The Record Company at O2 Institute, Birmingham

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Fri 17 Mar 2017 - Wed 22 Mar 2017

Exactly a year after the release of their debut album Los Angeles-based band The Record Company hope it will be rewarded with the Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary Blues Album.

The ceremony takes place on February 12, 2017, with The Record Company's Give It Back To You one of the frontrunners for the Grammy.

Win or lose, British fans have the chance to see the band on tour in March. The five UK dates include a gig at Birmingham's O2 Institute on March 18.



Since the release of Give It Back To You the bluesy rhythms created by Chris Vos (guitar, lead vocals, harmonica), Alex Stiff (bass, vocals) and Marc Cazorla (drums, piano, vocals) have created a critical storm.

Rolling Stone raved: "Caught halfway between the stomp of mid-century rock & roll and the soulful kick of Delta blues, The Record Company kick up a raw, rootsy racket. The blues may be nothing new, but The Record Company wring new life out of old traditions."

Entertainment Weekly wrote: "The scuzzy, 10-track set meshes the group's biggest influences - the early electric blues rock n' roll of John Lee Hooker, staccato lyrical delivery akin to The Stooges frontman Iggy Pop, and Rolling Stones-style grooves."



The band formed in LA after a late night listening to records on bass player Alex's back porch.

The sound of John Lee Hooker's album Hooker N' Heat coupled with singer Chris Vos's stories of a trip to see Iggy & The Stooges at The Palladium in LA inspired the three to get together the next day and jam together. That following afternoon they decided to start recording in Alex's living room."We listened to the playback that first day of recording and decided right then and there that we had to be a band," Chris recalls.

The album Give It Back To You was written, recorded, and mixed by the band in Alex's living room, retaining the raw and untouched sound they strive to make.

"When recording we trust early takes, love soulful mistakes, and record much of the song together live so we can keep the vibe of the recording feeling natural and still mix it with an aim to make the speakers move," says Chris.



The band toured nearly non-stop in the months following the release of Give It Back To You. They proved favourites at this year's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, prompting Rolling Stone Country to name the trio's set among the event's Five Best Country and Americana Moments while declaring it "a wildly energetic show and one of the most communal experiences of the festival."

They embarked on their first headline tour in Autumn 2016, selling out 32 out of the 41 shows they played – including the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, the El Rey Theater in LA, World Café Live in Philadelphia, Turner Hall in Milwaukee and Antone's in Austin.

"It's about making the right choices for the songs," says Chris, "keeping things as engaging as possible without compromising the integrity of the song. Everything we do comes from our desire to write the best songs we can and make the most honest music that we can."I always think of any performance as one less time, not one more time. Nobody can say how many shows you get to play in your life. So we try to play our guts out, leave it all on the table, and have fun doing it."

To coincide with the UK tour The Record Company will issue a double A-side single, Baby I'm Broken ( a new track) and Rita Mae Young.

The Record Company March 2017 UK tour dates:

**March 17: Deaf Institute, Manchester;
March 18: O2 Institute, Birmingham;
March 19: Cathouse, Glasgow;
March 21: Thekla, Bristol;
March 22: 100 Club, London.**

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!date 17/03/2017 -- 22/03/2017
%wnbirmingham