Break the Chain Doug MacLeod

• 1 Goin' Down to the Roadhouse 04:08
• 2 Mr. Bloozeman 04:38
• 3 Lonesome Feeling 05:23
• 4 Travel On 03:35
• 5 LA – The Siren in the West 05:14
• 6 One for Tampa Red 03:43
• 7 What the Blues Means to Me 03:06
• 8 This Road I'm Walking 04:22
• 9 Who's Driving This Bus? 04:46
• 10 Church Street Serenade 03:20
• 11 Going Home 01:44
• 12 Break the Chain 04:06
• Total Runtime 48:05

Info for Break the Chain

In this release, his third album for Reference Recordings, Doug MacLeod continues to explore the breadth and depth of the human condition. Recorded by Reference’s Grammy-winning engineer ‘Prof.’ Keith O. Johnson at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California, Break The Chain brings twelve new MacLeod originals. Each song is extremely personal and at the same time, universal; covering subjects topical, humorous, and soulful; from the satirical to the sublime.

The title work, Break The Chain, composed and performed with his son Jesse, focuses on breaking the cycle of family violence and abuse. A powerful concern all too many are familiar with, Doug and Jesse confront this pervasive issue directly and personally, bringing it out of the shadows. Together, they share the healing, reconciliation and peace available to all who work to prevent the cycle from repeating and to “Break The Chain”.

The album is co-produced by Doug MacLeod and Janice Mancuso. Bassist Denny Croy, drummer Jimi Bott and percussionist Oliver Brown join Doug in duo, trio and quartet settings. Like all ‘Prof.’ Johnson’s sessions, Break The Chain was recorded live, in real- time, with no overdubs or effects.

A prolific singer, songwriter, engaging storyteller, and masterful guitarist, Doug is a perennial Blues Music Award nominee and multiple Blues Music Award winner including Acoustic Artist Of The Year and Acoustic Album of the Year. An active touring artist, MacLeod supports his beloved St. Louis Cardinals during baseball season and, when at home, enjoys cooking for wife Patti Joy.

Doug MacLeod, guitar, vocals
Jesse MacLeod, guitar
Denny Croy, bass
Jimi Bott, drums
Oliver Brown, percussion

Doug MacLeod
winner of The 2013 Blues Blast Music Award for Male Artist Of The Year and perennial Blues Music Award nominee, is a singer-songwriter in the American tradition. He is a traveling artist that writes and sings original songs that are based on his own life and experiences. He learned from the old masters, lived the music, survived the life and carries forward a valuable tradition. MacLeod is known for his superb songwriting, guitar wizardry, warm soulful vocals, wit and unforgettable live performances. At the heart of this is his knack for storytelling, bringing characters-from the faceless to the legendary-to strikingly real life.

As a youth he overcame abuse and a crippling stutter by turning to music. After he picked up a guitar, and tried to sing - he found his voice.

While he developed his rich, soulful singing style MacLeod also worked out a unique, unorthodox and powerfully rhythmic acoustic guitar style. The rage of his turbulent youth was eventually channeled through his guitar, using his relentless right hand to pound out an insistent, churning beat to complement his intricate bottleneck and finger-style technique. MacLeod's playing landed him sideman gigs with George 'Harmonica' Smith, Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, Lowell Fulson and Big Mama Thornton. Under their tutelage, he learned how to thrill and enrapture a crowd.

Over 29 years, 19 studio albums, several live records, compilations, a blues guitar instructional DVD and a live performance DVD, MacLeod has consistently earned raves. His songs have been covered by many artists including Albert King, Albert Collins, Joe Louis Walker and Eva Cassidy. He has co-written songs with Dave Alvin and Coco Montoya. MacLeod's songs have been featured in many TV movies and the hit show In the Heat of the Night. Two of his songs are on Grammy nominated albums by Albert King and Albert Collins.

From 1999 to 2004 he hosted Nothin' But The Blues, a very popular weekend blues show on Los Angeles' KLON-KKJZ. He has also been the voice for The Blues Showcase on Continental Airlines and contributed his soulful slide guitar playing to the Los Angeles opening of the August Wilson play "Gem of the Ocean". For ten years he penned "Doug's Back Porch," a regular feature column in Blues Revue Magazine in which he shared his humorous and insightful stories with thousands of readers. He won the Golden Note Award in 1997 for his AudioQuest album "You Can't Take My Blues". In 2006 Solid Air/Warner Bros. released Doug's guitar instructional DVD "101* Blues Guitar Essentials".

MacLeod signed with Reference Recordings in 2012. His new album "There’s A Time" was released in March of 2013. In every note he performs and records, MacLeod subscribes to the rule-of-thumb learned from country bluesman Ernest Banks from Toano VA. who instilled in him to "Never play a note you don't believe", and "Never write or sing about what you don't know about."

Like the old masters who taught him, MacLeod's music expresses life and times via an intangible, elusive quality that may simply be a keen sense of what matters most. There is a philosophic and healing side to MacLeod's music and his stories that has helped others overcome the hardships of their lives. As Pee Wee Crayton's widow Esther once told Doug, "You have a message and you'll send that message mainly to the people who don't go to church."

Booklet for Break the Chain