Ralph Pezzullo beats the Lockdown Blues in his latest single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
As the first single off Pezzullo’s self-titled album, Lockdown Blues is an exhilarating up-tempo blues fusion that’s anything but isolating. His vision comes to life with the help of a star-studded band that includes John Prine’s keyboardist, P!nk’s bass player, The Wallflowers’ guitarist and Dolly Parton’s drummer. “Working with them in the studio was fantastic,” Pezzullo says of the extraordinary chemistry in the room. “They got the feel of the tunes and the grooves right away, and we took off creatively.”
Lockdown Blues takes the fallout of our tumultuous recent history with the pandemic and flips it on itself with a bright, splashy guitar progression and a chorus that begs to be sung live in concert halls. The process of capturing this song is immortalized in the corresponding music video peppered with footage of the genesis of this post-Covid anthem.
Pezzullo’s album is the result of a decades-long journey of creative discovery that began as a teenager in Colombia as a member of Latin rock garage band Wallflower Complexion. The son of a diplomat who is still filled with enthusiasm and curiosity, Pezzullo says he’s “traveled to more than 50 countries and lived in a dozen, and discovered that every one of them has its own distinct culture and sound. Each has left an indelible impression on my musical and creative psyche.”
The result is a eight-song debut LP brimming with lived experience and musical influences as varied as Bob Marley, Ruben Blades, Radiohead and even Stravinsky — all delivered with the assured voice and sonic resonance of a band that has toured for decades. When Pezzullo isn’t making music, he’s adding to his bibliography of over two dozen bestselling books. He’s also a poet, award-winning playwright, and screenwriter.
Watch Lockdown Blues above, hear more from Ralph Pezzullo below, and keep up with him at his website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
