Nicki Bluhm sits down for a One On One Session at City Winery New York on July 24th, 2018. Watch the full session here: https://youtu.be/iFb64Dd21vw For more info visit: https://www.nickibluhm.com Audio & Video by: Ehud Lazin Audio Mixing by: Andy Putnam
Setlist:
To Rise You Gotta Fall
Something Really Mean
It's OK Not to Be OK
Right Down The Line (Gerry Rafferty)
After spending the last six years as lead singer and front person of Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, as well as recent high-profile collaborations and performances with the likes of Phil Lesh, Ryan Adams, and The Infamous Stringdusters, Nicki Bluhm is stepping out on her own with her new album, TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL. Recorded in Memphis at legendary Sam Phillips Recording, Bluhm brought in producer Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Jason Isbell), and the end result heralds Nicki’s arrival as a songwriter and vocalist of great depth and immediacy.
TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL is a chronicle of Bluhm’s state of mind following both a divorce and a separation from the only band she had ever known. Said Bluhm, “These songs are quite personal. They are the conversations I never got to have, the words I never had the chance to say, and the catharsis I wouldn’t have survived without.”
TO RISE YOU GOTTA FALL is imbued with a Southern sensibility and echoes the musical heritage of that city. From the plaques on the walls for Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley to the analog tape machines, Sam Phillips Recording is largely unchanged since it was built in 1958. Bluhm made a decision to challenge herself—to leave all her old working relationships and routines behind for a fresh start.
The songs on the album were written over a span of roughly two years, each one capturing a different phase of a dissolving marriage of a decade.
Some fortuitous co-writes, including a song written with Ryan Adams, helped Bluhm distill her emotions into lyrics. “Getting to write with Ryan was really a joy; it was interesting to get a peek into his process. It happened in such a spontaneous way it could never have been planned, and I think it allowed this free, open dialog that was almost conversational.” One of the songs that include Adams’ influence is the biting “Something Really Mean.”
The geography of the sessions played into the recording in other ways. “Matt [Ross-Spang] and I were talking about doing a cover song that somehow is associated with Memphis. He sent me a giant list and I landed on Dan Penn’s ‘I Hate You’; I listened to it and it just blew me away. I wasn’t that familiar with Dan but I met him and his wife, Linda, shortly after cutting his song. I said, ‘Dan, it’s so nice to meet you, such a small world. I just put your song ‘ Hate You’ on my record.’ And Linda said, ‘I love that song, but it’s not I hate you that he says, it’s I’m TRYING to hate you. I should know ‘cause it’s about me!’ She was so Southern, so sweet and excited—a very memorable Nashville moment for me.”
Nicki Bluhm, newly inspired songwriter and solo artist, is enjoying Nashville, her new band, and the challenge of establishing herself on her own.
