The Mescal Sheiks: News

Since being released in January 2006 "This World Is Not My Home" has become the #21 selling Soul-Blues CD at CDBaby!


http://cdbaby.com/top/292?skip=0


Thank you very much.

Sheiks Producer Phil Bloch and engineer Andrew Bush spent the last two days at Grandma's Warehouse working on the eight tracks we laid down before the end of the year. The tracks "What's Holding Her Up", "Memphis Time", "Day To Day", "Medicine Man", "Nola La-La","You Bought The Ticket". "Blind Man's Trick", "Good Enough Ain't" are ready for some percussion tracks in the next few weeks before we go back into Grandma's Warehouse and lay down bed tracks for "Feet Are The First To Know", "It's A Dog's World", "Where There's Smoke" and "Alabama Chrome".

We're running about six months behind schedule, however we're back on track - the beginning of the year will see the first tracks released, and by this time next year all 24 tracks should be completed.



'til next time!



The Mescal Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

Sheik Rick Solem escaped the Second Wind Sessions long enough to play a private event at the Emeritus Vineyards in Sebastopol, CA last weekend.

The Vineyard owner enjoyed Rick's work in the 90's with Dave Alvin. So Rick, drummer/producer Phil Bloch, bassist Lawrence Baulden and
guitarist Zeke Zirngiebel whisked their way up to California Wine Country for the weekend.

Upon returning, Rick's comment...."We're old, we're grumpy, and we don't travel well..."


Ah, the Sheik's motto once again rears it's head!

Well Sheiksters and Sheikettes, March and April still sees us in pre-production for returning to the studio at the end of May.

We had planned on being back dealing with the tracks at the end of last month, but as we’ve gotten into the heavy lifting, it’s taking longer than we expected. As things are moving along this summer, we’ll see if this will affect getting the first of the Sessions released in January. We’re hoping to make up time, and keep our schedule.

A bit of a teaser... the titles of some the of the 24 songs are;

Memphis Time
You Bought The Ticket
Medicine Man
NOLA La-La
Blind Man’s Trick
Good Enough Ain’t
Day To Day
What’s Holding Her Up
Alabama Chrome
Lift Me in the Water
Feet Are the First to Know
It’s A Dog’s World
Ain’t That the Way
Where There’s Smoke There’s You

As we’re back in the studio we’ll get more news out to you, the plan is to have a photographer getting pictures in the studio and we’ll get them up on the web site for you.


NEWS FROM THE “THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME” FRONT


Sheik friend, Producer, and co-writer of “Walkin’ To the River”, Paul Broucek, is taking “Walkin” into the studio next week with engineer Ed Cherney, and producing a new mix of the song. We’ll have it available for download on our Myspace page when it’s ready.


The Mescal Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

January and February sees the Sheiks in pre-production for heading back into the studio in March.

We've got 22 of the 24 songs written and in process for arranging. All 24 songs should be done and arranged by the end of March .

We're also changing studios for the sessions and when we get back in we'll be at Grandma's Warehouse in Echo Park.

Producer Phil Bloch and engineer Andrew Bush will be going through all the tracks we’ve recorded through November in preparation for us recording more tracks again starting in April.
The first digital EP release from the sessions will be in next January, with a digital EP Release every three months until all 24 songs from the sessions are out.

As we get further into the year and our plans are more concrete we’ll bring you up to date.

MARDI GRAS MAMBO 2009

We've just set the date for the next Mardi Gras Mambo.

Due to our heavy recording schedule this year, we had to skip doing the annual party.

The Mardi Gras Mambo will Saturday, February 21, 2009.

We'll be announcing the compete bill and the venue here in Los Angeles this Summer, with tickets being available November 1st.

So set the date in your calendars and start polishing up dem dancin’ shoes?


The Mescal Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

As we do every year we are setting aside 300 copies of our 2006 Blue Cap release, "This World Is Not My Home" at a special Holiday pricing.

Available through our website and our MySpace page, you can purchase "This World Is Not My Home" for $7.00 (postage included) OR two copies of "This World Is Not My Home" for $10.00 (postage
included).

We're making this available for
50% less per song than down loading them from ITunes!

If you would like more copies to give out as holiday gifts, we
will make any additional copy
(over two) available for $5.00 more per copy (postage included).

All you need do is send a check for the amount of copies you need

1 copy $7.00
2 copies $10.00
3 copies $15.00
4 copies $20.00

to:

Mescal Sheiks Productions

and mail it with your

name
address
city, state, zip code
e-mail address (for order confirmation) to:

Mescal Sheiks Productions
PO Box 491
Walnut, CA 91788-0491

and we'll get your CD (s) out to you.

To receive your order by December 24th we suggest getting it to us no later than December 15th. However we will accept these holiday orders through December 31, 2007!

Happy Holidays!

