MICHELE D’AMOUR AND THE LOVE DEALERS - HEART OF MEMPHIS

MICHELE D’AMOUR AND THE LOVE DEALERS - HEART OF MEMPHIS

LABEL: BLUESKITTY RECORDS | RELEASE DATE: MAY 24, 2019
DISTRIBUTION: CD BABY
Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com

Never being afraid of seizing the moment and capitalizing on an opportunity is a quality one must have to
succeed in today’s harried climate and certainly a surefire way to fulfill your dreams.

The emerging
Northwest group Michele D’Amour And The Love Dealers took advantage of their trip to the birth place of
the blues during IBC week in January of 2019 by snatching up some available studio time at the
legendary Royal Studios with owner, engineer and producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell. D’Amour and her
core band were in Memphis on a promotional tour that turned into an inspirational journey of discovery,
now documented as the “Heart Of Memphis.”
The collection of seven new originals and the cover of a King Curtis classic ‘Memphis Soul Stew’ were
recorded live off the floor at Royal on a Friday night by vocalist and award-winning songwriter Michele
D’Amour and her stalwart Love Dealers band that features Patrick McDanel on bass, Dave Delzotto on
drums, guitar man Jeff Cornell, keyboardist Brian Olendorf, keyboards, and Noel Barnes on saxophone.


They took those inspired tracks back to Seattle, where they added a bit of spice and mixed them.
The Latin flavored ‘Another Sleepless Night’ opens the set with horn flourishes over a salsa rhythm while
D’Amour sings of another lonely night without her man. Cornell then throws down a gritty guitar riff for
the sordid tale of a woman scorned in ‘Dirty Pool.’ The sultry rhumba, ‘Come On Over,’ features some
fine piano from Olendorf, a haunting solo for guest trumpeter Greg Lyons, and some deliciously alluring
vocals from D’Amour. Sax man Noel Barnes steps up for the first solo on the soul burner about hard luck
and trouble ‘Cradle To The Hearse.’ Drummer Dave Delzotto sets a frenetic pace for the funkified editorial
of our frenzied world ‘No Time,’ with D’Amour laying out the irony of our instant-gratification culture. The
title track is a document of their trip to Beale Street and how the music seeps up from the very earth
under the pavement and name checks some of its infamous clubs and the inspiration that flows up from
the big muddy. Memphis is dubbed the Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock 'n’ Roll, but it’s also
known for an amazing array of food shaped by a multi-cultural mix of influences. The band pays tribute
to the city on a romp through ‘Memphis Soul Stew,’ with each of the Love Dealers strutting his stuff on
the spicy instrumental.
The album closes with the Gospel blues ‘Strange Angels,’ a bittersweet testament of the joy and pain to
be found at a dancehall on any given night and the role of entertainers as ministers to the soul. This fifth
album from Michele D’Amour And The Love Dealers may prove to be their finest effort as the group
certainly did find the Heart Of Memphis and brought it home.

WEBLINKSOS: www.micheledamourandthelovedealers.com

Publicist: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com