Colin Lake
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Colin Lake

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | INDIE

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | INDIE
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"Colin Lake - Ones to Watch"

A piercing tone rings out through the audience shaking the deep soul of everyone in the enthusiastic crowd. As it gently slides from one note to another further grinding out that distant yet relatable feeling that makes your face twitch and goose bumps raise all over, the band kicks in. Then, the voice is heard. A penetrating voice that pushes through and opens up that ancient display of truth, heart ache, and joy as slide guitarist begins to sing his next tune.

A self taught and treasured talent that seems to have naturally fi gured it all out by just by being himself, Colin Lake began his music career years ago but only arrived in New Orleans within the past few years. “The reason that everybody loves this city is because they’re drawn to it and I was drawn to it in this way where I just kind of had this awakening. What I’m trying to do needs this,” explains Lake on his move to the Crescent City.

Coming all the way from Portland, Ore. in 2009 the Washington state native decided to divert the long drive by making it into a solo tour through the Rockies, into Texas, and various other places on the way down. Scrapping by in his grey truck alone on the road was the beginning of his next musical journey that would lead the artist through his spiritual awakening as he patiently waited for the right pieces to come together following his arrival in New Orleans. “When I fi rst got here I did a lot of solo playing but I was reluctant to recruit band members until I kind of had my feet under myself a little better,” comments Lake on starting off in a brand new city. He says he not only wanted to fi gure out how the music community worked down here, but he wanted to work with the right musicians who were talented and brought out the best in each other with positive attitudes.

Like so many great songwriters and musicians, Lake was attracted to New Orleans for its unique rhythms and overall world-renowned musicianship. “The way that rhythm sections around here approach the beat, you can’t beat that. So, if you combine an honest song with that I feel that for anybody that likes roots music it can go a long way,” he explains. This emphasis on quality songwriting born out of his attraction to the singer/songwriter approach comes at no surprise as Lake even admits having a knack for that style of writing. “When I bring a song to a group of guys like that and they go ‘oh yeah!’ and it's something they can dig into, it’s one of the most rewarding feelings that I can have…it's special.” His own approach to the process of song development comes with much hard work, not only to teach himself lap slide guitar and to sing, but in his dedicated craftsmanship to the song. It was only but about ten years ago that Colin Lake picked up the lap slide guitar and felt a resonating natural heartbeat between him and his new instrument. Inspired by style of Pacifi c North West player Kelly Joe Phelps, he then practiced with great enthusiasm mimicking great players like Phelps until he developed his own style and tone that people enjoy so much today. Still, with a voice soulful enough to compete with his sweetly fi erce slide guitar, it wasn’t until 2005 that he began to really teach himself to sing mostly through the same process. “I would emulate the singers that I liked the most. What I realized was that the singers I liked the most or would move me the most were the ones who really pushed through their voice. Ya know, people like Howlin’ Wolf and Elmore James with this powerful overdriven kind of voice,” he says on developing his vocal technique. When he discovered that when he pushed his voice like these artists he idolized he could have more control over his voice and truly make it his own. Now, after going through the self-growth process of teaching himself lead instruments, he says he has a pretty good vision on where he wants to go, and truly enjoys the songwriting process. “The puzzle of writing has always been interesting to me. Writing is like this little algebra project…there are only so many options to fi ll that space and you got to fi gure out how to do it. That’s always been interesting to me.”

Looking forward to a prosperous career it seems that his recipe in developing well-written, honest material with a healthy dose of New Orleans second line rhythms, syncopation, and professional musicians has worked. His latest full album The Ones I Love is a true testament to his success. The quality of original music is not only incredible, but the list collaborating artists, such as Eric Lindell singing back up on “Lovin’ Man”, is in itself a testament to the amazing effect Colin Lake has on people through his genuine personality that is displayed through his songs. Looking at every artist on the album will put a local enthusiast in awe, and Lake says truly built up his own confi dence early on in the city. His inspirations have not been only through work or collaborating with musicians he’s looked up to since childhood. - Where Y'at Magazine - December 2012


"Guitarist and songwriter Colin Lake finds his muse in New Orleans"


Published: Thursday, September 29, 2011, 12:00 PM
Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

Colin Lake grew up in Seattle. He first visited New Orleans at age 19 to play in a lacrosse tournament. The city didn’t make much of an impression.

But his parents regaled him with tales of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. They decorated the family home with Jazz Fest posters. And their post-fest behavior was … curious.

“My folks,” Lake recalled recently, “would always come back from New Orleans acting funny.”

