SOULFUL WEST-COAST BLUESMAN PAUL BLACK RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM BEAUTIFUL SIN
West-coast blues rocker Paul Black was raised on gospel and country and played in rock bands as a young man until the defining moment when his cousin gave him tickets to see Stevie Ray Vaughan. From then on it was nothing but the blues. Paul soaked up everything he could lay his hands on.
“I grew up in a religious household, so there was always gospel, but I was more into Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC.” recalls Black. “Then someone gave me a copy of Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix and after seeing Stevie Ray in concert, I went through musical history and dove into everything from Albert King, Buddy Guy and Gary Moore to Taj Mahal John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker.”
Paul Black has unveiled his long-awaited third album Beautiful Sin, an incredible collage of blues-based rock, acoustic soul, and a touch of funk. With 10 original songs, a rousing rendition of “Brick House” by the Commodores, and a handful of excellent supporting musicians lending their talents to Black’s slow-burning, soulful sound, Beautiful Sin highlights Black’s prowess as a multi-talented musician, vocalist, and songwriter.
“COVID allowed me ample time to fine-tune performances as well as write new songs such as “Live It Like Ur Never Gonna Die” which was written in under an hour with a coffee and my acoustic and then straight into the studio. “Better Man” is a song I wrote for the last album but felt it just didn’t sound right at the time, so it found its rightful place on Beautiful Sin.”
Get your copy of the album, here.
FIRST OFF CARE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR READERS?
I was born and raised in a church environment but unfortunately not with the soulful gospel sounds but more like The Little House on the Prairie, slap you if you get out of line kinda vibe.
But lucky with older brothers I was exposed to some great rock bands of the 70s ( Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc….)
Was into sports till I had surgery on my ankle and from there got into playing guitar.
I wanted to start a band so bad as a teenager that I convinced a good buddy to buy a drum set and I pieced together a Bass Guitar from spare parts so I could teach another friend to play.
And we were off.
Moved south to Victoria in my early 20s and started playing locally as much as possible, until fronting my own band Taxi And releasing an album in 1999.
From there I toured until yet another injury to my left arm so I didn’t release another album in 2010 and then had my son Marshal (named after Jimi Hendrix’s middle name).
After supporting my 2010 release, I had my daughter in 2013.
Through yet another injury in which I severed attended in the back of my hand, and the combination of Covid slowing the world down I’m now at the new release for March 1st.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR RECENT RELEASE.
A long time coming and in the making.
Beautiful Sin is the album that I have looking forward to recording for a while and have finally completed.
With tracks like “Howl n Moan” and “How Long” with their aggressive edge and Rock Vibe. “Beautiful Sin,” “Let it Rain,” and “Never Go Home” with more soulful blues grooves to the Funkier “Losin ur Love” and The Commodores Cover of “Brick House” with the rest of the tracks covering my favourite styles and flavours.
HOW DO YOU TYPICALLY GO ABOUT THE SONGWRITING PROCESS? DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC METHOD OR CREATIVE ROUTINE THAT YOU FOLLOW?
My songwriting process will typically start with my acoustic guitar and a riff or chord progression that grabs my attention and from there, it’s a matter of lyrical inspiration that fits the mood and vibe of the music and from there, I record it at home for the rest of the band and workout the bugs playing it live
LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR SUPPORTING THIS NEW RELEASE? ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING TOURS, MUSIC VIDEOS, OR ADDITIONAL CONTENT THAT FANS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PROJECT?
For supporting this release I’m looking forward to getting out and playing live as much as humanly possible.
Whether it’s as a band or solo artist which I have been doing in the last few years.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IT’S TIME TO PAY IT FORWARD, WHAT UPCOMING BAND OR ARTIST WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YOUR FANS CHECK OUT?
Well, Sarah Smith has been around awhile, but when I heard her voice I knew I had to have it on the new album. Definitely check out her albums, she sounds like a cross between Melissa Etheridge and Janis Joplin.
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