There’s a lot to like in We Walk This Road, the T Bone Burnett-produced album released in June. Before Randolph and The Family Band even stepped into the studio, Burnett and the guitarist went through stacks of old songs, some dating back almost 100 years, to select material for the album, resulting in a finished piece that crosses multiple genres, including gospel and blues as well as incorporating a few more contemporary tunes such as Prince’s “Walk Don’t Walk,” Bob Dylan’s “Shot Of Love” and John Lennon’s “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama.”
“When we found something we liked, we would either cover it or re-work it using our own words or melodies,” Randolph told Pollstar about a month before We Walk This Road was released. “Through this creation came an education. T Bone opened a lot of doors for me serving as a link between the past and the present. He knows how to take something from the past and bring it into the present while still allowing the artist to make it his own, in the same way that Hendrix took Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and made it belong to him.”
Randolph has plenty of opportunities in early 2011 to play selections from We Walk This Road, including the Jam Cruise steaming out of Fort Lauderdale Jan. 4 where the guitarist and his band will spend four days sailing the Caribbean along with folks like Bob Weir with Rob Wasserman and Jay Lane and bands such as Galactic and The Greyboy Allstars.
Once back on dry land Randolph & The Family Band get down to the serious business of headlining a tour, beginning in Fayetteville, Ark., at George’s Majestic Lounge Jan. 20. Other stops include Lawrence, Kan., at Liberty Hall Jan. 21, Denver’s Ogden Theater Jan. 22; Park City, Utah, at House Of Blues Jan. 24 and two nights in San Francisco at The Independent Jan. 28-29.
Randolph & Company will also play Crystal Bay, Nev. (Jan. 30), Albuquerque (Feb. 1), Austin (Feb. 4-5), Boston (Feb. 17) and Burlington, Vt. (Feb. 20).
Randolph still has a few dates on the books before the year is over and will play Buffalo, N.Y., at The Tralf Music Hall Dec. 8 and Cleveland’s House Of Blues Dec. 10. On Dec. 31 Randolph and the band hook up with North Mississippi Allstars to ring in the new year at Chicago’s House Of Blues.
The online ticket request period for the 2011 tour begins Dec. 8 and the public onsale fires up Dec. 10. Just click here for more info.