He finally made his own Jazz Fest pilgrimage in 2008, after he’d moved to Portland, Ore., and launched a career as a folk- and blues-based guitarist. Armed with his resonator guitar, he busked on Big Easy streets. He realized “there was something going on. I got a feeling that I needed to take what I was doing here.”

And so he did. He moved to New Orleans in 2009, and has since established himself as a singer, songwriter and guitarist mining the same roots music vein as local favorites Eric Lindell and Anders Osborne.

Lake released a smattering of CDs in Portland, but considers his new “The Ones I Love” to be his “re-debut,” an introduction to his New Orleans incarnation. He and a band that includes veteran keyboardist Marc Adams, Roadmasters bassist Jack Cruz and versatile drummer Wayne Maureau headline a CD release show Thursday, Oct. 6 at d.b.a. Lake also performs at the Louisiana Music Factory on Oct. 8.

“It’s a big move that I made, to leave the Pacific Northwest and my family and friends. But I felt like every step along the way was an affirmation that I was doing the right thing.”

It was while pursuing a vague, liberal arts course of study at colleges in Colorado, Seattle and, ultimately, Portland that he first got serious about the guitar. His chief inspiration was acclaimed folk-blues guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps. “He blew my mind. He literally brought me to tears.”

Lake eventually quit college to lead a musician’s life in Portland. For six years, he “skimped by.”

“Portland is a vibrant music scene ... but compared to New Orleans, it doesn’t have that fervor of support for the local scene. Once I was exposed to New Orleans, there was no way I was going to deny myself.”

After his 2008 visit, he returned to Portland and, in early 2009, booked a “one-way tour” through Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas to New Orleans. He traveled in a ’94 Nissan pickup without air-conditioning or power steering.

His first months here were equally inauspicious. He and the only local he knew rented a Bywater apartment. An extension cord to a neighbor’s house supplied electricity. The situation further deteriorated, Lake said, due to their landlord’s crack addiction.

But he persevered. Eventually, he landed a regular gig at d.b.a. He met Lindell at a show in Alexandria. Recognizing their similar musical worldviews, Lindell took Lake under his wing.

Early this year, Lindell asked Lake to contribute slide guitar to a recording session at a Mid-City studio called the Graveyard. The recording engineer, Drew Vonderhaar, offered to produce an album for Lake.

The result is “The Ones I Love,” a poised, eminently listenable and deftly arranged collection of original compositions. Featured musicians include Cruz, Adams, saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter, guitarist John Fohl of Dr. John’s Lower 9-11, and bassist Myles Weeks, from Lindell’s trio.

Lake’s nimble lap-slide guitar finger-picking on “Flowers in Her Hair” and the title track are directly influenced by Phelps. “Lovin’ Man” would fit in seamlessly on a latter-day Lindell record; Lindell even sings background on the track.

The way the album came together is indicative of the personal and professional serendipity that has informed Lake’s two years in town. His ’08 Jazz Fest journey continues to pay dividends.

In Louis Armstrong International Airport at the end of that trip, he fired up his guitar for an impromptu concert in the terminal. He impressed at least two listeners. One was a writer from the music web site jambase.com.

The other was a woman named Dawn Marie, headed back to Texas after Jazz Fest. She was on the phone when she heard what she believed to be “this old guy singing.” She and Lake, who is 30, subsequently spoke at length during a flight delay. They stayed in touch.

Last year, she moved to New Orleans to be with him. She inspired at least three songs on “The Ones I Love.”

These days, Lake’s move is looking even smarter.

“A friend told me that it was a leap of faith, and I guess it was. But for one of the first times in my life, I feel like I’m on the right path. Everything has come together in the right way."
- New Orleans Times-Picayune


"Colin Lake & Wellbottom "Wax Wane""

Through Bobtje's Blues blog (Da Blues #19) and the track 'Nobody's Man' I became acquainted with the twenty-five year old Colin Lake. Colin calls himself a 'freestyle lap-steel guitar player' and it is only three years since he is attached to this special instrument with it's unique sound and surprising tones. Before this Colin Lake limited himself to the traditional blues and bottle-neck guitars. Six of the nine tracks on this CD are written by Colin himself. Producer Bryan Appel lends his hand on 'All Coming Down' while the other two tracks are covers. One from Bukka White called 'Fixin' To Die' and Chris Whitley's 'Big Sky Country'. This whole CD reminds me a lot of Chris Whitley who died in 2005 and the lyrics on the inside of the cover "Love and death…That's what all art is, or should be about" Chris Whitley (1960-2005) speaks volumes. I like Lake's voice, a bit woolly or free floating but very diversified and match perfectly with the melodious tones of the lap-steel guitar. On a couple of tracks Colin is accompanied by drummer Paul Ansotegui and Bryan Appel on bass guitar. Also, he frequently uses the skills of deejay Redi Jedi who is a welcome supplement with his subtle scratches and samples on the emotional and somewhat political relaxed songs on this CD. 'Wax Wane' is a beautiful debut album mainly recorded in one take and it sounds like he his playing right in your living room. This CD is highly recommended!
Reviewed by: Bert Reinders
Info: Wax Wane / own control / ***
Website: www.colinlake.com
E-mail: colinlake@gmail.com - Bobtje Blues, Belgium


