A band that has been together for a while has some good stories to tell. Our recent find Shower Me Blue has been in the game for a long while gathering experiences to inspire their music. The band provides a mix of genres that is uniquely theirs. We had a chance to sit down with the band to see what is next on their path. Enjoy the interview here:
Hello Shower Me Blue, we have learned that you are working on new material for a new album. Please tell us about the new songs & are you taking a different approach artistically from your current sound?
Yes! We are going into the studio in a week to record a new album!
Historically, Shower Me Blue was very much a blues based band. However, we have decided to embrace our musical roots and bring much more of a rock and world-beat influence to our songs. Each of us are from different parts of the world, and we have been exposed to a lot of different music in our lives. So we wanted to bring all of these musical experiences together – a kind of “global gumbo” of music. We are a 3 piece when performing live, but with our producer, Stuart Sullivan, we are looking to add some tasty bits to complement our songs. Being a 3 piece gives us a lot of flexibility in how we make the songs sound, which is really awesome artistically!
Each of the songs we have chosen for the new album tells a story that our audiences can relate to. They are life experiences (and not just love songs!). Like our live shows, we want the music on the album to move the listener, spiritually and of course physically.
Tell us about being an original band from Colorado
Being an original band seems to be one of the greatest challenges to performing locally. Cover bands and tribute bands can get a lot more gigs – you are playing something familiar and the audience will quickly relate to the songs. Playing originals requires you to really work to engage your audience. You quickly learn which songs will work and which don’t. It is super cool though, when you hear people singing a riff to your song as they are leaving the show. It proves we made a connection somewhere!
Please tell us the last 5 albums you all have (collectively) purchased & the one album in your collections you could never part with & why?
We haven’t really collectively purchased any albums. But, we are always sharing songs, both current and something from our past. Based on our musical backgrounds, we collectively bring together a lot of blues (traditional, obscure and current), rock (metal influences, alt-rock, jam-band), some jazz-fusion- funk and also electronic music.
Holidays are always a great time to play parties and events. Any holiday gigs planned for Shower Me Blue?
We are playing at The Dickens Opera House in Longmont, Colorado on Saturday, December 22. It’s going to be an “UGLY SWEATER PARTY”!! We would love to have everyone show up in their most awesome holiday attire!!
We also have shows scheduled at the Jamestown Mercantile in Jamestown, Colorado on December 29 (New Years Eve Warm-up!) and then a private party in Boulder, Colorado on New Years Eve.
Do all 3 members of Shower Me Blue write music?
Yes – more or less – depending. For the most part, we are still building on the musical concepts Gilles has written. However, the songs are really created as a collaboration. We each contribute to the overall direction.
Touring plans for the New Year?
Definitely!! We have a tour scheduled and we are calling the “Hand Knitted Rock and Roll Tour”. It’s kind of a ‘hub and spoke’ tour, where we use Denver as our hub and we shoot out in a spoke-like fashion to different areas surrounding Colorado. It’s kinda like picking a direction on the map and going that way, stopping every so often to rock out an audience. The tour dates are up on our website (www.showermeblue.com/calendar) and on our FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/showermeblue)
Please tell us about one of the songs from the new album and the inspiration behind it?
Thank you for asking a great question! Probably the song that might resonate well with listeners is “Forgotten”. It’s a song about depression, disconnection from the real world and addiction (both physical and mental). It was written from a very personal perspective, as one of Gilles friends was suffering from depression. But – it has a much wider relevance in the world around us. All the uncertainty, hate, trolling and negativity that we are constantly bombarded with can make even the most optimistic person depressed. The song is an opportunity for us to maybe reach inside of people and throw a little light into their darkness – let them know they are not forgotten – that there is a better world out there.
