THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dave Purcell, a veteran singer-songwriter, drummer and guitarist, returns with his fourth record Destination, under the new banner Radio Free ABQ. After three decades of leading successful bands in Cincinnati and Chicago, Purcell has relocated to Albuquerque, bringing his rich musical legacy to the Southwest.
Purcell’s bands have garnered enthusiastic reviews, radio airplay, and regional music awards. They played notable festivals, opened for acts such as Dave Alvin, Tim Easton, Chuck Prophet, Robbie Fulks and Jason Ringenberg, appeared on compilations and earned a reputation for blistering shows. Purcell’s Cincinnati-based Pike 27 released three records over 13 years and received airplay and glowing reviews internationally.
Purcell describes Destination as “landing in the space between Wilco and Calexico. It’s an ambitious record with adventurous production — a dozen songs ranging from jangly Americana to cinematic instrumentals. I like how they came together to tell a cohesive story.” Drawing on Americana, indie rock, and desert noir, Destination features a slate of diverse. Lead single Tito (Far Away, Not Lonely), a David Bowie-meets-Wilco tale of a small-town boy dreaming big. Figure It Out is a Rollings Stonesy romp with a character searching for meaning in a fever dream of robots, witches and Sun Ra. Playing For Keeps finds Purcell reclaiming his life after dehumanizing years at work. Album closer Mojave Phone Booth draws on the true story of how a pay phone deep in the desert connected people all over the world.
“After straddling Americana and indie rock for 30 years, I wrote only instrumental music for four years. Destination is the culmination of that journey and sets the table for what’s next,” Purcell notes. The record reflects the lessons from four years of study with drummer and composer Mark Guiliana (David Bowie, St. Vincent), whose work traverses jazz, electronic music, and rock. Inspiration also comes from other artists who cross musical borders, such as Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Giant Sand and R.E.M.
Along with Purcell, Radio Free ABQ features Ryan Goodhue (keyboards, accordion, backing vocals), Travis Rourk (trombone, synth, guitar, backing vocals) and Scott Brewer (bass, backing vocals). Newcomer Tom Andes joined on lead guitar post-recording. Special guests Brian Lovely (Blessid Union of Souls, Flying Underground) and Mike Fair, two of Cincinnati’s finest, contribute on lead and rhythm guitars. Together, they bring to life the concepts Dave scribbled down for his new project manifesto after listening to Joe Strummer‘s radio show on BBC World Service: “Shortwave radio in the attic at midnight. A Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. Good grooves. Somewhere between London, Kingston, New Orleans, and Memphis. A musical conversation among us and with the audience.”
Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Matthew Tobias at Empty House Studio in Albuquerque, Destination was produced by Purcell and Tobias, and mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Focus Mastering (Hurray For The Riff Raff, Damien Jurado, Bright Eyes).”
