Incredible honor to have “Just Beyond the Dawn” in this list with so many great artists, thank you @spotify -Backstory on the song. I had just finished reading the Robert Johnson book “Brother Robert” and was thinking about his life. One trait about RJ that is present in all the books about him was his need to ramble, always on the move, always searching. Wether intentional or out of necessity Robert Johnson was never settled. There are countless stories about being in a room with him and the next moment him vanishing. Moving from town to town, leaving lives behind, always searching for something he was missing maybe up ahead. I have had that feeling as well, being alone yet in a crowded room, and needing to keep searching for something calling me. “Just Beyond the Dawn” is my tribute to Robert Johnson, the greatest legend in American music. I hope you enjoy it.
Check out my interview with The Cold Stares! We talked about musical influences, how they were found by Joe Bonamassa, best bands they’ve seen live, and much more! Make sure to give these guys a follow/like!
Podcast with Jay from The Hook, interviewing Chris Tapp of The Cold Stares.
Faced with the ultimate uncertainty of his own life, Chris Tapp of The Cold Stares never gave up. A rock ‘n’ roll journey that is like no other, filled with enough countless challenges and setbacks for several lifetimes, their story of perseverance is absolutely inspiring. With songs powered by honesty and endless depth I’m certain their music and story will resonate with you. Enjoy the show!
The duo of vocalist/guitarist Chris Tapp and drummer Brian Mullins, under the name The Cold Stares, isn’t your everyday indie act. The pair commands national recognition thanks to their cracking blend of rock and blues. The mix they bring to these time-tested forms balances the fundamentals giving each style its enduring appeal while delivering music that sounds fresh rather than retrofitted for modern audiences. Their latest studio release Ways packs a hard-nosed wallop over the course of thirteen songs and likewise shows the continued growth of their songwriting within a familiar frame. I think The Cold Stares are far more than a throwback act; this collection has relevance rather than reveling in a dimming past and they fill each performance with edgy urgency.
Consisting of musicians Chris Tapp (guitar and vocals) and Brian Mullins (drums), Evansville Indiana’s The Cold Stares play some unavoidably catchy blues-rock that’s been turning heads at an increasing rate since the band’s inception in 2012. Today, as the duo continue to celebrate the October 18th release of their latest studio recording, WAYS, via AntiFragile Music (find pre-save/order options here), we’re thrilled to exclusively share Chris Tapp’s track-by-track rundown of each of the album’s thirteen stupendous songs.
LAST FEW HOURS TO PRESAVE! Hey fans please take a moment to presave “WAYS” on the link below. If you are using Spotify or one of the streaming services it costs you ZERO to presave the album but it can help us so much tomorrow on release day to get into the charts and playlists! Click the link below to do so and you get a free unreleased track “What Happened to You” on a link when it’s completed. Takes 30 seconds! PRESAVE HERE!
June 2019 the first of three EP’s that will comprise the album WAYS will drop on @antifragilemusic The White EP is comprised of 4 acoustic based songs including- 1-Angeline 2-It Ain’t Me 3-Thorns 4-Jackson Mississippi Leading up to the release we will be doing a break down and backstory to each song, lyrics and clips.
We had been working in the studio the last week of the Head Bent sessions and wrapped up mixing “One Way Outta Here”. We were talking about getting together to celebrate finishing when Brian asked how many minutes total we had. When we added it up, we saw we were three minutes short of the record label’s requirements. We just kinda sat there with Greg Pearce, our engineer trying to figure out how we miscalculated. We looked back through some of the demos, but we were really out of time, we talked about a few options, but none of it made sense. The one thing we had on every other CS release prior was some sort of acoustic piece. I told the guys I would just go home and write something, and bring it in the next day to cut acoustically solo. Luckily they trusted me, and we just decided to go that route. I sat down with my national that night late when I got home, shut the world out of my head, and open my mind to a dusty western frontier, and “Break My Fall” spilled out within about 3-5 minutes. I came into the studio the next day, sat down in front of mic, dimmed the lights, and sang it with the emotion I felt the character in my story felt. I could relate in ways to his plight, and poured myself into his shoes and became him for the 10 minutes we recorded it. I was happy to have it on the album, personally loved the emotion of the track, and the guys commented on the songs lyrics, but we never thought that much about it- since the rest of the album was so big and heavy.
Our album released June 16th, and #Spotify chose “Break My Fall” to add to their “Acoustic Blues” playlist. Which means out of hundreds of thousands of songs, “Break My Fall” was one of 54 songs they thought was cool enough for the playlist. Other artists in the playlist include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Derek Trucks, and my hero Robert Johnson. The playlist has over 300,000 followers, and immediately it launched the song. As of this evening the track had about 20,000 plays, all since June 16th, and has been growing around 2,000 plays a day. It’s brought attention to the album and the band we didn’t expect, but it’s funny how things work. The song that wasn’t supposed to be on the album, and that was written so quickly and easily becomes the cornerstone for what probably will launch this album. We are very blessed, and I’m thankful that the song is one that gives me chills every time I get to that third verse. There are two vocal influences towards the end of the song, one a reference to one of my musical hero’s with the choice of phrasing on “Hangman”, and a nod in that line to one of my favorite films where that character says, “Hollis, Hollis…take these men to…..” well, the inflection in her voice was haunting to me, and I’ve been to the place where Hollis took those men in Mississippi. If you know the film, you know where I mean.
The story of the song is, a stranger walks into a frontier western town, late 1800’s. Long string of misfortunes and he just wants to start over. He’s been there a few weeks when he hears talk around town the a local girl had gone missing. She had been seen with the stranger having a drink at some point, and he was arrested to be questioned. After being beaten for a few days, he is tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to death. It’s 118 degrees, he’s standing at the gallows as they place the bag over his head. They tighten the noose around his neck, he pleads with the hangman for mercy, and just as the hangman pulls the lever, and the floor beneath him drops, the girl in question comes running up through the crowd, screaming “I’m alive”, just finding out that the man is being hung for her alleged death. She had been hiding with an outlaw out of town unaware of what had happened. That moment, the 6 feet of drop right before the rope snaps his neck, when the last thing he hears is her voice, the one thing that could bring him redemption, is what the song is really about. It is a parallel for so many things in our lives that we hold out hope for, pray for, that never come, or come to late. Bittersweet, but it is the story of life and death. All our character wants is something soft under him, someone to catch him to keep the rope from snapping his neck and taking his innocent life-
CT
Break My Fall
Town folks gather round as they tighten the noose on my neck
Preacher says son is there anything you like to say?
Loosen your tongue, son tell us all your last request
I whispered to his ear, the last breath I held in my chest
Hangman please let me down easy
Jesus hear my beck and call
If I’m a sinner, then lord please forgive me
And let something soft break my fall
Said I killed the daughter of a man, and no one took my bond
And I although I loved her, I’d never wished her any harm
They never found her body, but they beat me to tell where she lay
But I was not the one, who’d taken and led her astray
So hangman please let me down easy
Jesus hear my beckon call
If I’m a sinner, then lord please forgive me
And let something soft break my fall
Crowd grew still as he placed the bag over my head
And the rope was pulled tight, just moments until I would be dead….
When I heard the voice of a girl who screamed I’m alive!
The sweetest sound to my ears on the day that I died.
Hangman please let me down easy
Jesus hear my beckon call
If I’m a sinner, then lord please forgive me
Let something soft please break my fall
