her “Queen of the Rodeo” might well be the album’s emotional heart, a singular and slightly subconscious expression of her own amazing journey.
“In my head I was writing a character,” she says. “But listening back during pre-production I realized it was much more autobiographical than I had ever intended it to be. I got hit with, wow, I am totally talking about myself and I didn’t even know it. It’s all very metaphoric of course; it’s about working really hard and moving through obstacles and still maintaining your inner strength. Because it’s really hard – it’s hard to be a woman in this industry, it’s hard to be a woman on the road, it’s hard to be married to a band mate. I think that song was a way for me to release whatever I’d been holding because it came out a lot more personal than I thought.”
“There’s a blind spot that every songwriter has,” Tim says. “That’s one of the things I love about Nicki’s songs, there’s an innocence to her voice, her lyrical voice, that I definitely don’t have anymore.”
Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are now ready to kick start the cycle once more, with all the infinite roadwork and new experiences that entails. Loved Wild Lost reverberates with invention, passion, and spontaneity, but it is but a milestone on a band’s endless highway.
“As the story of The Gramblers unfolds I get new ideas about the directions it could go,” Tim says. “Every time you go around a corner there’s a new view that shows you something that you haven’t seen. It’s always changing and you have to respond to the feedback the world is giving you.”
“I can’t tell the future,” Nicki Bluhm says. “I just want us to stay open to whatever feels best.” ~ Officially Released Bio.
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