Yes, yes the summer has come and gone without a Millennium Blues release, as hoped, but it’s all for a good reason. I know I haven’t had any news for a while but much has been in the works with some pretty big and important changes. My work with Norrisong Productions has really paid off and has attracted an incredible addition to the team. I couldn’t be more excited and honored to have Lee Popa stepping into the producer’s chair from Los Angeles alongside my longtime friend and producer David Norris. Having worked with the likes of Cheap Trick, White Zombie, Rolling Stones, Ministry, Tool, and countless others, Lee brings a ton of experience, good ‘ole fashioned know-how, and a hard-to-match rock n’ roll heart that’s gonna bring all this to the next level. And most importantly I simply love this man! So everything I’ve said for the last year… scratch it. We’re gonna need a bigger boat….

As of now the band is being formed and rehearsed with some great chaps and it seems I seriously need a haircut. It’s pretty ridiculous. Or hell, maybe not. I don’t know.

Stay tuned

Blood

Stacey Blood is counting it off this summer with the anticipated release of his second album Millennium Blues. What to expect? The Morrison-ish, Beatlesque, Cash driven artist captures a mélange of rock, blues, and out-of-the-box style that he skillfully melds together for a sound that is very much his own. A fan of 60’s and 70’s rock, Blood awakens the nostalgic mind and sets the path for a timeless adventure with him.
Blood spent his influential years as a top-rated radio personality in the Dallas, San Luis Obispo and Fresno markets. This helped develop his multidimensional style. It’s certain to say that music was always part of Blood’s life. His father, Bobby Blood, was a session player and recorded/performed with renowned artists such as Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, The Doors, Steppenwolf, and David Bowie.
So fast forward into the millennium. Stacey Blood’s debut album Reversed Space was released in 2005 on Astral Records. In 2007, he released his single Sunday School which is peppered in psychedelia. With the final touches currently in progress on Millennium Blues, I was able to catch up with Blood and discuss the upcoming album, life in Nashville, and the fight against brown recluses…yes, it’s a trip of an interview!

Rock N’ Write – How’s your world in Nashville tonight?

Stacey Blood -A little quieter. Had thunderstorms today, sounded like the Battle of Bastogne.

Rock N’ Write – I think I have to Google that battle. It sounds intense.

Stacey Blood – Very intense, so they say.

Rock N’ Write – I’m gonna go on blind faith with that one. Shall we start with what year you were born?

Stacey Blood – Good call, blind faith was really the only way out of that one. I was born in 1976 in Fort Worth, TX. Spirit of ’76 man. That makes me a dragon on the Chinese birth chart, ya know.

Rock N’ Write – I happen to be a fan of the 70′s…and the Chinese calendar. I’m 1974 which makes me a tiger. Couple that with being a Leo…watch out people! So are you musically inspired by the 70′s?

Stacey Blood – A tiger and a leo? Didn’t Napoleon Dynamite call that a “Liger”? Yeah, of course the 70′s was a great time for music. Almost as great as the 60′s but both decades are the pinnacle of 20th and 21st century music….

…full interview…

SB

So I’ve added an 11th cut on the album pushing it back another few weeks but that’s it! The checklist is getting thinner and thinner and this sucker is about to be wrapped and ready to ship. New Suicide King video is coming up shortly… and getting ready to start on the video for “Changin’ Mind”.

Talk soon!

SB

Been living out of a suitcase for about month and a half starting out in Nashville, which I will be heading back to as soon as I wrap things up here in Fort Worth. Can’t complain though as I’ve needed to get out for a while and it’s good to be back in the old stomping grounds of Fort Worth. Some things have changed a lot, some haven’t changed at all. My neighborhood is very much the same and it’s really bringing back memories. It’s actually been sensory overload. This late-afternoon glow on the concrete in the metroplex is really very different than anywhere else. I don’t know what it is. I think people that call North Texas home know exactly what I’m talking about. Not to get too far out there, point is I’m just soaked with nostalgia and realizing things about me that have never left me inside.

Been working on some songs with my best friend Shawn Summerhill that’s long overdue. It’s been so long since we’ve gotten to be in the same room together and create. He’s certainly one of my musical kindred spirits and can’t wait until he gets his stuff in full swing. He’s also one hell of an artist too and I’m lucky enough to be here for one of his exhibits this Saturday. Couldn’t have asked for a better time to get back home for a while. But it’s back to the grind soon at good ‘ole Norrisong Productions to get this album done and in your hands once and for all.

