[Cover photograph credit to Lauren Bettino]
Bay Area native Alex Jordan has shared the stage with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Peter Rowan, but is taking a step forward as a frontman and songwriter by announcing his new LP Queen Kerosene, produced by four-time Grammy-winner Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. It is releasing March 8, 2024 via Andy Logan Productions.
Jordan has also shared the first single/title track, which is a “coming-of-age story”. The track arrived with a nomadic music video. Next month, Jordan will hit the road with The Band of Heathens for a run of shows through Portland, Seattle and more.
Jordan shares about the title track:
‘Queen Kerosene’ came together last in the process of making the record. I sat on the edge of my bed the night before a flight home and had a new verse idea come to me in the moments before I gave up for the night. I stitched it together with an existing chorus I had written in 2020 and worked out a new story over the next week. What started out as a protest song turned into a story of self discovery and unexpected adventure.
Queen Kerosene was recorded at The Finishing School in Austin, Texas with a band of Austin-based musicians, including harmony singer Carrie Rodriguez and accordion player Josh Baca (the protégé of Norteño icon Flaco Jiménez). Jordan and Berlin captured the album’s songs in a series of live takes. After the instrumental parts were tracked, the two reworked each song, with Jordan scrapping more than 50% of the record’s original lyrics in favor of tighter lines.
The result is an Americana-steeped album that spans genres and childhood influences, including Soul, Tex-Mex, R&B, Jazz, Honky-Tonk and heartland Rock & Roll.
Jordan has spent the better part of the past decade playing with West Coast bands like Midnight North, fronted by Grahame Lesh. His ability to play guitar, piano and Hammond B3 organ made him a fixture at Lesh’s Bay Area music venue Terrapin Crossroads.
Tour Dates
10/21: Winters, CA – Berryessa Brewing
10/22: Sausalito, CA – Sausalito Cruising Club
11/6: Portland, OR – Polaris Hall ^
11/8: Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern ^
11/9: Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall ^
11/10: Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room ^
11/11: Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater ^
11/19: Sausalito, CA – Sausalito Cruising Club
