‘We hired an Uileann pipes player with stellar credits for ‘Sleep’ and L.A. Phil string and French horn players for the coda to ‘Roy Wood’.’, say Glen Laughlin and Deborah Gee.  Whirligig! is The Cherry Bluestorms’ new record.

 

Photo-by-Megan-J-Carroll

 

 

Pure Pop Radio/Alan Haber writes:

The Los Angeles-based pop-rockers Deborah Gee and Glen Laughlin take the world stage with their most assured and accessible long player yet.

Mixing Rolling Stones affects from the Brian Jones era with other mid-sixties sounds, the Bluestorms deliver a smashing collection of songs sure to please. The rolling rocker “Heel to Toe,” sporting a most melodic, very catchy chorus is one such pearl; the flattering, rocky, Gee-sung portrait “Roy Wood,” which quotes the Stones rather cleverly and takes an unexpected turn at the end with a comforting, orchestrated coda is another.

 

Let’s add some Jefferson Airplane to that mix as well.

Check it out!

 

At what point, during writing, rehearsing, recording, did you know you were on to something special?

After Bad Penny Opera, we knew we wanted to release a collection of songs that were more representative of the band, particularly what we do live, and not a concept album.  Once we figured out what songs we had that suited, we knew it would be a good collection that fitted the bill.

 

 

 

 

 

Which is the song you wish you had written every time you hear it? And why?

 

Deborah:  ‘By This River’ by Brian Eno.  I love it so much, I am recording a version for my forthcoming solo album.  Glen: There are so many!  ‘Waterloo Sunset’ comes to mind, but I’m going to say ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ by Oasis, cause it’s perfect!

 

 

Magic can happen when you are playing in front of a crowd. Can you recall such a moment?

 

The first time we ever played in London we played the Dublin Castle.  We arranged to share gear with the other bands on the bill and had no idea what we would end up with.  Some were great, some not so great.  But, we soundchecked after the other bands with ‘Daisy Chain’ from our first album, Transit of Venus.  The club was mostly empty except for the people working, the other bands and a few others.  They erupted into applause when we finished the song and it was very encouraging.  We had a great night and the audience demanded an encore.  The band had played all the songs we knew, so Deborah and I did an impromptu duet of ‘Sunday Driving South’ and the audience all got out their lighters like we were at the Concertgebouw or something.  We were overwhelmed!

 

If the budget was unlimited, how would you record the next record?

 

Fortunately for us, we have a very well-equipped recording studio and essentially have no limits. We hired an Uileann pipes player with stellar credits for ‘Sleep’ and L.A. Phil string and French horn players for the coda to ‘Roy Wood’.  I wouldn’t mind enhancing my orchestral modeling suite, though.

 

What’s up for the rest of the year? 

 

The first thing on the agenda is that we are moving our studio and living space.  We are still working on where we’ll land.  We are looking into a great commercial space to share.  It has plenty of space and if we go that route our vintage keyboard collection will have its own separate room.  After we get that sorted we’ll be rehearsing the new band and finishing Deborah’s solo album.  The fourth Cherry Bluestorms album is already written and demoed so we’ll be starting on that as well.  We are hoping to put some shows together, in and out of town once the band is ready and we have a window.  I am also starting to think about releasing my own solo album.  Lastly, we are working on a book of Cherry Bluestorms lyrics called ‘Wordstorms’.