One of NOLA’s best singer/songwriters comes to BR

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By Jason Andreasen

Many in popular music describe themselves as a hybrid of multiple genres in a thinly veiled attempt to differentiate themselves. Everybody is in a pop-rock band or is a neo-soul/funk singer, and while Eric Lindell is aware of his own hybrid, one word can describe his latest release, Low on Cash, Rich in Love: pure.

As pure as a blues/soul/Americana/funk record from someone who isn’t your prototypical singer/songwriter can be.

“Music is so cross-pollinated. Everything’s been done, so it’s really about just staying true to yourself and writing some meaningful songs,” said Lindell. “It’s really just about the feel.”

This is nothing new; Lindell never was a student of musical theory or convention. He contends that it’s more important to do what feels right than to follow established rules. Lindell is now passing that message along down the family tree.

“My son plays trombone, and I always tell him, ‘There are no wrong notes; just play what you feel,’” he said.

Lindell’s latest effort will be unleashed upon Baton Rouge at a CD release party at Chelsea’s on Saturday, Jan. 26. The album, entitled Low on Cash, Rich in Love, is not exactly what you might expect from a guy on a famed blues label, Alligator Records. It’s also different from his 2006 critically acclaimed release, Change in the Weather.

“I’ve matured a lot as far as song writing,” he explained. “It’s far from a blues album; it’s just real good roots music.”

Lindell’s journey to Low on Cash started when he was still a teenager, when the born and bred San Franciscan was a self-described guitar-playing “skate-punk.” At the tender age of 15, he and a few friends started booking gigs playing a hybrid he calls “skate-rock.”

“It was like surf rock that we just played as loud as we could,” Lindell explained with a laugh. “It’s funny, you listen to that stuff now, and really all it is is hyped-up 12-bar blues riffs.”

The “skate rocker” who grew up listening to bands like Fishbone, The Faction and Black Flag found the transition to New Orleans and to roots-music to be seamless, due in no small part to their similarities.

Lindell moved to the Crescent City in 1999, where he has made a name for himself as one of the city’s most gifted artists, valuing the collaborations he’s been a party to. In fact, Lindell even voiced a desire to record an album with Dragon Smoke, a band in which he plays alongside New Orleans royalty Ivan Neville and Galactic’s Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio.

Lindell, with the release of Low on Cash, ought to be another huge step closer to being included in the royal court of New Orleans music himself. The album shows Lindell’s knack for providing substance without sacrificing the head-bobbing grooves he’s known for. On “It’s a Pity,” he serves up a funk-laced soulful acknowledgment of the plight of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina that forces you to dance while tearing up. Meanwhile, the first single on the album, “Lay Back Down,” showcases Lindell’s restrained rasp that has some comparing him to Van Morrison.

Also of note is Lindell’s passionate harmonica work on “I Got a Girl.”

“I actually started playing the harp before I picked up the guitar. I’ve got to start playing it more in my shows,” he confessed.

Though Lindell may need to whip out the harmonica a little more, seeing him combine furious guitar work with beautifully nuanced vocals more than makes up for it. Lindell’s live performances are always soulful and never monotonous. In an effort to bring his beautiful brand of cross-pollinated roots music to the masses, Lindell is embarking on a tour that will take him across the eastern half of the United States, surely catching the ears of new fans along the way.

Next stop: Baton Rouge.

E-mail the author at JasonAndreasen@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 594 - January 23, 2008

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