Formed when its members – Grant Curless, Wils Quinn, and Shawn Reynolds – were in their freshman year, Johnny Conqueroo’s early EP’s saw them writing long, grungy blues jams, spiraling in and out of swampy dirges as the band played what they felt, acting on instinct in a fervent rock’n’roll endeavor. The trio naturally shied from prototypical indie or hipster leanings, focusing instead on downtrodden street stories inspired by Southern surroundings.
The forthcoming Haint Blue EP (out June 15 via The Fir Trade) sees the band maturing and expanding without abandoning their roots. Challenged by producer Duane Lundy (Ringo Starr, Vandaveer) to pursue a collection of thematically similar material, Haint Blue tells an Appalachian tragedy of sorts, twining together stories of men and women in downward spirals , becoming homeless, being falsely accused of crimes and knocking on the door of purgatory like a ball of barbed wire.
Named for the shade of blue color believed to repel trapped house spirits (“haints”), the EP was recorded in a Kentucky house from the 1800’s in a series of fast and simple takes to capture the band’s raucous live sound in a way that’s sure to help them carve a new niche within the Lexington music scene – one that sets them apart from their peers and girds them for a national breakout.
Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive early listen of the new EP. Beginning with the claptrack garage rocker “Brick”, the EP jaunts from one loose and groovy rock tune to the next. At times there is a bit of twang while others there is a a far out psych rock, but always present is crashing and wonderfully unhinged guitars and drums backing the gritty vocals of Grant Curless. The band’s blues-driven garage rock sound is at times reminiscent of early Black Keys while also bringing to mind punkier acts like the Cramps and the Stooges, not to mention contemporaries like Ron Gallo and Natural Child. This is music for jumping around while drinking beer and having a damn fun time.
Drummer Wils Quinn describes the making of the album:
“‘Haint Blue’ was written over a year of performances, each track being inspired, tweaked and finished during live shows and jam sessions. Above all else, we put energy and feeling front stage. Through the year of performance and trial and error, each track was honed down to its most genuine and hard hitting form. You do something good and all of a sudden everyone is freaking out and it’s like, okay, that’s something we want to bring into the studio.
That was the next step. We had produced and recorded our last two records ourselves preferring the environment of a DIY home studio. That’s why, when Duane Lundy from Shangri-la studios (Ringo Starr, Vandaveer) suggested recording at his studio built in a large 1800s house, the match could not have been better. Lundy, favoring the energetic and spontaneous feeling of our live shows, recorded the album in few takes with very little overdubs. We feel the EP is a raw and energetic rock album that weaves together tall tales of murder, betrayal and guilt. The songs piece together cohesively enough to find overarching storylines, though each song is self-contained and tells a unique story.
The album surrounds itself in the traditional storytelling ideas of old ghost stories or Appalachian ‘haint tales.’ After a little digging we came upon the term ‘Haint Blue,’ which refers to a specific shade of blue used to ward off evil spirits and bad omens. The feelings of the songs work perfectly within these haint tales and so the title stuck. The album cover, designed by Kentucky artist and punk rock lifer, Lawrence Tarpey, depicts an iconic Kentucky landmark, Natural Bridge, but in a ghostly and ominous way. Its otherworldly haint blue color and recognizable Appalachian landmark give the album its set and setting. It provides context to the record and ties the final thematic strings together.”
‘Haint Blue’ aims to be our most energetic and cohesive record to date and we’re already back in the studio with Duane Lundy working on our next project.
LISTEN:
Check out tour dates below and visit johnnyconqueroo.com for more info.
June 14th // Nashville, TN // The East Room
June 16th // Lexington, KY // The Burl
June 22nd // Louisville, KY // Castle Ellerbe
July 20th // Berea, KY // Levitt AMP Music Series
July 21st // Richmond, KY // Cinder and Smoke Festival
July 27th // Lexington, KY // Al’s Bar
August 3rd // Knoxville, TN // Open Chord
August 4th // Huntington, WV // V-Club
August 24th // Eolia, KY // Supermoon Festival
September 5th // Lexington, KY // Red Barn Radio
September 8th // Louisville, KY // PeteFest Festival
October 6th // Huntington, WV // V-Club
October 13th // Rockcastle, KY // Moonshiner’s Ball
