AVEY GROUWS BAND Reveals a TELL TALE HEART
SEPTEMBER 24, 2021
Davenport, IA - Navy House Records proudly announces the release of Quad Cities, Iowa-based AVEY GROUWS BAND's TELL TALE HEART on September 24, 2021.
"...Jeni Grouws is a remarkably demonstrative vocalist, fully capable of delivering sturdy rockers, blustery blues, or...a tender heartfelt ballad. For his part, Chris Avey comes across as a prototypical guitar ace, one whose searing fretwork is both dazzling and decisive. Together with bassist Randy Leasman, drummer Bryan West and keyboard player Nick Vasquez, they make for a formidable ensemble...Many of these songs could easily be mistaken for standards given the band’s adept arrangements, clear confidence and a decidedly agile approach as far as the shift in styles...an explosive offering indeed.'" (Lee Zimmerman/Goldmine)
TELL TALE HEART, AVEY GROUWS BAND (JENI GROUWS - vocals/songwriter, CHRIS AVEY - guitar/songwriter, BRYAN WEST - drums, RANDY LEASMAN - bass and NICK VASQUEZ - keyboards)'s sophomore release, was recorded in Nashville at East Iris Studios and The Purple House (Leiper's Fork, TN) with Grammy-winning engineer/producer Casey Wasner at the helm. Featuring 10 original songs, Tell Tale Heart's music (described by producer Wasner as “rock and roll blues soul”) demonstrates the label-defying band's command of a wide swath of American roots music -- including blues, classic rock, country, R&B, funk, introspective balladry and unbridled rock and roll.
Wasner, whose previous credits include a Grammy win for engineering the Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal album, TajMo, and playing drums with Keb’ Mo’ and rhythm guitar for Robben Ford stated "After spending two weeks straight in the studio with the Avey Grouws Band, I learned a couple things,” Wasner says. “The first week I learned that this band kicks ass. In the second week, I didn’t want our session to end. The hang and the music are infectious."
The future members of the Avey Grouws Band met in 2015 at Muddy Waters, a blues bar on the Mississippi River in Bettendorf, Iowa. Grouws, then working as a morning radio personality, was in town on business. She dropped by Muddy Waters to hear a blues jam led by Chris Avey, Bryan West and Chris’ brother, Mark Avey.
Grouws, trained early in piano, trumpet and vocals, and Avey, a self-taught guitarist, subsequently performed for a year as a duo. In 2017, West and Leasman joined them to form the Avey Grouws Band. (Keyboard player Nick Vasquez came on board in 2019).
Grouws sees her formal music training and Avey’s freewheeling, learn-as-you-go approach as the ideal combination. “I learned to do music exactly as it’s written,” she says. “But Chris is so anti-structure. He forced me to loosen up and go with the moment. I realized that I can follow my instincts and express something that wasn’t written or expected. That’s something I love about our performances. And it’s mesmerizing to watch Chris lose himself on stage. I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Avey and Grouws’ partnership worked beautifully for the first Avey Grouws Band album, The Devil May Care. Released in March 2020, the album was released to critical acclaim, reached #10 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart and received a BBMA nomination for best debut album by a new artist. The album was also nominated for four Independent Blues Awards. The song “Rise Up” was named top song on the Ben Vee Roadhouse 66 top songs of 2020 and “Come and Get This Love” won top honors in the Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition and a finalist placement in the International Songwriting Competition."The music and songwriting are solid…Grouws' stirring vocals, capable of delivering sultry phrases or passionate roars…an auspicious debut." (
Last year, when the pandemic stopped the band’s touring plans, the Avey Grouws Band launched a year of twice-weekly streaming performances. The streaming —Friday night’s "Quarantini Party" and Sunday afternoon’s "Bloody Marys and Blues" — yielded a worldwide community of fans, watching in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Australia.“We weren’t there to simply do a performance. We were there to connect with people, especially in a year when they were experiencing intense disconnection and isolation.”
With their second album ready for the world, the Avey Grouws Band is anxious to perform and tour again. “Maybe the most important thing to understand about our band is that we are the mix of all of our Middle America backgrounds and experiences,” Grouws says. “Th
Jeni Grouws’ powerfully expressive vocals and Chris Avey’s ace guitar playing are complemented by their on-point bandmates. “I believe in this band more than I’ve believed in any other project,” Grouws says of the collaboration she considers the best musical experience of her life.
Grouws and Avey composed the Tell Tale Heart songs during the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the album’s lyrics respond directly to the international health crisis and political and social turmoil that engulfed 2020.
