On his new album ‘Crown,’ out today via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group, the legendary guitarist Eric Gales opens like never before, sharing his struggles with substance abuse, his hopes about a new era of sobriety, and his personal reflections on racism. With sessions that began the day after George Floyd’s murder, the album features highly relevant material like the latest single “Stand Up,” which speaks to Eric’s personal story, as well as his wider experience as a Black man in the US. “It’s about my life, but also what’s happening in the world right now,” he explains. “This is me letting the world know what we’ve been through.”
Eric Gales will also begin an eleven date UK tour beginning on 23 March in Brighton and will call through Dover, London, Southampton, Bristol, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Glasgow, Whitley Bay and finishing on 3 April in Leeds.
The video for “Stand Up,’ released today to coincide with the album, illustrates how discrimination has impacted Eric’s life, and points to the way music helped him grapple with the experience. “This is for everyone who has ever felt discriminated against,” Gales explained. “We should all learn to co-exist for the common good of the human race.” The video features an appearance by Eric’s wife LaDonna Gales, and background vocals by Kim Fleming, Devonne Fowlkes, and Xavier Rucker.
Over 30 years and 18 albums, Eric Gales has been a blues firebrand, with a passion for the music and a boundless desire to keep it vital that has never waned. Now, after a career that’s gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, Gales is taking his rightful place at the head of the blues-rock table with the release of ‘Crown,’ his career-defining new album, out today. Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, the songs on ‘Crown’ are delivered with clarity and feature Eric’s personal experiences and hope for positive change, creatively rejuvenated and sagely insightful. This is Eric at his most boldly vulnerable, uncompromisingly political, and unflinchingly confident.
The premiere of “Stand Up’, follows previous singles “You Don’t Know The Blues,” as well as the album’s first single, the slinky “I Want My Crown”. Here, with playful bravado, Eric sings about finally getting his due while also admitting his self-sabotaging past. Clean and focused with guitar in hand, he eyes the crown and goes for it, battling powerhouse blues warrior Joe Bonamassa in a Rocky-like epic fight. Triumphant horns spur on the excitement as the pair unleash barrages of jaw-dropping blues-shred with each player’s passages feeling like the final fury of a July 4th fireworks explosion.
