Listen to Woody and Jeremy’s new single, “My Old Bassist,” via Under The Radar; Gravy in my Coffee is out on 6/4
Gravy in my Coffee is due 6/4
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STREAM: “My Old Bassist” –
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Today Woody and Jeremy are sharing the finale single ahead of their upcoming LP, “My Old Bassist.” Under The Radar has the premiere. Woody and Jeremy’s upcoming LP, Gravy in my Coffee, is due out on June 4th, 2021.
Regarding the meaning behind the single, the band stated: “There’s a certain type of business person you may meet, who once was an artist and through whatever series of events has become a suit. Maybe the transition happened because of a kid, or the pay was too good to pass up or they experienced too much sustained failure as an artist or that’s just the way it went. Whatever the reason, if liquored up enough and placed within a social situation where they feel the need to impress, they may draw on the details of their glory days to attempt to do so. Over one too many drinks they may regale you about time in the van, on tour, playing that show with that band and getting in that situation.
They may even tell you about their old bassist. An emblem to them now. More a symbol of their youth than real person even. A figure they can recall and say “Yes I was young and dumb and carefree once. I lived life.” And if you feel uncomfortable with their candor, with their allusions to drugs and debauchery, with their maybe somewhat casual cruelty? Then all the better because then you’re the square, man, and they’re still hip and all is right with the world. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, the old bassist in question (who in no way would think of themself as being “theirs” at all) is living a life and probably not thinking of this business person at all. But maybe they are, and there is something about that that is a bit melancholy to me. Maybe they can get the band back together one day. That would be nice.”
Bio:
Can I freshen up your drink? Gravy in My Coffee is the stylistically far-reaching sophomore release from duo Woody and Jeremy. It may surprise you with its depth of emotion and complexity. Less fusion-cooking and more à la carte dining, Gravy in My Coffee is a crowded plate where punk, funk, indie and psych sit side-by-side, smothered in delicious homemade gravy. What is the unifying secret which brings the meal together? “Self-loathing?” Jeremy
While their first album found a more strict divide between Woody’s role as composer and Jeremy’s as lyricist, here the lines blur, resulting in an increased palette of genres and lyrics. The lyrical approach of the album lays bare coping mechanisms developed to deal with the extreme precarity of life on earth: equal parts humor, absurdism, cynicism and earnestness, but always seeping in from the corners, the simmering fear of our potential apocalypses.
The album, recorded with a band of top-tier Chicago musicians, is not afraid to wear its references on its sleeve, to the point that there’s literally a song about Cass Mccombs buying a loaf of bread on the record. Other references flavoring this gravy are the likes of Ween, Wilco, R.E.M. Buzzcocks, and a plethora of other bands a slightly-too-cool dad may force you to listen to.
Woody is best known as the keyboardist for the hugely successful funk group Vulfpeck, but he and Jeremy have been creating music together since before that band’s inception. They cut their teeth in the basements of Ann Arbor, Michigan, relying heavily on improvisation and extreme emotional catharsis onstage, often to the discomfort of audiences. That DNA is still running through Gravy in My Coffee: an urge to experiment, confuse, and maybe even brighten your day.
Woody and Jeremy
Gravy in my Coffee
(Self-Released)
Street Date: June 4, 2021
Track List:
1. Rolling in the Basement
2. L.A. Drivers
3. He’s Cass McCombs
4. Distant Lands
5. Closed Eyes
6. Feet of a God
7. Gravy in My Coffee
8. My Old Bassist
9. Behold a Pale Rider
10. She’s a Stone