With the sessions we completed last week and the holidays rapidly coming upon us, the Sheiks will be stepping out of the studio until January. We'll be concentrating on writing the last eight songs for the Second Wind Sessions through the end of the year.

After New Year's we'll be heading back into a concentrated recording schedule through the beginning of April.

We're still in the process of finding a suitable venue in the downtown L.A., Silverlake, Echo Park area for our monthly "Sunday Night with The Sheiks". If we can find a venue by the end of December we'll be starting the Sunday nights in March.

We'll keep you informed here at our website or you can check our MySpace page;

www.myspace.com/themescalsheiks


Have a great Thanksgiving!

As we're closing in on the end of the year, the Second Wind Sessions are getting some traction.

We now have 16 of the 24 songs written and most of the tracks for "NOLA La-La", "You Bought the Ticket", "Memphis Time" and Medicine Man" are completed.In November we'll be at ChessVolt doing the bed tracks for "Day to Day" , "Good Enough Ain't", "Blind Man's Trick" and "What's Holding Her Up (Is Bringing Me Down)".

After the 1st of the year (January and February) we'll be in ChessVolt finishing up the instrument and vocal tracks. In March we'll be starting on the tracks for the next four songs.
Scheduled release of the first songs is Nov-Dec of '08 with a release of songs through out 2008 and 2009.

We're still working on finding a venue so that we can start "Sunday Night with The Sheiks" in March. More on that as soon as we find the venue.



the Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

SEPTEMBER RUMINATIONS

September has seen us busy at ChessVolt Studios working on new song tracks (as well as writing). We have some surprises in store that we think you'll like when you hear the finished songs.

Bass player Angus Thomas is off to Europe for an extended stay. Lawrence Baulden (bass) and drummer Phil Bloch will be in ChessVolt with us when we start the next songs in November.

We're working in some innovative ways of releasing the songs from the Second Wind Sessions. And as the decisions are made, we'll inform you in What's Sheiking? and on the news page in our web site.

MARDI GRAS MAMBO

We're looking for a suitable venue to hold a Mardi Gras Mambo in 2008. We'll be in negotiations with venue owners in October, and hopefully have an announcement of the date
and location in next month's What's Sheiking?.

MYSPACE PHISHED

Our my space page www.myspace/themescalsheiks was phished a few weeks ago and the hackers
sent out some porn bulletins with our name on them. We apologize for this, and hopefully it won't happen again.

CDBABY

We've reduced the pricing the "This World is Not My Home" from $13.99 to $9.99.
So if you'd like to send some copies (or replace your worn out copies) as Holiday presents
we're happy to save you $4.00 per copy. Our CDBaby page http://cdbaby.com/cd/mescalsheiks
also allows you to download the complete album for $6.99 digitally.


That's it for September, and don't forget, if there's current news happening before next month's What's Sheiking? You'll be able to find it on the news page at www.mescalsheiks.com 24/7.

Take care.


the Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

Clabe Hangan, Danny Broussard, Rick Solem and Dean Sterling are heading into ChessVolt tomorrow to lay down the vocals for the first four tracks; "Memphis Time", "You Bought the Ticket", "Medicine Man" and "Nola La-La". Rick Smith will be adding his harmonica tracks in two weeks and then these songs will be put to bed for now and we'll moving on to the next four tracks, to be completed by the end of the year.

AUGUST RUMINATIONS



If you look at the calendar here on our web site, you'll kind of get the idea of what's ahead of us.

We're a bit behind in our 18 month schedule of "The Second Wind Sessions". So to get us back on track to get the 21-24 songs done by the end of 2008, we're going to be in the studio through January of '08.

As we're going through the sessions, we'll be going back and adding diary entries to each session date, so you be able to be there "in the studio" with us.

So, this means we don't anticipate doing any live dates until February. As we get closer to the end of the year we should be able to start posting the live dates for Feb-April here on our web site, and our MySpace page,
www.myspace.com/themescalsheiks. The first eight songs should be mixed and mastered by the end of February.

We'll be working on some sort of contest where eight winners will be able to download each of the songs for free as they're done. So keep your eyes open for the contest after the first of the year. We're also working on a way to put up rehearsal tapes, outtakes, etc as mp3 files for you to download here on our web site.


As always, we appreciate you support and friendship, and look forward to get out in front of you live as soon as we can.


the Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

JULY RUMINATINGS



Well here we are, into the Summer, and half-way through the year.


July 21st would have been the Summertime Stomp. We're sorry that we weren't able to get the technical issues with the Hall, lighting and sound equipment resolved in time to be able to play for you.

We're working on these issues (old Hall, wiring, lighting and sound quality) for the next week or two and making a decision to do the Sheik Fest at the FOE Hall or finding a substitute venue to play in
October. As we figure which way we're going we'll post the information.

