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From Junior Lee Klegseth, the founder and guitarist of The RedHot Blues, comes a strong Americana / roots rock debut as singer/songwriter. While it was his intense guitar playing that brought him to the attention of blues fans, true fans of the band came to enjoy the many Klegseth-penned tunes found on the RHB releases. Here, the only tune even close to blues is the two minute She Got, but even there the funky bass line and drums only hint at the form.
On "Long Way Home", Klegseth throws his hat in the ring with artists like John Hiatt, Steve Earle, John Mellencamp and Drive-by Truckers. The songwriting craft Klegseth has appreciated and partook of since childhood is apparent here, too, with songs like Long Way Home, that laments how long it takes to get back to a place, only to find it isn't what we wanted.
The CD opener, "Crazy Things" belongs on the car stereo on a Midwestern summer day, with the windows rolled down. In fact many of the tracks appear to be an homage to times past--"66 Chevelle", "Dance", "Old Man's Words" and the title track. "I Want What's Coming to Me" is a working class anthem, replete with a large crowd backing vocal, that makes one think of betrayals by companies like Enron.
On the harder rock side are two tunes full of attitude that speak to the times and, more likely, to the present administration: I Wish You Could See is a spirited raw rocker with sarcastic and biting lyrics such as, "You heard a voice on high, you were saved again / I thought you were safer as a sinner than a saved man who sins." The sentiment continues in the fresh sound of "Nobody", with it's greasy bass line, slide banjo and heavy guitars. But like most songwriters, the true test is the ballad, and here Klegseth shines with the smartly-crafted "I Wanna Be" and "Without You", both worthy of becoming classics. - Amazon.com
Discography
Long Way Home - Junior Lee Klegseth 2007
live - The RedHot Blues 2004
Relentless Blues - The RedHot Blues 2000
Well Traveled - The RedHot Blues 1997
Since You Moved Out - The RedHot Blues 1994
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Bio
In some ways, Junior Lee Klegseth’s first singer/songwriter CD, Long Way Home, due June 8, will be forty years in the making. As a young child it was the ability of a song to tell a story that enthralled him, a fascination he’s never lost. Ironic then that Junior would gain his reputation as a thrilling blues guitarist as the founder and leader of The RedHot Blues (http://www.redhotblues.com).
Words and music have been constants in Junior’s life. He won poetry and writing contests in high school and went to college for journalism before heading to Los Angeles to throw his musical hat in the ring. In his early years on the West Coast he was the feature writer fo L.A. Rocker magazine, played in the hard rock Nasty Habit and other soon-forgotten rock bands, and studied guitar with Paul Hanson, one of L.A.’s premiere players and teachers.
Tiring of a music scene where hair and leather were often paramount to talent, Junior attended Piece College, studying music composition. There, he became a featured student composer, having small ensemble, choral and orchestral works performed.
In 1991, the radio and a drive down the 405 Freeway changed everything. That day he heard Gary Moore’s Still Got the Blues, which brought memories of Minneapolis and La Crosse clubs and listening to local blues bands. He decided to form a blues band, “just for fun and jamming” he has often said since, although it quickly became more.
The RedHot Blues first took the stage on New Year’s Day, 1992, at a club in Santa Monica, California. For the next twelve years the band would earn accolades and respect, first in Southern California, later throughout the Western U.S., and still later, overseas. Through the release of four CD’s and extensive club dates, festivals and touring, the band developed a style better called roots or Americana than blues—after all, how many blues bands go from Hendrix to Hagghard (the long way around)?
As early as 1994 The RedHot Blues had “quickly become one of the hottest bands on the West Coast.” Blues Connection wrote, “Klegseth provides searing guitar and looks to be a long time challenger as one of the top blues guitarists.” Partnered with lead singer and guitarist Dave Shafran, Music Connection wrote “There is a tangible intensity in the performance style of both Shafran and Klegseth. Each man is able to say volumes with their own particular instrument.”
As The RedHot Blues wound down, Junior saw the opportunity to get back to things he’d had on his mind for a long time. He returned to college to study English – Creative Writing, and recently finished his second novel. And he started dusting off old songs and writing new ones, once again, “just for fun” he told friends. It soon became apparent that the songs needed to be heard and the idea of Long Way Home was born.
Long Way Home is thus an appropos title for the completion of a circle put in motion forty years ago. Junior plays multiple instruments on the recording, including, of course, guitar, but the songs have the focus, each song a journey of its own and yet contributing to the whole. If you’re wondering what to expect, imagine John Hiatt and Steve Earle joining Drive-by Truckers and you get the picture.
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