Tell Tale Heart opens with “Love Raining Down,” an on-the-edge blues rock song that evokes early Led Zeppelin. Grouws’ lyrics express hope for a less factious future. “There was a lot of anger, especially on social media,” she says of 2020. “And then one day, during a huge storm, I thought, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be great if love was raining down? A whole bunch of love hitting everybody.’ ”
Another song inspired by real life, “There for Me,” charms with a positive message, feel-good groove and harmony vocals. Grouws sings about her two-fold gratitude, for the female friends who helped her through the pandemic and the thousands of online viewers who watched the 102 performances the Avey Grouws Band streamed live in 2020 and 2021. “There’s something special about knowing that you’re not alone,” Grouws says.
“Hanging Around” is a breezy track at the pop and ’80s alternative-rock ends of the band’s repertoire. The lyrics depict a relationship in which one partner stays, waiting in vain for the other partner to change. The album’s darker songs include title track “Tell Tale Heart,” a blues-infused power ballad about an unfaithful lover. “That’s the one that makes people cry,” Grouws says.
A seven-minute instrumental in a spacey Pink Floyd mode, “Mariana” spotlights the guitar prowess Avey gained through studying his guitar heroes. Changing stylistic direction again, the acoustic ballad “Daylight” captures the promise that a new day brings after a sleepless night. “Heart's Playing Tricks,” a funky blues-rock track, expresses the paranoia experienced when one suspects their partner is fooling around.
The funky “We’re Gonna Roll” expresses the need to find some fun in a post-pandemic world. And “Eye to Eye,” Tell Tale Heart’s high-spirited closing song, pairs Grouws and Avey for the album’s only vocal duet. “That’s Chris and me playfully yelling at each other,” Grouws explains. “We argue about everything, but I could not have a better friend.”
The future members of the Avey Grouws Band met in 2015 at Muddy Waters, a blues bar on the Mississippi River in Bettendorf, Iowa. Grouws, then working as a morning radio personality, was in town on business. She dropped by Muddy Waters to hear a blues jam led by Chris Avey, Bryan West and Chris’ brother, Mark Avey.
Grouws, trained early in piano, trumpet and vocals, and Avey, a self-taught guitarist, subsequently performed for a year as a duo. In 2017, West and Leasman joined them to form the Avey Grouws Band. (Keyboard player Nick Vasquez came on board in 2019).
Grouws sees her formal music training and Avey’s freewheeling, learn-as-you-go approach as the ideal combination. “I learned to do music exactly as it’s written,” she says. “But Chris is so anti-structure. He forced me to loosen up and go with the moment. I realized that I can follow my instincts and express something that wasn’t written or expected. That’s something I love about our performances. And it’s mesmerizing to watch Chris lose himself on stage. I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Avey and Grouws’ partnership worked beautifully for the first Avey Grouws Band album, The Devil May Care. Released in March 2020, the album was released to critical acclaim, reached #10 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart and received a BBMA nomination for best debut album by a new artist. The album was also nominated for four Independent Blues Awards. The song “Rise Up” was named top song on the Ben Vee Roadhouse 66 top songs of 2020 and “Come and Get This Love” won top honors in the Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition and a finalist placement in the International Songwriting Competition."The music and songwriting are solid…Grouws' stirring vocals, capable of delivering sultry phrases or passionate roars…an auspicious debut." (
Last year, when the pandemic stopped the band’s touring plans, the Avey Grouws Band launched a year of twice-weekly streaming performances. The streaming —Friday night’s "Quarantini Party" and Sunday afternoon’s "Bloody Marys and Blues" — yielded a worldwide community of fans, watching in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Australia.“We weren’t there to simply do a performance. We were there to connect with people, especially in a year when they were experiencing intense disconnection and isolation.”
With their second album ready for the world, the Avey Grouws Band is anxious to perform and tour again. “Maybe the most important thing to understand about our band is that we are the mix of all of our Middle America backgrounds and experiences,” Grouws says. “Th
Website: www.aveygrouwsband.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Karen Leipziger/KL Productions
SELECTED UPCOMING FESTIVAL DATES/CD RELEASE CONCERTS:
FRIDAY, OCT. 1 GYPSY HIGHWAY, Davenport, IA
FRIDAY, OCT. 8 THE OLYMPIC SOUTH SIDE THEATER (w/Joanna Connor, James Tutson), Cedar Rapids, IA
FRIDAY, NOV. 12 RIVER MUSIC EXPERIENCE (w/Lauren Anderson), Davenport, IA
SATURDAY, NOV. 20 KJs HIDEAWAY, St. Paul, MN
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24 RIVERSIDE RESORT & CASINO/"Ladies of Blues Rock" (w/Lisa Mann, Lara Price, Terrie Odabi, Gaye Adegbalola, Eliza Neals…), Riverside, IA
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