Jim Dan Dee give until it hurts on their new single and video Bleed Me Dry — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The debut single from their upcoming sophomore album Real Blues, Bleed Me Dry sits at the crossroads where George Thorogood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Dr. Feelgood meet, offering a bare-knuckle, two-fisted anthem about hanging in there, soldiering on and fighting the good fight.
Featuring Jim “Dan Dee” Stefanuk on vocals/guitars, Bobby Sewerynek on saxophone, newcomer Dwayne Lau on bass and Shawn Royal on drums, this Southern Ontario four-piece has a tight, interlocked sound only a multitude of live shows can foster. “Nothing is more important to us than our live show, and that energy is what we tried to capture on this record,” notes Stefanuk. “The band recorded with the same amplifiers and instruments we use on stage to keep our performance and tone authentic.”
Authentic blues infused with a modern rock swagger is certainly what you’ll find on Real Blues, due this Friday. The disc features nearly a dozen tales of struggle, loneliness, love, and lust, co-written by Stefanuk, Sewerynek, and Royal, and joined by a brawny cover of Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones’ The Things That I Used to Do. The set aims to create the feeling that you just heard, felt and saw a killer live set from the group.
“We tried for a no overdubs approach whenever possible; listeners will get about as close as they can to the live band experience without leaving their homes,” Stefanuk explains. “We really wanted this album to breathe; all the squeaks, breaths, clicks, and buzzes remain on record, so the quiet moments have a life of their own. You’ll understand when you hear it.”
Listeners will also understand that this raw and honest creative statement from Jim Dan Dee were formed from the unprecedented and life-shaking experience we’ve all experienced during two years of dealing with a global pandemic. “Real Blues comes out of a dark and unprecedented time for most of us on planet Earth,” says Stefanuk. “Fighting an unseen enemy in a battle that lasted years instead of weeks, we’ve lost careers, mobility, hope, and sometimes even the people we love.”
Turning to the innate healing power of music was a natural response for the group, who’ve shared major festival stages with Canadian legends such as Big Wreck, I Mother Earth and The Trews. “Music may be one of the only ways to describe the individual battles we all fight within our own minds, and it may have saved more than a few lives.”
Jim Dan Dee, who take their name from the expression “everything is just Jim Dandy,” are a foursome of survivors, thrivers and prolific creatives. The 10 original tracks they chose to record for Real Blues were picked from a pile of 60, and span the full spectrum of dark to light subjects and emotions. “Over the ‘damndemic’ we got to know the dark sides of ourselves a little better. We lost some people. We strengthened some bonds. It was a war of self-awareness and patience.”
With Real Blues, the band also wanted to pay reverence to the 100-plus-year-old music genre that has been the foundation and framework of their own music. “We hope the album can bring blues fans great joy and remind them at least a little of the incredible giants whose shoulders we humbly sit on. Real Blues has 11 stories, some relate to this viral prison we’ve lived in, and some are a beautiful distraction that harkens to better times in the past and a future that is opening up … fast.”
Watch Bleed Me Dry above, sample more sounds from Jim Dan Dee below, and find them at their website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