"Colin Lake & Wellbottom "Wax Wane""

Through Bobtje's Blues blog (Da Blues #19) and the track 'Nobody's Man' I became acquainted with the twenty-five year old Colin Lake. Colin calls himself a 'freestyle lap-steel guitar player' and it is only three years since he is attached to this special instrument with it's unique sound and surprising tones. Before this Colin Lake limited himself to the traditional blues and bottle-neck guitars. Six of the nine tracks on this CD are written by Colin himself. Producer Bryan Appel lends his hand on 'All Coming Down' while the other two tracks are covers. One from Bukka White called 'Fixin' To Die' and Chris Whitley's 'Big Sky Country'. This whole CD reminds me a lot of Chris Whitley who died in 2005 and the lyrics on the inside of the cover "Love and death…That's what all art is, or should be about" Chris Whitley (1960-2005) speaks volumes. I like Lake's voice, a bit woolly or free floating but very diversified and match perfectly with the melodious tones of the lap-steel guitar. On a couple of tracks Colin is accompanied by drummer Paul Ansotegui and Bryan Appel on bass guitar. Also, he frequently uses the skills of deejay Redi Jedi who is a welcome supplement with his subtle scratches and samples on the emotional and somewhat political relaxed songs on this CD. 'Wax Wane' is a beautiful debut album mainly recorded in one take and it sounds like he his playing right in your living room. This CD is highly recommended!
Reviewed by: Bert Reinders
Info: Wax Wane / own control / ***
Website: www.colinlake.com
E-mail: colinlake@gmail.com - Bobtje Blues, Belgium


"Too Young for the Blues?"

"In concert, Lake was a revelation; sitting, almost buddha-like, centering a caldron of sound, casually signaling the band with a simple glance, beaming as he played his laptop slide and easing into vocals that would have Lowell George's ghost nodding approval."
– Music journalist Zaph Mann.
- www.nonstarvingartists.com


"Too Young for the Blues?"

"In concert, Lake was a revelation; sitting, almost buddha-like, centering a caldron of sound, casually signaling the band with a simple glance, beaming as he played his laptop slide and easing into vocals that would have Lowell George's ghost nodding approval."
– Music journalist Zaph Mann.
- www.nonstarvingartists.com


""Bullet" CD review by Greg Johnson"

Bullet is one of those recordings that should be heard by anybody who doubts the future of Blues music.
– Greg Johnson, President of the Cascade Blues Society


- Cascade Blues Society


""Bullet" CD review by Greg Johnson"

Bullet is one of those recordings that should be heard by anybody who doubts the future of Blues music.
– Greg Johnson, President of the Cascade Blues Society


- Cascade Blues Society


"Colin Lake and Wellbottom come to Telluride"

"...superb songwriting and vocal style bolstered by scorching slide-guitar and driving grooves... Colin Lake and Wellbottom will blow your mind."
- Rebecca Thoreson, The Telluride Watch


- The Telluride Watch


"Colin Lake and Wellbottom come to Telluride"

"...superb songwriting and vocal style bolstered by scorching slide-guitar and driving grooves... Colin Lake and Wellbottom will blow your mind."
- Rebecca Thoreson, The Telluride Watch


- The Telluride Watch


"Colin Lake: Is There Something in the Water"

December 29, 2009
by Stephen Murray

Turns out your neighbor’s claim that his right knee acts up right before a cloudburst or your aunt’s insistence that her parakeet goes dead silent just prior to a rainsquall isn’t all hooey. Meteorologists confirm that there is, indeed, a measurable barometric shift in air pressure preceding a storm and it can bring on all kinds of weird phenomena. But you didn’t need a weatherman to tell you that, did you? You can feel it. It’s hard to put your finger on but it’s there all right.

Listen to Woman On the Hill:



Spend a few days with twenty-eight-year-old roots musician Colin Lake and you begin to feel there’s some of that elusive pre-storm Ju Ju in the air.

