[Cover photo credit to Mitch LaGrow]
Rock ‘n Roll artist Andrew Gabbard has been a guitarist and vocalist for Cincinnati-based Thee Shams and Buffalo Killers. He currently serves as one half of The Gabbard Brothers, performs as a touring guitarist for The Black Keys, and records his own music at home.
Gabbard has announced the release of his sophomore effort as a solo artist, Cedar City Sweetheart. New instrumentation and Country-leaning lyrics build on his first album offering. Gabbard cites The Byrds and the idea of a Rock band making a Country album as inspirations. The album is out now on Colemine/Karma Chief Records.
While Gabbard played every instrument on his solo debut, Homemade, this time around, he called on some local musicians to add color.
He says:
I invited a lot of friends to play on this record. Originally, I didn’t have access to much recording equipment. I tracked my parts with an iPhone. My friends recorded their parts professionally, so I was able to piece it together and take another stab at recording the core of each song. It’s almost like a remastered album to me, but it’s all new.
On the album, pedal steel guitar is played by Sven Kahns. Ryan Wells played banjo and Leslie Jankowski added the fiddle. Longtime friend and labelmate M Ross Perkins played keys.
Other sources of inspiration for the album include Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and most importantly, Andrew Gabbard’s mother, who is a big Country music fan.
