6 3 0 - 8 4 5 - 9 6 7 3
with the release of his critically-acclaimed debut cd, Ice Cream
cited by Acoustic Guitar as one of the Top CDs of 2002.
His second release, Some These Days (June 2004),
is a deep meditation on American Roots Music.
It demonstrates Hasbrouck's firm grasp on the
rich musical heritage that has shaped his art
over three decades of music-making.
Working with independent recording
engineer Steve Albini, Hasbrouck has produced a
follow-up to Ice Cream that is rootsy and dense.
Some These Days is a many-sided collection
of vocal tracks and instrumentals, originals and covers.
The originals are sometimes moody, sometimes playful,
often emotionally complex, and always daring.
And as listeners of Ice Cream know,
Hasbrouck’s interpretations of songs with
traditional roots are about as far out as you can get.
"There's an idea in the music industry that an artist's career starts when they release their first album. To those who
believe this, John Hasbrouck - a longtime fixture in the Chicago music scene - is just getting started. Whether or not you
subscribe to this notion, John Hasbrouck is in essence starting a "new phase" of his career. For years he has been an
artist who fans have known and loved and to whom other artists have looked for inspiration and guidance.
This new phase of John Hasbrouck's career starts with two words: ICE CREAM, the simple title of his debut release. It's a
title that brings to mind something everybody enjoys, but it's also a meditation on the inspiration provided years ago by a
friend who's life was cut short.
ICE CREAM demonstrates Hasbrouck's remarkable versatility with a wide-ranging mixture of American roots styles and a
no-nonsense musical sensibility. His richly textured guitar playing and the contemporary edge he brings to traditional
tunes are the foundation for his highly personal style. It's been called Acoustic Americana - a style built on the influences
of artists like the late John Fahey, through whom Hasbrouck discovered the majesty of solo fingerstyle guitar, and Charlie
Patton, the great larger-than-life songster who recorded in the 1920s and '30s. Combine this with the huge influence of
Michael Hedges, who represents for Hasbrouck the one artist in each generation who rewrites the rules for playing guitar,
and you've got ICE CREAM.
ICE CREAM opens with a track that's been John Hasbrouck's signature tune in performance for years, THE
ASSASSINATION OF COUSIN BROOKS. Written especially for Hasbrouck two decades ago by an old friend, this piece
was originally a straightforward minor blues, and over the years was transformed into a acoustic fingerstyle tour-de-force.
The recording and release of this song marks the end of a long phase of John Hasbrouck's career, and signals the
beginning of a new one.
The last song on the album, BEHOLD! ROWS OF ZEBRAS MIRACULOUSLY ANNOUNCE NIRVANA, was written at the
request of a friend and mentor who asked John to write a melancholy song for his birthday. Based on a simple melody,
the song features John improvising exotic bottleneck lines on his National guitar in a manner of playing influenced by
Hindustani slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya.
Between these two tracks the listener will find wildly reworked traditional tunes, movie music, ironic jazz, a requiem, and
what Hasbrouck refers to as "dead mens' blues." ICE CREAM contains soulful vocal tunes and lots of original
instrumentals on six- and twelve-string guitar.
John Hasbrouck's ICE CREAM is a exceptional debut by a mature artist whose time has come."
"ICE CREAM by John Hasbrouck is one of the most promising artist's debuts of the year, containing eclectic, rootsy
fingerstyle guitar music on six- and twelve-string guitar with bottleneck and vocals. "
2. Keep It Clean
3. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
4. The Ravenous Wolf
5. As Time Goes By
6. Willy, The Chimney Sweeper
7. In Heaven Everything Is Fine (The Lady In The Radiator Song)
8. All Those Wasted Years
9. The House Of The Risin' Sun
10. Lady Be Good
11. Kerouac Alone In Des Moines, 1947
12. Fragment Of An Unfinished Requiem For Blind Joe Death
13. John Hardy
14. I've Been Drinkin' All Night Long
15. Requiem For A Fragment
16. Cry Me A River
17. Harry Smith Lays Down
18. Lady Nothynge's Toye Puffe
19. The Last Time I Saw Abraham
20. Behold! Rows Of Zebras Miraculously Announce Nirvana
Walking Tour
2. False Hearted Lover’s Blues
3. Back Into Days
4. Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow
5. Lum These Days
6. I’ll Be Gone
7. Henry Sloan
8. Hubbard’s Cave
9. Granny’s Homemade Horseradish
10. Bluebird
11. Wild Man Blues
12. Ellen Smith
13. Squeaky’s On The Loose
14. Back In Two Days
15. Henry Lee
16. Down To The River To Pray
17. To My Amazement, Still
