Rumble Strip’s Sayonara, Baby – We’re an American(a) Band. Maybe.

Ninety days from first word on paper to last note sung. That’s how long it took to record Rumble Strip’s Sayonara, Baby. Created by myself and Dave Nachmanoff (Al Stewart) mostly on a whim, we didn’t set out to make an Americana album or a power pop album. Or a blues or rockabilly record, really. Nevertheless, we got all of those and more.

Dave and I met shortly after the death of a mutual friend, John Wicks of The Records. We worked together on a tribute album to John, along with other friends including Al Stewart, Peter Case, Don Dixon, Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann), Jamie Hoover (who also produced), and others. Dave’s guitar work was nothing short of extraordinary.

Getting back to Sayonara, Baby, the album was created spontaneously but not because we wanted it that way. Given our time constraints, there was no other way. Any of my preconceived notions about a genre or specific sound gave way to Dave’s visceral/instinctive interpretations. And the results speak for themselves. Radio seems to love it – our songs have been played on nearly 30 college and NPR radio stations in just over 3 weeks. Here’s what some of these DJs have had to say about Sayonara, Baby:

“Somehow, these two guys hooked up and started making music together. The results are delightful!” – Diane Sutter, Juke Joint, WCUW

“Very fun stuff. Love the clever lyrics!” – Lou Wade, Wilderness Radio, KKFI

“Yes, I think I will have another cup of coffee, thanks, and another piece of pie. Rumble Strip is on the jukebox. All is right with the world.”  – Carl Cafarelli, This Is Rock & Roll Radio, WSPJ   

Let’s give proper credit to all those involved in Rumble Strip and Sayonara, Baby. Dave Nachmanoff did virtually everything, including but not limited to vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-String electric guitar, clavinet, mandolin, organ, synth, piano, accordion, fretless bass, nylon string guitars, and slide guitar. Bart van der Zueew was fantastic on drums while Megan Kleven provided exquisite backing vocals. Yours truly wrote the lyrics. I guess it goes without saying that Rumble Strip’s Sayonara, Baby was produced by Dave Nachmanoff. But I said it anyway.

I hope you’ll give Sayonara, Baby a good listen. Is it an Americana album? Maybe. Maybe not. But I think you’ll find the spontaneity, melodic hooks, top notch guitar work and lyrics to be very entertaining. And if you like the results, consider telling a friend or two. Maybe even buy it. That would be really cool.

Get it at: Bandcamp, Amazon Music, Apple Music.