The Steepwater Band

The Steepwater Band - Dharmakaya - 2004 - Funzalo

Jesse Jarnow said on jambands.com that "Dharmakaya" is the kind of bombastic blues-rock that one would expect to find being played by guys whose Marshall stacks are entirely too big for the clubs they’re playing. I have no idea if this describes The Steepwater Band accurately, but their songs ‘Back to the Bottle,’ ‘Black Cats Path,’ and ‘Waiting On The Devil’ sound pretty much exactly as they sound, resembling more the ‘authentic’ blues band Blues Hammer in Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World than the progressive, interesting experimentation by the likes of the Allman Brothers Band (or even Lynyrd Skynyrd). Still, they sound pretty dang sure of themselves, and that counts for a lot in this world". Published: 2004/08/27 ©2009 - Relix Media Group, LLC

Some people have described The Steepwater Band's music as "Heavy Americana". The band's music has also been described as "gutsy hard rock, gritty Delta blues, soulful backwoods boogie and down-home psychedelia". "Dharmakaya" received substantial airplay across the Midwest, including Chicago's influential WXRT. The band originally began playing covers of Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and John Lee Hooker standards before writing their own original tunes. They have played venues like the Chicago Metro and Double Door clubs and tour extensively. "Dharmakaya" may be a bit on the "commercial" side, but these guys can rock, and this album is a cut above the normal AOR/mainstream pretentious pseudo-rock. Jeff Massey is a great guitarist and vocalist. All the band are great players, and if you like good straightforward Southern style blues rock/rock 'n' roll with a Chicago flavour, you may find this album of interest. Check out the band's version of Free's "Oh I Wept". Buy the band's "Songs From The 8th Day" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Gettin' By - Bowers; Connelly; Massey; Winters
2. Dead Horse - Bowers; Connelly; Massey; Winters
3. Back to the Bottle - Bowers; Massey
4. Dharmakaya - Bowers; Connelly; Massey
5. Oh I Wept - Paul Kossoff; Paul Rodgers
6. Jammin' Down Southern - Massey
7. Black Cats Path - Connelly; Jones-Marlar
8. Waiting on the Devil - Connelly
9. House Is Burning - Bowers; Connelly; Massey; Winters
10. Autumn - Connelly; Massey
11. Ride Free - Connelly; Jones-Marlar; Kilty; Martin
12. Another Cold Letdown - Bowers; Connelly; Massey; Winters

BAND

Jeff Massey - (vocals, guitar, acoustic 6-string guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, slide guitar)
Michael Connelly - (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, harmonica, piano, Hammond b-3 organ, percussion)
Tod Bowers - (mandolin, electric bass guitar)
Joe Winters - (drums, bongos)

BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

The Steepwater Band is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1998 by the trio of Jeff Massey (guitars and vocals), Joe Winters (drums), and Tod Bowers (bass). The band took their name from a cargo vessel that Massey sighted in a port on Lake Michigan. nitially the band concentrated on playing their own versions of classic blues songs, particularly electric Chicago-style blues, and performed their first concert at Phyllis' Musical Inn in Chicago on October 29, 1998. The band quickly progressed from covering blues tunes to writing their own music. Their influences include the Allman Brothers Band, Free, Cream, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and Humble Pie, in addition to blues artists such as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and John Lee Hooker. In 1999 the band met singer-songwriter Michael Connelly, who collaborated with them on their inaugural effort, the five-song EP Goin' Back Home. The Steepwater Band returned the favor by performing on Connelly's project, Bottles of Wine. Connelly officially joined The Steepwater Band in 2000. The years of 1999 and 2000 saw the band performing relentlessly in Chicago and the surrounding region. During this time they continued to write new material and hone their gritty guitar-based blues-rock sound. The buzz in the local music community increased and on June 8, 2000, The Steepwater Band performed at their first Chicago Blues Festival, kicking off that year's event at high noon. The band released its first full-length CD in 2001. Titled Brother to the Snake, the CD was released with the support of radio station WXRT and Jim Beam to a packed house at Chicago's Double Door. During the year the band also released a live-in-the-studio album, Live...Half in the Bag. The band continued to play in the Midwest in 2002 and 2003, often being selected for opening act slots for international acts including Bad Company, 38 Special, the The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Sonny Landreth, Buddy Guy, and Taj Mahal. The band also signed a recording, management, and publishing deal with Funzalo Records/Mike’s Artist Management during this period. This relationship resulted in the production of one album, Dharmakaya, which was recorded with producers Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie (Radiohead, Warren Zevon, the Pixies, Uncle Tupelo) in Boston and released on May 18, 2004. Connelly departed in October, 2004, and the band and Funzalo/MAM ended their relationship in early 2005. In April 2005 the band performed on television in Nashville, Tennessee, with Little Milton, who died a few months later. In June, for their fifth time playing the Chicago Blues Festival, they received a headlining slot on the Best Buy Showcase Stage. In September, The Steepwater Band performed their first European concert at the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The Steepwater Band performing at the Azkena Rock Festival, September 1, 2005. In addition to their own 70-minute set (a set that was widely acclaimed in the European press following the festival), they hosted a late-night jam session with members of the Drive-by Truckers and the Basque band The Soulbreaker Company. Approximately twenty other bands were invited to participate in the three-day event including Gov't Mule, Deep Purple, Queens of the Stone Age, and Wilco. In November 2005, the band was invited by Chicago rock radio station WLUP to open for Bon Jovi at the sold-out United Center. In 2006, in addition to their own heavy touring schedule, the band performed at various festivals and concerts with Umphrey's McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams, the Doobie Brothers, Ian Gillan (Deep Purple's vocalist), and Cheap Trick. The band’s third full-length CD, Revelation Sunday, was released on August 15, 2006. The album is being distributed by Evangeline Records in Europe and on the band’s own Diamond Day imprint in the United States. The CD release concert for Revelation Sunday was held on August 11, 2006, at Chicago's historic Metro music venue. In September, the band headlined three concerts (with The Soulbreaker Company as the opening act) in Madrid, Bilbao, and Barcelona, Spain. Rick Richards, guitarist of The Georgia Satellites, joined the band on stage for three songs in Barcelona. The band performed on the Gimme Three Days cruise with Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, American Minor, Tishamingo, Blackberry Smoke, and other blues-rock, southern rock and country artists aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines Fascination in January, 2007. The event was produced by Sixthman LLC of Atlanta, Georgia. In its March issue, Vintage Guitar magazine published a full-page article/interview with band members. In July, the band returned to Europe for a tour of Spain and the Canary Islands. The tour began with a concert in Barcelona, Spain, on July 5 with Gov't Mule and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, and also included a date with long-time Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford. In conjunction with the tour the band also released the "Songs From the Eighth Day" CD, featuring covers of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer", Bob Dylan's "Phantom Engineer", Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway", Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues", a live version of "Collision", and two new Steepwater Band songs. The band released their first concert DVD on March 21, 2008. The performance was shot at The Rutledge music club in Nashville, TN, in November, 2007. The Steepwater Band signed with the Teenage Head Music booking agency from Belgium. Diamond Day Records released Grace And Melody in December, 2008. In December 2009, the band announced a six week tour of Europe, including a run with Marc Ford in Spain on the first ten dates.