Rock For Love 4 feat. Lucero, Bulletproof Vests and Jeremy Stanfill

Lucero
http://www.myspace.com/lucero
Lucero’s sixth studio album and major label debut, 1372 Overton Park, is due October 6 on Universal Republic Records. Produced by Ted Hutt (The Gaslight Anthem) and featuring horn arrangements by legendary Memphis session player Jim Spake (Al Green, John Hiatt, Solomon Burke, Cat Power), the record marks a decided turn toward the Memphis soul sound that has long informed the band’s records from afar. 1372 Overton Park follows the band’s 2006 release, Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, hailed by Pitchfork as “the best showcase for the band’s taut dynamic yet.” After a run of festival and club dates this summer, Lucero will tour throughout the fall in support of the new album with the Lucero Ramblin’ Roadshow & Memphis Revue, a traveling roadshow featuring Amy LaVere, Cedric Burnside with Lightnin’ Malcolm, Jack Oblivian, John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives and The Dirty Streets. Please see reverse for a list of dates.

The new album’s name comes from the address of the Memphis loft in which all four band members lived, practiced and even recorded portions of their 2003 release That Much Further West (the history of the space itself is even more colorful—in the ..70s, 1372 Overton Park was a karate dojo where local resident Elvis Presley, among others, took lessons). Over recent years band members have gradually moved out leaving lead singer and guitarist Ben Nichols the sole resident of the space until word finally came down that the building would be sold and demolished. Almost as if marking the end of an era not only for the building but for the band as well, this record turns the page and signals a strong move toward the Memphis soul sound that has long served as an influence for the group. Nichols explains, “When [saxophonist] Jim Spake put that first horn track down, we began thinking of the record as having a certain sound. We heard pieces of Memphis history being played over our songs and it floored us and we just went with it.”

While 1372 Overton Park serves as a love letter to Memphis and its musical heritage, the band has far from abandoned the country/rock/punk influences that they’ve become known for over their previous five records and countless tour dates in front of rabid fans. “I think the fact that we don't claim a genre is very important to what Lucero is,” according to Nichols. “There are too many rules in punk rock. Too many rules in country music. We’re hard headed and…god damn if we don’t do things the way we want to do them.”

Playing between 150-200 live shows a year, Lucero has come to be known as much for their hard-touring work ethic as for their critically acclaimed records. In addition to his work with the band, lead singer Ben Nichols also released a solo record in early 2009 and co-stars in MTV’s $5 Cover, a series about the Memphis music scene.

Ultimately, Lucero live to rock and rock to live. No more. No less. Its really that simple. -Amy Sciarretto

Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers was released September 26, 2006 on Lucero's own Liberty & Lament label.

Bulletproof Vests
http://www.myspace.com/thebulletproofvestsattack
In the spring of 2009, the Memphis music scene was dealt a devastating blow by the loss of local sextet Terry Ronslaw & The Porksleeve. Terry and his band had built a huge following and established a reputation for always agreeing to open for any nationally touring act regardless of genre or location of venue, requesting only free alcohol and a limp handshake in return. By virtue of being the greatest living rock band ever, interest was expressed by several small to medium sized independent record labels. But the band became disinterested, stopped rehearsing, and decided to “focus on recording.” Local venues were left scrambling for someone – anyone - to fill the gaping void. In the Porksleeve’s place stepped, The Bulletproof Vests. Birthed out of the ironically mustached underbelly of Midtown Memphis on April Fool’s Day 2009, The Bulletproof Vests have become Memphis’s hottest Rock and Roll sensation (unverified). They were brought together by a mutual love of vocabulary based humor, red amplifiers, and of course, destiny. Names of band members are sometimes spelled like this: Jake Vest, Toby Vest, Greg Faison, Dirk Kitterlin, and Brandon Robertson. It’s been said that each band member plays an instrument and brings his own unique influences to the group. Bursting onto the scene with their debut album, Attack!, The Bulletproof Vests have proven their ability to "slot together in classic Memphis tight-but-loose fashion" (Blurt-Online). With just one listen to their hot new single, “Don’t Throw My Love Away,” one can easily tell that they have taken their deep love for locally cultivated music, swished it around, and spit out a sound that is most unique.

Jeremy Stanfill
http://www.myspace.com/jeremystanfill