[Cover photo credit to Darin Kamnetz]
Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum selling Rock band Soul Asylum recently released their 13th studio album, Slowly But Shirley, via Blue Élan Records. A video for the track “The Only Thing I’m Missing” is out now, and the band is currently on tour.
The new video music video was directed by the band’s old friend David Roth, who also directed the music videos for “Black Gold” and “Artificial Heart”.
Collaborating once again with producer Steve Jordan (Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Robert Cray, Keith Richards), who helmed their 1990 album And the Horse They Rode In On, the band both revisits their roots and breaks new sonic ground on Slowly But Shirley. The band recorded the album live in the studio to capture the raw spirit of their live performances.
The album’s title and cover pay homage to Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney, a pioneering drag racer who inspired Pirner in his youth.
He says:
When I was a kid, I loved drag racing. And she was the first woman of drag race. It meant a lot to me that she was willing to stand up against all these men in racing. My manager called her up, and she gave us her blessing, which means a whole lot to me because she was a childhood hero.
Several of the tracks on the album are ones that Pirner has been working on for many years, even performing them live, and now they’ve reached their final stage of evolution.
More than 40 years after Soul Asylum coalesced as a band, Pirner’s prolific songwriting, combined with an energetic live show, ensures that the band isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Pirner adds:
There’s a part of me that’s never gonna fit in, but I love being around people who love music, and I’m very loyal to the idea of whatever Soul Asylum is. The future is bright, everything is good, and if there’s something in the music that can make people feel like things are gonna be OK, then it’s mission accomplished.
Slowly But Shirley Track Listing:
1. The Only Thing I’m Missing
2. High Road
3. You Don’t Know Me
4. Freeloader
5. Tryin’ Man
6. Freak Accident
7. If You Want It Back
8. Waiting on the Lord
9. Trial By Fire
10. Makin’ Plans
11. Sucker Maker
12. High & Dry
Soul Asylum On Tour:
9/30/24 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
10/1/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand at The Complex
10/3/24 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Live
10/5/24 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theatre
10/6/24 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
10/8/24 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
10/10/24 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom
10/11/24 – Los Angeles, CA – Regent Theatre
10/12/24 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
10/13/24 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
10/15/24 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
10/16/24 – Odessa, TX – Ector Theatre
10/17/24 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
10/18/24 – Oklahoma, OK – Tower Theatre
10/20/24 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman
10/21/24 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
10/22/24 – Columbus, OH – The Athenaeum Theatre
10/24/24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smith’s
10/25/24 – Homer, NY – Homer Center for the Arts
10/26/24 – New Haven, CT – District Music Hall
10/28/24 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
10/29/24 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
10/31/24 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
11/1/24 – Rutland, VT – Paramount Theatre
11/2/24 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre
11/4/24 – Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre
