End Of The World Looms.... One Million Dollars Up For Grabs

I just noticed as I was updating our 2012 calendar that Cool Disposition will be gigging on the very night that the world comes to an end... LOL... Folks, I'm extending my personal GUARANTEE that the world will not end on December 12, 2012.

I'm so confident, that I'm willing to wager ONE MILLION DOLLARS. I'm fully confident that we will all wake up on December 13, 2013 looking for our coffee, pancakes, ham and eggs, orange juice, oatmeal or whatever, with some of us muttering .. "geez, I can't believe I fell for that nonsense"... Partial proceeds of my winnings will go to the bankrolling of an all new Cool Disposition concept album tentatively titled "There's Several Born Every Minute, And They Are Interested In My Swampland".

Any takers?

Free "Buzz Awhile" EP Download Promotion

We're thrilled that "Jumping In The Mudd" has been reviewed in the recent issue of Blues Revue magazine. Purchase a CD today, and enter codeword "BLUES REVUE" in the special instructions to seller (found under your name on the order form).

The first 50 blues fans to do so will receive a free download of our EP "Buzz Awhile". Five tracks including one alternate version. Check out the songs in the player on the right.

CD Review By John Ziegler / Duluth News Tribune

CD review / Cool Disposition
By: John Ziegler , Duluth News Tribune

The title of the brand-new disc from Cool Disposition is "Jumping in the Mudd," a clear reference to the group's collective love of the music of Muddy Waters. But, as it careens through my speakers, it seems that Muddy is really one step removed and that the direct inspiration is the legendary Fabulous Thunderbirds and their classic late '60s and early '70s albums that spread the blues gospel to a whole new generation.

Whatever the spark that helped ignite the creation of "Jumping in the Mudd," I'm glad the tinder was dry, because this group has come up with a new disc that is stellar. It balances moments of off-kilter rhythms and solid, maddeningly catchy grooves. There are harp solos that explode like Mount St. Helens and carefully manicured guitar rides. It has moments of passion over precision with howling harmonics, and brooding vocals that transmit their intensity almost telepathically. "Jumping" covers a lot of ground, and does so with aplomb.

"What Comes Around" has that regal shuffle style that feels like you're sailin' on cruise control down the turnpike in a Cadillac De Ville with a V-8 motor and wide chrome wheels. Group founder and frontman Mickey Bauer penned this one about a possessive and vindictive male whose creed is "an eye for an eye." Bauer tears into lyrics like a starving puma on "Drag me through the mud, you're gonna' get muddy too" and "Tread on me, I'm gonna' do some treadin' too." Boston native Harold Tremblay's harp ride is smooth and silky, while the guitar sounds like it's stuck in a New Orleans swamp.

"Put Your Money Where Your Big Mouth Is" has got that T-Birds grit and gristle, with text about making a difference in the world. Guitarist Dan Schwalbe's insistent rhythms put musical scaffolding around a solid fusion of lyric and groove. His solos echo the clipped, staccato sound of Stevie Ray's big brother, Jimmie, that trumps the usual swift-fingered mayhem favored by so many current blues axe-slingers. Schwalbe delightfully ignores the S.O.P. of too many notes and goes the economy route. Throughout the disc the guitar always seems to find parts that are right in the pocket.

Ex-Lamont Cranston and Hoopsnake piano pounder Bruce McCabe played with members of the T-Birds back in the '70s with a band called Aces, Straights and Shuffles. He guests on "Messed Up" and adds just the right slinky, understated touch behind the vocal line, then steps out on a strollin' little lead full of Pete Johnson right-hand trills and cascading single-note phrases. These are bluesmen at work * no "b" in the bunch.

"Time Keeps Ticking" has that "Scratch My Back," an old Thunderbirds' classic, feel with slammin' double guitar and a burnished, spartan solo. It's followed by Tremblay's thick, creamy harp solo that is like icing on the blues cake.
The record is about to hit stores in mid January and dials in elements from Muddy's colossally important '50s bands with Little Walter and Otis Spann and the '70s Austin, Texas, connection of the T-Birds. Using their own sensibilities, Cool Dispo comes up with a concoction that, like guitar man Schwalbe's playing, is tight and right.

JOHN ZIEGLER writes reviews for the News Tribune. You can reach him at ..johndziegler@gmail.com...

CD Title: "Jumping in the Mudd"
Genre: Traditional blues

Recommended if you like: Muddy Waters, Lamont Cranston Band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds
Recorded at: Subterranean Blues factory, St. Paul

Members: Harold Tremblay (harp), Dan Schwalbe (guitar), Mickey Bauer (vocals), Greg Beach (bass), Marty Bryduck (drums). Guests Bruce McCabe (piano), Dave Hupp (keyboards), Steve Clarke (baritone), Sue Orfield (tenor)
Web site: ..www.cooldispo.com...

Cooldispo.com website gets a remodel

It was time to shake things up. Lets see if this works the way I think it supposed to. I'm a blogger virgin, so please bear with me as I attempt to figure out how to work with this platform