British singer-songwriter Bobby Long has scheduled a series of shows that will take him through to the end of the year as he plans for the release of what will be his fourth album. He is nearing completion on the recording of the album in New York, with the process interrupted by periodic U.S. shows and a lengthy tour of Europe. The 19-city "Renegade" European tour in early summer took him to cities all over Germany plus Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic along with his friend and fellow musician Sam Bradley as support.
Long's new album is being funded by his second successful PledgeMusic campaign. Collaborating with New York-based musician Jack Dawson, with whom he worked on his 2011 EP, THE BACKING SINGER, the new album promises to comprise a diverse collection of styles and songs. "I think it is a lot more psychedelic than my previous records and influenced by The Beach Boys, The Beatles and ELO," he explains. "We've been working on it bit by bit because of people's schedules, but that allows us to breathe in between sessions and come back to it fresh each time. The producer, sound engineer and I have let it naturally take shape." Attendees at his recent shows in the U.S. and Europe have been receiving a taste of some of the new songs.
Long, whose catalogue includes three full CDs and an EP, has recently published his second collection of poetry called Losing My Misery, which follows Losing My Brotherhood, published in 2012. Known for his hauntingly poetic lyrics, writing poetry is a natural sidebar to his songwriting. Losing My Misery, infused with candor, raw emotion and his signature wry humor, is at once brash, funny and heartbreaking, exposing the writer's foibles as well as his poignant insights into the human condition.
When it comes to writing, he makes it clear that he needs to work at songwriting and poetry as separate crafts. "Writing poetry is a creative outlet for me and offers some creative time away from songwriting that really improves my songwriting," he explains. "In general, I'm pretty organized and disciplined so that I can be free and unorganized when I write."
Bobby Long, who emerged from London's folk music renaissance and now lives in New York, brought a sharpened focus to writing Losing My Misery. "I've grown older, and I think I've matured a lot, and my priorities have changed," Long explains. "I think I have become a bit more self aware, and I care more about the people I love than myself. I've written about them, which is something this book reflects openly."
His next scheduled U. S. show will be his first at the
Roxbury Arts Center in Roxbury, NY on Saturday, August 26. He will also return to McCabe's Guitar Shop in Los
Angeles on November 4.
Bobby Long Tour Dates are as follows:
August 26-Roxbury Arts Center, Roxbury, NY
September 10-The Garage, Winston-Salem, NC
September 28-PhotoCity Comedy and Music Club, Rochester, NY
September 30-Caffe Lena,
Saratoga Springs, NY
October 14-The Attic, Tampa, FL
November 4-McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica CA
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