Lee Thomas Band

The Lee Thomas band seems to have found a way to remain relevant in today's new recording industry. Despite holding to a 'back burner' effort for the last several years, the venerable RockinBloozaBoogie act is just now celebrating one solid consecutive month of their album "Forty Miles of Bad Road" holding the #2 Top Mover slot on MySpace music's global indie blues chart.

"We had just decided to regroup to give it another go" says member Joe Bear. "With this year's effort, we decided to push a little harder".

For approximately the last decade, the band had been working together only for the summer season. Each spring found the popular live act in demand for a number of festivals. Each member had been in other acts, comprising in the bulk of the year's schedule. "We loved getting together and playing concerts each year," says Dan Jones. "It used to be enough, but we decided this year we'd renew our collective songwriting efforts".

As a test case in learning the mechanics of the new record distribution industry, Joe Bear decided to re-release their decade-old effort. "With the demise of the traditional recording industry, each band is almost on an equal footing with the majors," says Joe, "as long as we can figure out how to market effectively, we no longer need a recording contract to carve out a niche".

The re-release of "Forty Miles..." was done only as an experiment, concurrent with songwriting for the next album. However, the band was pleasantly taken aback by its success.

"Who would want to listen to a decade-old album from a band that never charted before?", ponders Dave Davis.

As it so happens, it appears that quite a few are interested. It took several months from the release date for "Forty Miles..." to garner any measurable results. But interest has grown with time. Not only has "Forty Miles..." Been the #2 Top Mover, but also held the #26 position overall on the same chart -- again for a consecutive month.

This small success has validated and solidified the decision to be writing and recording together again. The band reports that they already are making excellent progress on a number of tunes. The summer festival season is, as always, shaping up -- with several such events already booked. Recording of the new material should start in the fall, as the festival season is winding down.

"We're expecting the next album to surpass "Forty Miles...", says Joe. "We've all grown a lot since we recorded that one -- musically and personally". "With a little luck, and some solid effort, we hope to sustain the success of "Forty Miles..." until the new disc drops".

It's been a long and bumpy road so far for The Lee Thomas Band. But they seem to be headed in the right direction, with a full tank of gas.

leethomasband.com
Lee Thomas Band
Denver Area - MainGig! magazine