Nashville-based guitarist, singer, songwriter JD Simo today releases the first single “Mortgage On My Soul” from his upcoming LP Songs From The House of Grease, due out January 13, 2023. Pre-orders and pre-saves are available today here.
The new single is JD’s creative and incendiary take on the classic from hill country blues pioneer Mississippi Fred McDowell. “Mortgage On My Soul”, and the other songs on the upcoming LP, were produced and recorded over just two days.
JD says, “Mortgage on my soul is an old Mississippi Fred McDowell song that I just really dug the words too. I also love the hypnotic vibe of his style. So over the course of a few months we started doing this during sound checks. Adam Abrashoff came up with this killer Afrobeat style groove and that’s how it really came together. It’s also a really good showcase for my slide playing. It’s just such a blast to play. I could play it for an hour”
JD’s expert playing is on full display on the song, a version that pays homage to the original while adding a modern take. JD’s powerful, soulful vocals along with the passionate guitarwork have been a staple of his signature sound. As fans have come to expect, JD’s guitar solo kicks the intensity up to the next gear, especially with the backing of longtime collaborator and drummer Adam Abrashoff and bassist Todd Bolden.
JD’s love and respect for the roots of blues and rock n roll led him to be hand selected by music supervisor David Cobb to record all of the guitars for the blockbuster Elvis biopic. In an in depth interview with Guitar World about his role creating the soundtrack in the Elvis film JD said, “I’m such a fan of Elvis’ music, but also the music of that period and the other stuff we recorded for the film. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, Muddy Waters, B.B. King – all of that is a big part of my musical DNA.”
JD released his LP Mind Control in November 2021. The album received critical praise from American Songwriter, American Blues Scene, among other outlets with Paste Magazine lauding “Simo has a history of working with a diverse range of sounds. On Mind Control, his reach is as thrilling and inviting as one expects.”
JD will be touring alongside Patrick Sweany this Fall on a 9-date run through the middle of the United States. More tour dates will be announced in the coming months.
Full tour schedule here: https://simo.fm/tour
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About JD Simo
Rather than simply roll up to those fabled crossroads of blues lore, JD Simo builds a bridge by hand. The Chicago-born and Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer connects the missing link between Motown and Woodstock as he fuses fluid and fiery fretwork with vital and vulnerable vocals. JD has been acclaimed by Rolling Stone, NPR, Guitar Player, Relix, No Depression, and more Logging hundreds of gigs annually; he has collaborated with Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel, Luther Dickinson, Blackberry Smoke, and more. Not to mention, he graced the bills of festivals, including Bonnaroo, Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, and Mountain Jam. Phil Lesh, iconic co-founder of The Grateful Dead, invited him to join Phil Lesh and Friends. Meanwhile, JD’s 2019 solo album, Off At 11, incited fan fervor and tastemaker praise. Billboard claimed the record, “channels forbearers such as Jimi Hendrix, Santana and the Allman Brothers Band,” and Guitar World dubbed it, “another step toward the 34-year-old Chicago native establishing himself as a contemporary blues rock giant.” Throughout 2019, he maximized rare time off to write what would become JD Simo. Returning home after 150 gigs, he worked out of a “funky little eight-track studio” in his house. His most recent LP, Mind Control is an artists record, the product of like minded musicians huddled in a humble setting, making music to make them feel good.
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