Every great artist needs a good story to tell. For Bill Filipiak, a producer for the Grand Ole Opry sure has worked with a list that would giddy up the most casual music listener. With a gritty voice and a knack for roadhouse rhythm blues, Filipiak has used his tenacious chops and ears that have heard everyone from Willie to Emmylou as a cornerstone for his own bodacious Americana sound. on his new LP Medicine, I Need.
“When you have the opportunity to talk songwriting with these people and watch them perform—I’m talking about folks like Larkin Poe, Sarah Jarosz, Molly Tuttle, Bryan Sutton and Allison Russell; artists like Lera Lynn and Maggie Rose, who insist on finding their own path while staying true to who they are; or maybe you spend a couple days with a legend like Keb Mo, George Thorogood or Ray Wylie Hubbard—after that,” Filipiak says, “it’s hard not to pick up your instrument, try to emulate what they’ve done, then come up with your own idea and follow through on it.”
And that’s exactly what Filipiak has done with Medicine I Need (out Oct. 1). The album—his third full-length—features a unique palette: the gritty blues power of a Gretsch Honey Dipper resonator guitar, mellowed by a splash of Beach Boys surf and a healthy dose of Wurlitzer electric piano. Filipiak—who recorded, engineered, produced and played every sound you hear on this singular vision of a record—simmers these ingredients into a potent and satisfying stew of downhome country blues, folk and Americana.
Glide is premiering the chugging rocker “When The Blues Come Calling,” (below) which prowls with a John Hiatt meets Steve Earl rumble atop a toasty harmonica lick that is undeniably old school and full of edge.
“Throughout Medicine I Need, there are songs that deal with the realities of being human and the fact that the blues are a natural part of life. Sometimes the lines between the blues and severe depression can get blurred, but the reality is any of us could wake up tomorrow in a funk for no apparent reason. Or maybe we’ve been going through a rough patch that drains us mentally, physically, and emotionally. “When The Blues Come Calling” acknowledges the reality that no one is happy all the time. The blues are unavoidable, but hopefully manageable if we have the ability to go through those rough patches with someone by our side,” says Filipiak.
