TCS hates interviews, but…

TCS hates interviews, but we will be posting a few of the guys leading up to the Head Bent full release to give you fans some insight into their world these days. Here’s a clip discussing where TCS fits into the current musical landscape…..

Interview One

Interview Two (3)

Interview Three

“Head Bent ” Release Date!

And…. we finally have a release date. More behind the scenes (as usual), but “Head Bent” will be released world wide June 6 2017. Digital, CD and Vinyl. Single and video coming just weeks prior TBA.

Head Bent - TCS

“The Gospel Blues…” – Release Dates!

“The Gospel Blues and Southern Gothic Companion” by Chris Tapp – Available for pre-order March 1st and download the single “Killing Machine.”

Full album release date March 15th.

High Plains
Killing Machine
Mind on Jesus
The River
Wade in the Darkness
Under His Command
If Your Way Gets Dark
Lead’em On
Last of Grace
Mountain
Medicine Wheel

“The Southern Gospel…” Solo album update

Finishing touches on first solo album today. “The Southern Gothic and Gospel Blues Companion”. What started as a 4 song EP has turned into an full album of western cinema work, gospel blues and modern southern gothic. Has been a labor of love. #thesoutherngothicandgospelbluescompanion #nationalestralita #deltablues #gospelblues #southerngothic #resonator #blues #countryblues #blindwilliejohnson #slideguitar #nationalguitars #melancholy #southern #crestonguitars #swampy Chris Tapp Southern Gothic and Gospel Blues Companion March 15th 2017

High Plains-
Killing Machine
Mind on Jesus
The River
Wade in the Darkness
Under His Command
If Your Way Gets Dark
Lead’em On
Last of Grace
Mountain
Medicine Wheel

5 Year Anniversary Free Concert Series

In preparation for the release of HEAD BENT on Small Stone Records in February and a following 2017 tour, The Cold Stares will be performing EVERY Friday night in January and February leading up to the album’s release. Each of these concerts will be FREE to the public. This is our chance to thank our local fans for 5 years of support, and prepare for our upcoming tour to support Head Bent. Please help us spread the word about this very special time in our bands history.

Early 2017 – New album and tours!

Early 2017 The Cold Stares will release our Small Stone Records album “HEAD BENT”. The track listing has been finalized, and the album art work will be posted in the next week. Very proud of the record, our relationship with SS, and excited about all the things happening in 2017 for the band. The album will be available on vinyl as well as digital and CD. A national tour as well as a European tour is in the works. You will also find us at SXSW 2017.

HEAD BENT

1-John
2-Head Bent
3-Kings
4-Neighbor Blues
5-Stuck in a Rut
6-Ball and Twine
7-God and Country
9-Price to Pay
10-Caught in the Weather
11-One Way Outta Here

The Southern EP – Background and Lyrics for Cold Black Water

Leading up to the release of our new EP “The Southern” next week I’m going to post the lyrics to each song on the album with an explanation and a little background how each song originated. You guys always ask at shows where some of the songs come from, so hopefully this is something you’ll enjoy. The first song is “Cold Black Water” the third track on “The Southern”. CT

COLD BLACK WATER
I wrote this song specifically about Jeff Buckley. During the time that my music persona really formed, Buckley was a huge influence on me. Everyone now debates on Jeff’s greatness, but to me it’s not as simple as one or two songs, or his voice, or his arrangements. Jeff Buckley’s greatness was the intangible thing that makes all artists great. It’s the thing that can’t be explained, but can be felt when you hear or see their work, or soak up when you are around them. Tim Buckley, Jeff’s father died around the same age as Jeff which is very ironic. And then the way Jeff died, in the Mississippi river, clothes on, in a moment of freedom when he decided to wade in to the water that night, that longing to push it, risk it, live it, like I’ve waded into trouble so many times in my life but somehow by the grace of God emerged. Of course Jeff didn’t. And we’ll never know what he might have become. But for those of us that were impacted by his work, he is a Robert Johnson, Jim Morrison type figure. Enigmatic. Mysterious. But in the end human. As soon as I picked through the opening riff to this song in my living room, I saw that water surrounding Jeff, the darkness of the current, the moon above him, as the world around him was touting him as the savior of rock music, what the moment felt like to fade into that murky water. Wrote the song in one long poem in the moments following.

