Pre-Order Pennsyltucky
Nashville, Tenn. — First cousins Bryan Russo and Christopher Shearer, who make up the uniquely unforeseen Americana duo, Boys Called Susan, share the inspiration behind their first single to radio “Company Man” (click here) as it hits airwaves ahead or their debut album Pennsyltucky on Friday, October 26th. The eleven track masterpiece is available for pre-order now.
“‘Company Man’ is an upbeat anthem that was inspired by my father, my father-in-law, and many of the people I met throughout my childhood who did what was necessary to put food on the table, even though it’s obvious that their professions are not what they truly wanted to do,” said Russo. “It’s a tip of the hat to all blue collar workers.”
What started as a series of late-night cell phone demos sent across the country from Russo (Maryland) to Shearer (Arizona), quickly escalated into a compilation of genuine musicianship and special content that caught the ear of critically-acclaimed songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Phil Madeira (Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us Vol 1&2, The Civil Wars, The Lone Bellow, The Wood Brothers and many others). Madeira invited “the boys” to Nashville to record what would evolve into their soon-to-be debut release at the famed Butcher Shoppe Recording Studio (co-owned by the legendary producer David Ferguson and country music icon John Prine) with the members of Emmylou Harris’ Red Dirt Boys as their backing band. Without hesitation, an INDIEGOGO campaign was launched and within five weeks over $15k was raised allowing this unlikely opportunity to become a reality.
“When we were bouncing the demos back and forth, we would often bring up songs by Emmylou Harris or Sturgill Simpson as a guide for trying to get the sound right, albeit on a phone,” said Shearer. “So the fact that we got to record this with Emmylou’s amazing band in the same room and with the same engineer on Sturgill’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth still doesn’t feel like reality. It’s been so hard for so long for both of us that something like this feels like fiction.”
Yet, at the root of it, Boys Called Susan wouldn’t exist without the request made by Shearer’s beloved mother and Russo’s aunt, Susan Knudson, who lost a long and grueling battle with ovarian cancer in 2013.
“We realized that we both had very similar final conversations with her,” recalls Russo. “She made us individually promise that we’d come together and make music that mattered. Once Chris got out here [Maryland], it didn’t take long to witness that something truly magical was happening. Chris always had an ear for melody and arranging, but the moment our voices blended together in my dining room… it’s like I could hear my aunt laughing, ‘See, I told you so.'”
Pennsyltucky Track Listing:
1. Slumlords of Paradise (Russo/Shearer)
2. Unfinished Symphony (Russo/Shearer)
3. Forbidden Fruit (Russo/Shearer)
4. Degrees of Misery (Russo/Shearer)
5. Pretty Pantomime (Russo/Shearer)
6. Company Man (Russo/Shearer)
7. Girl From Pennsyltucky (Russo/Shearer)
8. Rodeo Cool (Russo/Shearer)
9. The Home Team (Russo/Shearer)
10. Ballad of Little Cherie (Russo/Shearer)
11. Heaven Knows (Russo/Shearer)
For more information on Boys Called Susan, please visit www.boyscalledsusan.com or follow on Facebook,Instagram, and Twitter.