Must-hear roots rockin' blues with twisted NYC songwriting.

13 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Rockin' Blues, ROCK: Americana



Details:
PAUL MARK & the Van Dorens/"INDIGOVERTIGO" (Radiation 5891)

INDIGOVERTIGO is the band's fourth CD release, and it packs a rhythmic wallop. Endlessly surprising, infinitely crazed and above all infinitely swinging, this is a CD that restores jaded listeners to musical health. How can a record sound so loose yet not have a note of filler?

The CD was recorded at Dockside Studios in Louisiana, and the swamp oozes from every cut. Mark has penned a folio of new tunes that continues to raise the bar for blues songwriting. Each tune catches some element of the southern tradition and twists it into something new. "15 Minutes from Marie" updates the Louisiana second line sound into a car driving anthem. "Shakin' in My Head" has a funk guitar break that will curl your hair. "Dead End Town" takes the 12-bar format and turns it inside out over a lyric that is as fresh as today's headlines. Included is a cover of Lennon/McCartney chestnut "You Can't Do That", roughed up into an improbable Texas blues taunt.

Mark has said this is the band's best CD to date and he may be right. After so many years on the road, a natural feel pervades the mix. Co-produced by Mark and Memphis music guru Jeff Powell, this is one CD that'll rise right to the top of your stack.

BAND BIO

Barroom tested and road-weary tough, PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS carry on the tradition of live, no-holds-barred blues rock with a difference: original songwriting that goes beyond my-baby-left-me-clichés to cover contemporary turf. Biting, witty and ironic, Mark's original lyrics are head and shoulders above the hackneyed toss-offs of most contemporary acts.

Hailing from New York City and touring up and down the East Coast for years in a beat-up van, PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS are unforgettable to the thousands of fans who've seen them perform. Their first CD release, "Go Big or Go Home" (RDTN5861) set the stage with a rumbling beat and quick-witted lyrics. That was followed by "Metropolitan Swamp" (RDTN5801) and then "Disposable Soul" (RDTN5821). In between Paul Mark released a solo collection, "Roadside Americana" (RDTN5851). The band embraces elements of the traditional blues band approach but updates it with a hip, knowing - and maybe just a bit twisted - sensibility. The band's rafter-shaking fourth release is titled "IndigoVertigo" (RDTN5891).

The band delivers an unsurpassed roar, a sloppy southern blues approach that slams into gear and violates every rule required for MTV rotation. Fierce guitar tones, reckless rhythms that relentlessly churn, caveman vocals that stop you in your tracks, these guys are rough, live and real. Forget the global promotions, bloated studio budgets and airbrushed images of major label acts; check out a real band: PAUL MARK & the VAN DORENS.