Here are the lyrics, as well as some explanations in parenthesis.

Cold Black Water

Don’t you call my name Peter don’t you dare (Matthew 16:9 )
I been treading in the water and a fever running through my head
They say I was the chosen one who’d make it all alright (Jeff’s critical acclaim)
But I’m sinking in the Cold Black Water down here tonight. (drowning)

I was just trying to find a place I could rest my shoes
Quarter mile off of Beale I could still hear them sing them blues (Beale street where Jeff was found in the Mississippi river)
Bottle of wine singing hallelujah right across my lips (Jeff’s version of “Hallelujah” is still daily discussed, and his love for wine was known)
Current of the ole Mississippi dancing at my hips

Swing low, low brother won’t you drag that line (metaphor for them dragging the river for Jeff’s body)
Swing low low never know just what you’ll find
Every child of God gotta answer when it comes his time (we are all going to die, quicker you wrap your head around that, the better you’ll start to live)

Don’t you shed no tears for me on that muddy ground
Don’t you waste no wine for me when they lay me down
Don’t you stray down in that water just to see my face
Come up baptized trying just to find some grace (Grace was Jeff’s critically acclaimed masterpiece album)

Swing low, low brother won’t you drag that line
Swing low low never know just what you’ll find
Every child of God gotta answer when it comes his time

Buckley_found

Buckley_missing

About 26 days until The Southern EP release

About 26 days until the release of “The Southern”. Thought we would pass along the artwork to you guys. This album means a lot to us, represents who we are, where we come from, and our family history. We’ll be releasing a single later this month, and a video to follow. Also we will be doing some contests and free giveaways. Stay tuned and please share our posts regarding “The Southern”. Sept 10th we will be doing a CD release party at Mojo’s in Evansville, please make plans to join us then! TCS

thesoutherncover

thesoutherninner

thesouthernback

Out in Public

More and more we are getting stopped in public by folks we don’t know that recognize us and come up and just want to tell us how much they are into what we are doing.
Just wanted to thank each and every one of you that are on this page for the time you take out of your busy lives to listen to our music, come see us live, or share our music with someone else. It is very humbling, and rewarding to see how our music can affect someone else’s world. This is “our” band, meaning Brian, myself, and every one of you who has helped get the word out about The Cold Stares. Whatever talent we have, we give God the glory for that, whatever success we have- have to credit every one of you guys as well- Thank You All, and please don’t ever give up on rock and roll- CT

Colds Stares exciting news and updates!

Ok. Gonna drop a bit of news on you fine Cold Stares folks.
UPDATE:
Original plan was to have our first Small Stone label release turned in by first of July, and to be released end of September. Due to some scheduling issues, and us having to complete some projects that some of you are now seeing on TV, we were delayed. For that reason we have decided with Small Stone to push the release back to January. Although the album is completed, with distribution, some new found opportunities and a possible European tour in the spring- it makes a lot more sense for us career wise to hold on a few months further for a Jan 2017 release. Crazy difficult to sit on it that long without you guys hearing, but seems legally it’s what we have to do as well.
The good news for our fans-
In the process of recording the Small Stone records album we also cut a group of songs where we really pushed our southern roots. A group of four songs exists that we really love and have chosen to release them together as an EP titled “The Southern” first of September. Hopefully this will tie you guys over until January’s full length label release.
“The Southern” will not be B sides or out takes, but rather a group of songs that just uniquely fit together and was separate from the direction we were going for the SS album. We have long wanted to do a release that showed our more rootsy electric side. How will it sound? I would describe it as a bit of CCR, a touch of Steve Earle, some Free maybe, but definitely Cold Stares.
Artwork and release date will post this week, and we will announce a string of tour dates to support “Dark Dark Blue” and “The Southern” throughout the late summer/fall- winter 2016.
With each release I think we continue to find ways to be more pleased with our art, and we also find ways to express better who we are through our art. “The Southern” is no exception, and once again we feel it will be our finest work to date. It means something to us both personally in who we are, and where we’ve come from. We plan to release a single and video from “The Southern” in late August.
God Bless you all, and thank you for sharing the ride. We are taking a turn south for awhile, hope you enjoy the scenery-
TCS