Spencer Bohren is a touring musician with a performance history going back to childhood. Raised in a gospel-singing family, he began his professional career at fourteen, inspired by the folk music popular in the 1960s. His life of travel began on the day he graduated high school with a move to Denver in 1968, then on to the West Coast. Next came moves to Oregon, Seattle and back to Colorado, all the while exploring various styles of music and perfecting his craft.
Spencer and his wife, Marilyn, moved to New Orleans in 1976, just in time to play a role in the creative renaissance that included the opening of Tipitina’s and the genesis of bands like the Neville Brothers, Beausoliel, and the Radiators. They began raising a family, eventually taking their children on the road for a seven-year tour in 1983, living in an Airstream trailer towed by a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air while crisscrossing the country from gig to gig. They kept rolling down the highways and byways of America until a series of business reversals eventually made the gypsy lifestyle untenable, forcing them to trade their “Chrome Home” for a more traditional dwelling, first in Colorado and then in Spencer’s native Wyoming and finally back in New Orleans.
Spencer’s love for America’s treasure of traditional music is obvious to audiences in Europe and America, and his original songs reflect echoes of that great treasure. Spencer has released fourteen albums since 1984, beginning with Born in a Biscayne, with Dr. John on piano. Spencer’s recent albums feature his soulful guitar playing and atmospheric lapsteel work. His post-Katrina song, The Long Black Line, provided a large portion of the soundtrack for the city’s recovery following the storm.
Blackwater Music lines out what has been on Spencer Bohren’s mind lately: a good friend caught in the past, environmental irresponsibility in Louisiana and his home state of Wyoming, the passage of time, deep love. The usual parade of guitars, particularly highlighting the lap steel singing both sweetly and raucously, define this emotion-filled collection of all original songs. Son André Bohren is featured on drums, percussion, and gospel piano, with further assistance from a variety of New Orleans notables.
Threadhead Records is pleased to be a part of the next release from such a consummate songwriter and performer.