If you haven’t, make sure and follow me on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest updates.

Love,

Stacey

Just wanted to give everyone a catch-up on the “Millennium Blues” project. If you haven’t already subscribed to the ‘ole blog here do that now. And don’t forget to link up with me on Facebook. So we cut the tracks on July 29th and we’ve been getting the final work put in on Millennium Blues. I’ve just left Nashville after getting most of the details taken care of. It was a busy month at Norrisong. It was great getting the cast together again and it was a special treat to introduce pedal steel legend Bruce Bouton into the mix. The results were nothing less than crucial.

There is no release date for the album thus far, but we’re shooting for fall, which can’t get here soon enough because it is freakin’ hot! When that date happens you’ll be the first to know. As of now I am off to Dallas for some promotional work and good ‘ole fashion hangin’ out. It’s good to get out of the cave for a while before coming right back for final mix downs. I didn’t realize it, but since the 26th of July I’ve spent every day but 3 at Norrisong hard at work. Pretty crazy.

Pretty soon we should have a release of the album artwork and you don’t want to miss that! Trust me…

We’re in the home stretch. I’ll talk to you soon.

Ciao,

SB

“Six songs in one day? yeah baby, ROCK & ROLL. !” says Stacey. “No matter how many times you do this, you’re thinking is that really gonna happen? But at the first count off, you know it will. It’s amazing that what takes me months to conceive, these guys can bring to life in a matter of hours. This project isn’t an easy one, but the whole team came through with flying colors as usual. All it did was make me want to get this album out even faster.”

Yeah, you could say that that pretty much says it all. But don’t get me wrong, efficiency doesn’t just come in a few hours. It takes great communication skills, direction, and one hell of a road map. Working dilligently on these songs for nearly a year on pre-production, Stacey and I knew these songs inside out going in and casting the right team was imperative for it’s outcome. Stacey Blood’s music is a little more challenging than the normal formula and is definatley a little left of center, which to me is very promising in an industry of chlones. He follows the true sense of his muse and doesn’t stray from his own personal convictions to try and just “fit in”. As a listener, I’ve always been a fan of his music and as his producer & cowriting partner I feel blessed just to be a part of something so unique and rockin. Coming from the same old school rock & roll influences, it seems like it was just meant to be that our musical souls collided in an age that is yearning for true individual art. Roots rock is definately alive and well and living in the suburbs of our hearts ! ! !

MILLENNIUM BLUES to be released in early fall

ROCK AND ROLL,
David

SB* Have you played in any other bands before?

Stacey* I have been in one other band outside of my own “band”. In 1994 I was in a hard rock band called The Hollowmen. Seems like a lifetime ago! Did it really even happen?

SB* How long have you been playing music?

Stacey* I started playing music in the 6th grade band, but I would say seriously playing and writing since just after high school.

SB* What instruments did you learn to play?

Stacey* First instrument I started on was trumpet. My father was a session player and performer in Hollywood in the 60s and 70s so it was really the instrument I knew the most about. That and bass guitar, as he played bass also. I picked that up in high school and really enjoyed it, but I found it really hard to write music on the bass so I transfered over to the guitar where I’ve been ever since. I have also dabbled around on piano as a writing tool as well.

SB* Where did you grow up?

Stacey* I grew up on the west side of Fort Worth, TX just a few miles from Carswell Air Force Base. I attended a private school for three years there and most of my life-long friends are from that time in that neighborhood. I moved to Mesqquite, TX for high school and left for California immediately after.

Full Interview :::

Off now to the cave to cut guitar tracks and vocals for the “Never Gonna Change” demo. Talk soon.

SB

It’s gonna be an album. Stacey Blood is expanding his 2008 EP into his first major LP release. This yet-to-be titled album is not only an extension in concept, but in collaboration. Returning for the completion of the record will be Nashville rising star producer, David Norris, behind the glass and many of the same players as well as some new surprises. “It’s been kind of an adventure because material keeps coming out and then I re-check what’s going on here” explains Blood. “But I’m pretty sure about the song list, on the 1st of March is the final pre-production session and then we’re off”. So how hard is it to expand an EP into an LP from songs recorded 24 months ago? “It’s not that hard. All of these songs go together. The concept is there. We’re using the same studio, same players, and we’re even re-mixing the first four with the rest to build continuity.”

Blood says the album should be ready for release this summer.