First, it was the waitress. On a quintessentially Portland late December day (drip, drop, drizzle, drizzle), Colin Lake and I jockey for a table at a uber-hip breakfast cafe on Division. Despite it being a weekday, the place is humming. The weather, I guess. With a hint of pre-occupation and the vague irritation that comes with being “in the weeds,” our server chucks a couple of menus on the table with a hasty promise to return soon.

I’m here to catch up with the singer/song-writer/lap-slide guitarist to discuss his spare and sometimes spooky new solo release, In On Time, and inquire about recent musical and cultural adventures in New Orleans, where Lake has been spending much of his time over the last year. Word is that his set opening for idol Kelly Joe Phelps at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern several nights prior was a stone knock-out and Lake is obviously still buzzed and slightly giddy over the gig. “Amazing,” he says with a big dreamy smile when asked about the show. “I was excited to open for Kelly Joe but pretty freaked out that his audience might not know me at all and just see me as a tedious opening act. But, from the first song, it was magic. Total bonding. One of those supernatural nights a musician dreams about.” Apparently, post-show CD sales were exceptionally strong at the set break as well.

When our waitress arrives, she hurriedly takes my fruit bowl order. But when she turns to look Lake in the face her eyes suddenly unglaze: “Colin! Oh my God–how are you?!” she enthuses as all tension drains from her shoulders, neck, and face. The two embrace. “Are you still doing music and the band and all?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Lake returns with humble Zen satisfaction. “With the slide guitar thing?” she inquires enthusiastically. “Yep,” he smiles. “Awesome!” she retorts.

And then, for a moment, she appears to have forgotten the matter at hand. “Oh, what will you have?” she sputters finally, cheeks flushed. Breakfast is back on.

Despite having no permanent address, living out of duffel bags, and driving punishing stretches in his truck (alone), Lake emanates the vibe of a surfer who has been blessed with gobs of sun and pipeline lately—utterly oblivious to the Northwest drool outside.

Over the following few days, a pattern seems to emerge. Next, it’s the sports bar on Greeley. While taking in some football, Colin comments on the New Orleans Saints knit cap worn by the fella on the next bar stool: obviously home-made, but meticulously executed. What’s up with the hat? Turns out it was made by the wearer’s friend—while he was in the joint. As the conversation ensues, it’s revealed that the Saints fan grew up (with his incarcerated bud) in the same neighborhood (St. Bernard Parish) where Lake has been camped much of his time in NOLA. When Lake mentions the guitarist Don Williams who has been accompanying him on dates in Louisiana, the cap guy is dumbfounded: “He was my brother’s roommate for four years! My brother buried his cat!”

Moments later, the brother arrives and the three spend the afternoon drinking to the (as yet) undefeated Saints and trading stories about second- line shuffle beats, po-boy sandwiches and pigskin.

It’s as if some new variation of the “Six Degrees of Separation” game is cropping up here; as though Colin Lake’s musical hoo doo has begun to mysteriously seep into the water table and make its way, just below the surface, through the cultural soil. Maybe that’s a bit too X-Files. But it’s hard to deny there is something happening here.

A couple of listens to In On Time and it’s apparent why these episodes may be more than the stuff of coincidence. While last year’s excellent Bullet, recorded with Lake’s crackin’ band, Wellbottom, was a greasy throw-down of tasty 21st century blues-infused rock, the new record is another dish entirely. In On Time finds Lake stripped bare: a man and his guitar. And while the production is elegant and simple and devoid of noticeable adornment, there’s discernible vibe right from the go. On the opening track, Ain’t Gonna Worry, the influence of early Kelly Joe Phelps is evident with its hybrid of finger-picking/slide guitar and naturally soulful vocals. But this is no ditto job. While the origins of the style and atmosphere are ev - Oregon Music News


"Colin Lake: Is There Something in the Water"

December 29, 2009
by Stephen Murray

Turns out your neighbor’s claim that his right knee acts up right before a cloudburst or your aunt’s insistence that her parakeet goes dead silent just prior to a rainsquall isn’t all hooey. Meteorologists confirm that there is, indeed, a measurable barometric shift in air pressure preceding a storm and it can bring on all kinds of weird phenomena. But you didn’t need a weatherman to tell you that, did you? You can feel it. It’s hard to put your finger on but it’s there all right.

Listen to Woman On the Hill:



Spend a few days with twenty-eight-year-old roots musician Colin Lake and you begin to feel there’s some of that elusive pre-storm Ju Ju in the air.

First, it was the waitress. On a quintessentially Portland late December day (drip, drop, drizzle, drizzle), Colin Lake and I jockey for a table at a uber-hip breakfast cafe on Division. Despite it being a weekday, the place is humming. The weather, I guess. With a hint of pre-occupation and the vague irritation that comes with being “in the weeds,” our server chucks a couple of menus on the table with a hasty promise to return soon.

