Tuesdays With Lazerbeak

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Oh man oh man, welcome back to another wild edition of Tuesdays With Lazerbeak. I am so overjoyed to announce that my new solo album Luther is now out in the world for all to ehear. You can listen, stream, buy, and share it with everyone you know right HERE.

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Thank you so much to all of you who’ve taken some time to sit with the album. I’ve been feeling the posi vibes all week long and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the initial response. Here’s a couple of track-by-track beat breakdowns that I’ve made so far in case you want to take a peak behind the curtain and see how the music came together for this project.

And here’s the official unboxing video for the album. My dumb kids have absolutely zero idea what a CD is. Pretty cool dance moves though.

I really truly appreciate all the support and love surrounding Luther‘s release. Now that the record is finally out it’s time to set my sites on the big album release show going down on March 8th at the Parkway Theater in South Minneapolis. Really excited to try a little different format this time around. I’ll be taking a deep dive into the inspiration and creation process behind Luther – talking with my great Tuesdays With Lazerbeak podcast co-host Jeyca Maldonado about the last seven years between solo albums, how mindfulness has really reframed my outlook on life, and maybe even getting my kids to perform a song. There will of course be actual live music as well. I’m gonna bring out a ton of guest artists that I’ve collaborated with over the last two decades. Everyone from the Doomtree guys all the way back to The Plastic Constellations days and lots of newer artists as well.  Should be a total rager and I hope to see you down there. Grab your tickets HERE and tell a friend. Thank you!

Now let’s switch gears a little bit and celebrate an album that came out one whole year ago this week. Oh yeah, it’s #ChimeTime. I’m gonna let Dessa pop in with one of her show-stealing Tuesdays With Dessica takeovers to really do this justice. Take it away, Dess!

One year ago this week, Doomtree Records released Chime, my most recent full-length album. Putting out a record involves a mix of contradictory feelings—you’re relieved it’s finally done, eager to share, and afraid people won’t like it. You cycle rapidly between insufferable arrogance and immobilizing self-doubt.

 

Now, a year after the release, Chime is a project I’m proud of; it includes some of my poppier songs, like “Jumprope” and “Half of You,” but also a couple of bangers like “5 Out Of 6” and “Fire Drills.” I’ll always write songs about romantic love—it’s too big a part of my life not to address in my music—but on Chime I wrote more about other subjects: the death of my grandmother on “I Hope I’m Wrong,” free will on “Velodrome,” and nonsense for its own damn sake on “Shrimp.” If you’re inclined to take a quick trip down (someone else’s) memory lane, you can check out a few of the videos for those tracks here:

 (A special shout out here to both Andy Thompson and Lazerbeak, the guys who executively produced all these songs—and the latter of whom is just embarking on his own journey of release-week craziness with “LUTHER.”)
In the past twelve months, I’ve toured Chime around a pretty good chunk of the world. Thanks to everyone who’s been a part of those shows, who’s taken a moment to tell a friend about the record, or who pre-ordered the thing from Doomtree’s webstore.  Here’s a picture of me signing those first copies on Becky’s dining room table. (And here we pause for a moment of silent thanks to Becky—who’s had a hand in every event and ambition of the past year. She’s also one of my few close friends to own a proper dining room table.)
Thanks for the past year of support. Stay tuned for more music soon. And if you live in the US, I might be headed to a city near you this spring: we’ve got shows coming up on both coasts and in the Midwest. You can check out the full routing and snag tickets here.
BLAMMO. Happy birthday Chime! Thanks for the rundown, Dessa. I’m super proud of that album and of YOU! Check out the latest episode of the Tuesdays With Lazerbeak podcast to hear Dessa talk even further on this past whirlwind year, as well as the Whitney Houston documentary and her own dream endorsement deals. Available everywhere you listen to podcasts right HERE.
Now it’s time to highlight a dear friend of everyone here at Doomtree, who spends most of his time hiding/lurking in the shadows: Light guy extraordinaire and official Legend God himself, Paul “Arlo” Guthrie. Arlo has done lighting and stage design for Doomtree shows for years now, but his actual day job finds him out on the road doing lights for enormous acts like Nine Inch Nails, Fleetwood Mac, Miranda Lambert, and Hall & Oates. The good people over at TPT decided to shine the spotlight back on Arlo for once, and created this awesome mini-doc about him. I cannot recommend it any more, especially because there is an incredible John Oates cameo towards the end. Click the player below or go HERE to check it out.

OK! Let’s jump into some Bonus Jams before calling it a day. I was so pumped to share an album release day last Friday with the likes of Cardi B AND Bruno Mars. This “Please Me” song is far from the best thing either of them have done, but it’s still fun as hell and has definitely grown on me.

Kelly Rowland is back with a new smash hit. Really into this “Crown” song. One of her strongest solo releases in my opinion.

Kelly Rowland – “Crown”

Lizzo Mania is in full swing and it’s been awesome to watch her take over the Ellen Show and the Tonight Show in recent weeks with first single “Juice.” She’s back for Round 2 with new single and album title track “Cuz I Love You,” released just in time for Valentine’s Day last week. Bonus points for writing this one with X-Ambassadors (one of my secret fav bands). Shouts to Quinn Wilson on the vizualz too!

Lizzo – “Cuz I Love You”

And speaking of Quinns (unlikely SEGUE!!!), here’s a new one from Quin and 6lack that I’ve been playing a bunch this week.

Quin & 6lack – “Mushroom Chocolate”

Extremely amped that Holy Ghost! is back and getting ready to release a new album this spring. I love this band.

Holy Ghost! – “Epton on Broadway (Part I & Part II)”

Big shouts to our Chicago homie ShowYouSuck, who teamed up with the great Sisi Dior for a new collaborative group called (wait for it) Sisi & Show. I’m super into this first single “Episode 1.” Check it out below!

Sisi & Show – “Episode 1 (What Happened)”

Let’s get into these Minnesota Bonus Jams once again since our state continues to release phenomenal music at such a frenetic pace. Student 1 dropped his excellent new Upprclssmn project at the top of the year and this “Yin/Yang” track with Tierra Whack is definitely a highlight.

Student 1 – “Yin/Yang” ft. Tierra Whack

Huge congrats to J.S. Ondara on the release of his new album with Verve Records. I’m loving this “Torch Song” track.

J.S. Ondara – “Torch Song”

Very excited for the new album from Sam Cassidy dropping next month. Second single “Dallas” is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever heard from him. Highly recommended.

Sam Cassidy – “Dallas”

The Cactus Blossoms are gearing up for world domination with a new record out next month. Here’s a live version of new single “Got A Lotta Love.” Shouts to our good friend Alex Proctor on the live mix.

The Cactus Blossoms – “Got A Lot Of Love”

BOOM. That does it for Bonus Jams this week. As always, you can add this Bonus Jams Playlist to your Spotify account to take the hits with you wherever you go. I update it every Tuesday with whatever I’m feeling at the time. Subscribe right HERE.

I hope you have a truly awesome week as we inch closer to March. Keep bumping Luther and spreading the good word far and wide, and I’ll see you back here next week for another round of Tuesdays With Lazerbeak!

— Beak

Twitter: @_LAZERBEAK_

Instagram: @lazerbeak

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