Left Turn At Albuquerque
Chicago, Illinois, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
“It’s like asking which of your children you love the best!” he joked. “Of those from Chicago, the IPO newcomers I’m most excited about are probably Jess Godwin, and Left Turn At Albuquerque.” – David Bash, Founder and Host, International Pop Overthrow Festivals. Article in Illinois Entertainer, "International Pop Overthrow returns!" April 17, 2012. - Illinois Entertainer
Left Turn At Albuquerque’s full-length debut, In Broad Daylight, is noteworthy for the way guitarist Jeff Churchwell and keyboardist Sarah Scanlon weave their voices throughout melodic arrangements. At times, the folk-rock trio (bassist Joe Nemec is the third member) drifts into pretentious material like”Kaliedoscope,” but succeeds with clever C&W toe-tapper “Respectable” and the rapid-fire vocals of the band’s namesake track. - Terrence Flamm, Illinois Entertainer, "Around Hear," May, 2012. - Illinois Entertainer
"An absolutely awesome band is rockin' the Red Line Tap stage for IPO Chicago! They're called Left Turn at Albuquerque, and while you gotta love the name (especially the Looney Tunes fans among you), you've gotta love their chord changes, harmonies, and soaring melodies even more! Mere words don't do them justice, but a listen at (the LTAA Facebook page) surely will!" – David Bash, Founder and Host, International Pop Overthrow Festival, at the IPO-Chicago showcase on April 28, 2012. - Facebook
Discography
Left Turn At Albuquerque - "In Broad Daylight."
Released June 26, 2011
CAUDog Records, a division of Chicago Acoustic Underground.
Produced by Ellis Clark (Epicycle, Social Acts, Ellis Clark Band, The Handcuffs)
"In Broad Daylight" contains 13 original tracks:
See How The Tide Rushes Out (Churchwell)
Whiskey And A Gun (Scanlon)
Sparks In Broad Daylight (Churchwell)
Kaleidoscope (Churchwell)
Infrared (Churchwell)
Respectable (Churchwell)
Countdown (Scanlon)
All The Stars And Amelia (Churchwell)
I Dare You (Scanlon)
Suzette (Churchwell)
Feeling/Falling (Churchwell)
Left Turn At Albuquerque (Churchwell)
I Still Don't Know (Sharon's Lullaby) (Churchwell)
Jeff Churchwell solo CD - "Clandestiny"
Released October, 2003
Self-Released
Produced by Christopher DeMonk, Bill Kavanagh, Jeff Churchwell
"Clandestiny" contains 12 original tracks (all Churchwell):
Breck Girls
Infrared
Sound Of I Love You
A Work In Progress
In This Kitchen
Proving Voltaire Right Again
At The Headwaters (Prelude to Where Wanders The River)
Where Wanders The River
Plain Brown Wrapper
Wish Me The Moon
Some Of My Best Friends
Lake Effect
Joe Nemec - bass for The Real Jane Martin - "North Of Nowhere"
Self-released by The Real Jane Martin, 2011
Photos
Bio
Left Turn At Albuquerque is a synthesis of 70s folk, 60s pop and classic rock, with lyrics that are not quite Shakespeare but are more than bubblegum (which, frankly, is a not-so-guilty pleasure). Relying on intricate guitar fingerwork, sultry piano, stirring harmonies and well-thought-out lyrics, songwriters and co-lead singers Jeff Churchwell and Sarah Scanlon work all sides of the street to fashion music that refuses to sit in a single niche, but rather captures both the ears and imaginations of listeners of all ages and tastes. Bassist Joe Nemec rounds out the core of the band very tastefully, with groove and soul one minute, and rock and punch the next.
The core group came together in 2009. Churchwell and Nemec had played together in the mid 2000s in a Chicago folk/rock band called Melanie’s Waiting. Churchwell and Scanlon met through mutual friends, during an open mic night. The band’s sound is most often described as “Fleetwood Mac meets Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young,” but there are also influences from Churchwell’s early bluegrass banjo days, Scanlon’s musical theatre training, and Nemec’s love of alternative and metal. The band refers to its compositions as “new old music,” very compatible with what has gone before, but up-to-date and lyrically fresh. That’s easy enough to accomplish when the band’s members range in age from 29 to 51, and their tastes run the entire musical gamut.
The band recorded in 2011 and released its debut album, “In Broad Daylight,” on June 26 of that year, at a release show held at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge, hosted by the band’s label, CAUDog Records (a division of Chicago Acoustic Underground). “In Broad Daylight” contains songs written by both Churchwell and Scanlon, with vocal harmonies compared by their producer, Ellis Clark, to those of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. Nemec, the band's musical director, provided the focus to the arrangement process. The album also features guest performances by many very talented musicians from the Chicago original music scene. The songs cover rock, pop, country, jazz, blues and bluegrass; a wide swath of the musical spectrum to be sure, but colored by the unmistakable writing and tenor that can come from only one band.
Left Turn At Albuquerque is a detour well-worth taking.
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