I’m here to catch up with the singer/song-writer/lap-slide guitarist to discuss his spare and sometimes spooky new solo release, In On Time, and inquire about recent musical and cultural adventures in New Orleans, where Lake has been spending much of his time over the last year. Word is that his set opening for idol Kelly Joe Phelps at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern several nights prior was a stone knock-out and Lake is obviously still buzzed and slightly giddy over the gig. “Amazing,” he says with a big dreamy smile when asked about the show. “I was excited to open for Kelly Joe but pretty freaked out that his audience might not know me at all and just see me as a tedious opening act. But, from the first song, it was magic. Total bonding. One of those supernatural nights a musician dreams about.” Apparently, post-show CD sales were exceptionally strong at the set break as well.

When our waitress arrives, she hurriedly takes my fruit bowl order. But when she turns to look Lake in the face her eyes suddenly unglaze: “Colin! Oh my God–how are you?!” she enthuses as all tension drains from her shoulders, neck, and face. The two embrace. “Are you still doing music and the band and all?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Lake returns with humble Zen satisfaction. “With the slide guitar thing?” she inquires enthusiastically. “Yep,” he smiles. “Awesome!” she retorts.

And then, for a moment, she appears to have forgotten the matter at hand. “Oh, what will you have?” she sputters finally, cheeks flushed. Breakfast is back on.

Despite having no permanent address, living out of duffel bags, and driving punishing stretches in his truck (alone), Lake emanates the vibe of a surfer who has been blessed with gobs of sun and pipeline lately—utterly oblivious to the Northwest drool outside.

Over the following few days, a pattern seems to emerge. Next, it’s the sports bar on Greeley. While taking in some football, Colin comments on the New Orleans Saints knit cap worn by the fella on the next bar stool: obviously home-made, but meticulously executed. What’s up with the hat? Turns out it was made by the wearer’s friend—while he was in the joint. As the conversation ensues, it’s revealed that the Saints fan grew up (with his incarcerated bud) in the same neighborhood (St. Bernard Parish) where Lake has been camped much of his time in NOLA. When Lake mentions the guitarist Don Williams who has been accompanying him on dates in Louisiana, the cap guy is dumbfounded: “He was my brother’s roommate for four years! My brother buried his cat!”

Moments later, the brother arrives and the three spend the afternoon drinking to the (as yet) undefeated Saints and trading stories about second- line shuffle beats, po-boy sandwiches and pigskin.

It’s as if some new variation of the “Six Degrees of Separation” game is cropping up here; as though Colin Lake’s musical hoo doo has begun to mysteriously seep into the water table and make its way, just below the surface, through the cultural soil. Maybe that’s a bit too X-Files. But it’s hard to deny there is something happening here.

A couple of listens to In On Time and it’s apparent why these episodes may be more than the stuff of coincidence. While last year’s excellent Bullet, recorded with Lake’s crackin’ band, Wellbottom, was a greasy throw-down of tasty 21st century blues-infused rock, the new record is another dish entirely. In On Time finds Lake stripped bare: a man and his guitar. And while the production is elegant and simple and devoid of noticeable adornment, there’s discernible vibe right from the go. On the opening track, Ain’t Gonna Worry, the influence of early Kelly Joe Phelps is evident with its hybrid of finger-picking/slide guitar and naturally soulful vocals. But this is no ditto job. While the origins of the style and atmosphere are ev - Oregon Music News


Discography

"The Ones I Love" 2011

"In on Time" EP 2009

"Bullet" 2008

"Wax Wane" 2007

Photos

Bio

Part songwriter, part blues singer, part slide guitar phenom, Colin Lake is paving a musical road all his own. At the beginning of 2009, that road brought the Pacific Northwest native to New Orleans and it wasn't long before his powerful voice could be heard regularly at venues throughout the city and over the airwaves of WWOZ fm. Marked by soulful, pleading vocals, Lake's music incorporates elements of soul, rock and folk to create a sound and feel that is strongly original and disarmingly familiar. Shows with his band have become known as high-energy, gospel-infused house-rockers, while Lakes poignant solo performances can silence audiences of any size. In 2011 Lake recorded and released the album "The Ones I Love", which was soon named one of the top ten local releases of the year by Keith Spera of the New Orleans Times Picayune. As his reputation for authentic, down-home presentation continues to grow, Lake can be found on a variety of stages performing for captivated audiences and alongside some of the biggest names in New Orleans music.

Band Members