The rest of July, August and September will see us continuing the Second Wind Sessions. We'll be finishing up the first four songs by the end of August. We have almost half of the twenty one songs for the sessions written and will be heading into ChessVolt with the next four songs in October. The first eight songs should be recorded, mixed, and mastered after the first of the year. When they're done we'll get them up on the player on our MySpace page, and on our website for you to
listen to.

We'll be doing that throughout the production process. After the twenty one songs are done, we'll be deciding (maybe with your help!) which twelve to thirteen songs will be our next release, scheduled for the end of 2008.


Have a great Summer, and if you're here in the L.A. area mark your calendars to get out and see us in October!



the Sheiks
Los Angeles, CA

Due to lighting and sound issues with the Hall that we won't be able to resolve in the next three weeks we are regretfully having to cancel this year's Summertime Stomp.

We hope to have the technical problems worked out so that we'll be able to do the Sheikfest in October. We'll keep you informed.

Ticket refund checks for the Stomp will be going out in the mail the weekend of July 7th.


As always, thanks for your support.


the Sheiks

We'll be playing at The Mint, just west of the Fairfax District on Pico Blvd this Sunday at 10 PM.

The line up will be;

Clabe Hangan - vocals
Danny Broussard - vocals
Rick Solem - keyboard/vocals
Rick Smith - harmonica
Dean Sterling - guitar/vocals
Peter Malick - guitar
Angus Thomas- bass
Phil Bloch - drums

It was really hard deciding which songs were going to be in our abbreviated 60 minute set.

Come on down for the first Drive-by of 2007. The cover charge is $7. Which for the 60 minute workout you'll get dancing is much better than going to 24 Hr Fitness!

Bring dat 2nd line witchou!

The recording of the Second Wind Sessions began today.

Rick Solem, Dean Sterling, Peter Malick, Angus Thomas and Butch Norton laid down the bed tracks for "Memphis Time", "You Bought the Ticket", "Medicine Man" and "Nola La-La" this afternoon at our new recording home, ChessVolt Studios.

Danny Broussard (on his birthday) came in to do the reference vocals for the tracks. Rick Smith lent moral support and observed from the control room, keeping ChessVolt asst. engineer Paul company.

On Monday the 28th, Peter and Rick (Solem) will be back in the studio adding additional guitar and keyboard tracks to the four songs.

!!! MAZZMUSIKAS HATS OFF: ALL HITS, NO MISSES!!! The Mescal Sheiks/This World is Not My home/Blue cap BC 1003 (www.mescalsheiks.com) The Mescal Sheiks is a collection of musicians from New York, Chicago, Arkansas and Los Angeles, based in Los Angeles. These songwriters and musicians write with their fat, funky and soulfull style, which they define as rootsy. Clabe Hangan (vocal), Rick Solem (keys, vocal, prod), Rick Smith (harm) and Dean Sterling (gtr, vocal) form the core for the CD; along with the superb Texicali Horns, a rhythm section and the vocal backing of Elizabeth Hangan. Every member writes number of the songs, most in collaboration. Solem and Sterling, however, write most of the material. On "This World is Not My Home" nothing that we have heard rather, but it is a telling collection of styles. And that is what makes this so good. Influences abound, and this appreciation is seen in the quality of the song material, "How Long" is a strong opener, but "It Doesn't Really Matter" is the forsting on top of it: as if Booker T. Jones came by and brought everybody Stax. "Fool For You" has Little Feat and Bonnie Raitt thing going, as does "Sugar Hoodoo" Chicago is the style of the singing of Hangan and the harp of Smith in "Honey The Night is Young" " Live From The Gates or Hell" with its horns is patented Memphis soul and a superb nod Al Green. "Walking To The River" with its intro and the fragile singing of Hangan and the harmony vocals; makes it a ballad, a hymn and a gospel song at the same time. The last time we heard some thing this moving was from John Hyatt. It is the song that Robbie Robertson never wrote for The Band. "Looking Out 4 #1" sounds like some thing written from the catalog of Allen Toussant. "This World Is Not My Home"is a great piece of work and it makes us very curious to hear what the Mescal Sheiks sound like live!


note: the review is in Danish and we used translation software to English.

This is a short news break preceeding our May/June What's Sheiking?

We'll be going into ChessVolt Studios at the end of May to lay down tracks for the first four songs in the Second Wind Sessions. And May will also be a writing month. Right now we have seven of the twenty-one songs for the sessions already written and May sould see us getting another four or five songs written.

Our first of three "Drive Bys" at a club somewhere in LA will occur in June. We don't normally play clubs but we'll be doing this off and on during the sessions to try out new ideas and material. We'll announce the location only 2-3 weeks ahead of time and only on our website and our MySpace page. So keep your eyes peeled if you would like to come.

The table is set. Thank you!


See you tonight!

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