Cody Melville sits down for a One On One Session at City Winery New York on January 9th, 2018. For more info visit: https://codymelville.bandcamp.com Audio & Video by: Ehud Lazin
Setlist:
I Envy Her So
I'm Not A King
Marie
Cody Melville is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A prolific songwriter, he has recorded ten albums. His tenth record, Bonds Eye, will be released in December of this year. It follows 2015’s Fireworks on 14th Street. As with the majority of his records, he plays most of the instruments himself on his latest but for a few notable exceptions: Steve Holley (Ian Hunter, Wings) contributed drums on two songs, Keith Lentin (Link Wray) – acoustic guitar and bass; Jeff Levine (Joe Cocker) -- Hammond organ, piano; John Melville – drums; Joel B. Cannon -- slide guitar (J. Melville and Cannon both from The Everyothers); and Dina Regine lends her voice on the duet “Remember Ah Remember.” Cody is a rock ‘n’ roll artist, and this is a rock ‘n’ roll record that mines soul and pop as with the cover of Mick Ronson’s lush ballad “The Empty Bed,” recorded as a tribute to Ronson who produced some of Cody’s earliest recordings.
Melville is first and foremost a songwriter. Though he’s a versatile and experienced musician and singer, it’s through writing he feels powerful. He has said, “I’m most turned-on by the process of creating a memorable tune, lyric, or coming up with some great chord changes -- work that breathes enough life into itself to become a song that just might stick around and get on a record.” His major influences are the great songwriters of rock ‘n’ roll: Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dylan, Bowie, Springsteen, Todd Rundgren, Lou Reed, Ian Hunter, and The Brill Building crew. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Melville is a lifetime member of the East Coast world of rock ‘n’ roll and art of all stripes. However, a job his father took brought him and his clan to Detroit during his formative years. While in Motown, he received training “in the art of an undeniable groove and the beauty of a few chords on a clean telecaster.” He’s been back in NYC since he was barely legal. Melville’s last album, “Fireworks on 14th Street,” consists of all but two duets with some of his friends from the NY scene that he’d always wanted to work with: Andy Shernoff, Larry Kirwan, Brijitte West, Jeff Ward, Tom Clark – to name just some. On the new album, however, Bonds Eye, there is a single duet with singer Dina Regine. “I love her records – I heard her a lot on Little Stevens Underground Garage. We met one night at 2A Bar and became friends. When I wrote “ ‘ Remember Ah Remember,’ ”, I knew I wanted Dina to record it with me. She was gracious enough to do so.” “Remember Ah Remember” was produced by Keith Lentin, and Lentin appears on the track on bass and 12-string, Steve Holley on drums and percussion and Jeff Levine, Hammond Organ and Piano. The Ten Songs on Bonds Eye represent where Melville finds himself in 2017. As he says, “I’m happy, lost, wise, nostalgic, dedicated to activism, and determined to be heard.
