Ghost Towns by John Statz
Inspired by grimey, war-torn Balkan towns and dying, broken down American cities, “Ghost Towns”, the brand new album from John Statz, is the direct result of several years of hard touring around the United States, Canada, and Europe. Whether it was bullet holes and bombed rooftops in Sarajevo, or desolate abandoned buildings and decaying main street America, the album title seemed very pertinent to the state of the world today. Many of the songs were written on the road, in varied locations such as West Virginia, Colorado, Hungary, and on a night train headed into Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While the title does not tread lightly, the album is full of upbeat tracks, as this is John's first full-band record. Joined by a talented group of Madison, Wisconsin musicians (including Blueheels/Blake Thomas drummer Adam Cargin, and songwriters Jeremiah Nelson and Whitney Mann), the album finds a comfortable mix between the straight-ahead rockers and the mellower tunes. Tracking locations for the record varied from the 100+ year old farmhouse his father grew up in to the new Blast House studio in Madison, to Jeremiah Nelson's bedroom and “sonic laboratory”. Two of the songs were actually written, recorded and mixed at Budabeat Studios in Budapest, Hungary.
Tracklist
| 1. | Ghost Towns | 3:42 |
| 2. | The Wichita Waltz | 5:10 |
| 3. | Disclaimer | 3:08 |
| 4. | Jackson Hole | 3:42 |
| 5. | Everything To Me | 4:45 |
| 6. | Best Girl | 3:33 |
| 7. | Julija | 3:18 |
| 8. | Come Down | 3:09 |
| 9. | How Best To Survive The Flood And Save The Girl | 4:50 |
| 10. | Night Train To Sarajevo | 3:56 |
Credits
Produced by John Statz & Jeremiah Nelson
John Statz: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, toy keyboard
Ben Johnson: electric guitar, mandolin
Matt Donoghue: upright bass, electric bass
Adam Cargin: drums
Whitney Mann: vocals
Jeremiah Nelson: electric guitar
Shawn Drake: violin
Tracks 1-6, 8, 9 Recorded & mixed by Jeremiah Nelson & Andrew Hartman at the following locations:
Drums at the Statz Family Farmhouse in Dane, WI - November 2009
Vocals at The Blast House Studios, Madison, WI - February 2010
Everything else on Sommers Ave., Madison, WI - Nov. 2009 - May 2010
Tracks 7 & 10 Recorded & mixed by Adam Szabo at Budabeat Studios in Budapest, Hungary - January 2010
Mastered by Justin Perkins at The Mystery Room, Milwaukee, WI
Layout and Design by Jeremiah Nelson
Front cover photo by John Statz
Other photos by Jeremiah Nelson
Pressed at Sooper Dooper, Madison, WI
All songs written by John Statz © (BMI) except "The Wichita Waltz" by Statz (BMI)/Nelson (BMI)/Hoshaw (ASCAP)/West
License
All rights reserved.Tags
One of the more prolific thirty-something songwriters working in the Folk/Americana genre today, John Statz has released nine studio albums and performed all over North America and Europe over the course of his fourteen-year career. The Boston Globe has called John’s music "electric, urgent folk; aching, sweet country-rock"