Studebaker John – Waiting On The Sun

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s. The band name referenced the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks. John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. “…Hound Dog started playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar.”

Avanti Records is proud to announce the release of a brand new album by Studebaker John, master slide guitarist and blues harpist. Waiting on the Sun seamlessly incorporates the traditional with the modern, and utilizes a diverse musical pallet, including Chicago blues, boogie, swamp, swing, and even Latin groove. Waiting on the Sun was recorded with two of Chicago's best rhythm players and frequent Studebaker John touring partners, bassist Bob Halaj and drummer Paul Ashford. The album also features the work of young Polish keyboard wiz, Bartek Szopinski, who is a member of Studebaker John's European touring band.
Waiting on the Sun contains nearly 80 minutes of all original, highly accessible guitar and harmonica blues and rock. Simply not content to make the same album over and over again, Studebaker John's Waiting on the Sun is a breathtaking sunrise of different musical elements. Combining, for the first time, slide guitar with Latin rhythms, raw blues grooves, rock and roll, and improvised jams with a touch of jazz that mix together perfectly to give the listener a CD of artistic integrity...in other words, "fun".

Track Listing:
1. Down at the Bottom - 8:21   2. She Just Won't Roll - 4:46   3. Every Night Is a Saturday Night - 5:41   4. Hell to Pay - 7:30   5. Partner in Crime - 5:29   6. Nothing But the Rain - 6:59   7. Natural Born Boogie - 5:39   8. Follow Your Soul - 11:33   9. Tell Me So - 6:19   10. Let It Roll On - 4:31   11. I'll Be Rockin' - 5:29   12. Waiting on the Sun - 4:49

Reviews:

1. AllMusic - Hal Horowitz 
Some musicians are triple threats, but Studebaker John Grimaldi ups that to quintuple. He's a talented guitarist, harp player, and singer, along with being a more than adequate songwriter and sturdy producer. His tenth release since 1994 is overstuffed with a dozen solid blues-rockers and boogie tunes that maxes out at just over 78 minutes. While a few tracks could perhaps have been pruned and some left off entirely, this is still an exciting, even explosive set that will satiate old fans and might even bring new ones into the fold. Grimaldi expands his basic Chicago electric blues palette by adding organ and especially Latin percussion to a handful of key songs such as the opening eight-minute "Down at the Bottom" and the nearly 12-minute "Follow Your Soul." The results help energize the already spirited proceedings, even if it plants him firmly in classic Santana territory. As usual it's a toss up between whether he's a better harpist or guitarist, in particular when he pulls out his Paul Butterfield/Little Walter styled harmonica on the Chicago shuffle "Tell Me So" and blows tough on the throbbing swamp beat of "Natural Born Boogie," one of this disc's more jaw-dropping performances. Most impressive, though, is that once again these songs raise the lyrical and melodic ante with the midtempo closing title track an album highlight. Vocally Grimaldi falls somewhere between the Fabulous Thunderbirds' Kim Wilson's road hardened croon, and John Hiatt's Midwestern gruffness. His singing is gutsy, impassioned, and far superior to many other guitar slingers that treat vocals as little more than a necessary evil. As producer, he even overdubs his voice occasionally to stirring effect. The result is another quality project from a guy who has a history of remarkably consistent music that displays his many talents. Why he remains under the radar, even in the blues world, is a mystery.