Michael Houser may have left us a couple of years ago, but his musical legacy lives on. His posthumous release, Sandbox, will hit the stores this Tuesday. The Supercat (the label headed up by longtime friend an associate John Keane) release will include 12 previously unreleased tracks, including a fresh version of the title track. The release, which will be Housers second and final solo output, features cameos from Widespread Panic band mates John Bell, Todd Nance and Domingo Ortiz.
Keane was impressed when he first heard the recordings that would serve as the building blocks for this release. It was clear that I was listening to some of his best lyrics and melodies, he says, and the guitar and mandolin parts were breathtaking in their beauty and simplicity. I felt honored to be entrusted with the task of polishing these rough diamonds into a finished record, he explains.
There will be a series of CD release parties across the country, starting with one at the Connecticut Yankee in San Francisco, CA at 7pm on Sunday. Keane and his band will perform at a 9pm release party at The Georgia Theater (a venue that was pivotal in Widespread Panics early years) on Monday, Jan. 23. The rest of the celebrations will start at 8pm and will include another one on Monday the 23rd (at The Soul Kitchen in Mobile), Alabama. On Tuesday, January 24th Spreadheads can gather at The Red Room in Raleigh, NC or at one of two places on January 25th. One of these will be at Smiths Olde Bar in the hotbed of Spreadness (Atlanta, GA) and the other at Dulcineas in Denver, Colorado. Reporting by Rob Turner