On his upcoming album 'Come and Meet Me', Brooklyn-based Sherman Ewing evokes Van Morrison, R.E.M., John Prine and more, as he delivers a rocker's journey through loss, community and finding common ground. At times cathartic, irreverent, mournful and/or combative, the radio-friendly collection reveals Ewing's fearless honesty as a songwriter.
'Come and Meet Me' is a confident statement from an indie rocker who has earned praise from USA Today, Relix, No Depression, Jambands, NY-1 TV and elsewhere, generating rave reviews and comparisons to
Bob Dylan and George Harrison, among others. Respected critic Elysa Gardner, in USA Today, said that Ewing's songs "have a wry lyricism that suggests a hard-won emotional integrity." His new album, which ranges from full rock band to spare acoustic folk, will be released in February 2018. Ewing's CD was Produced by Anthony Krizan (Spin Doctors, Lenny Kravitz,) and Mastered by Grammy-winner Greg Calbi (Paul Simon, Patti Smith).
On the CD's inspiring title track, Ewing channels Morrison in a soulful, old-school rallying cry about friendship, community and love. On the witty, propulsive 'Everything is Beautiful', Ewing evokes the 'smart rock' of R.E.M.'s 'Automatic For The People', and finds joy in life's simplest pleasures - it's an anthem for the 'everyman'.
Perhaps the centerpiece of the album is the stunning and understated 'Shine', a remembrance of the last time Ewing saw his mother. He recalls, "she was very, very sick. It was the last time I actually remember seeing her - and she gave me a gift. She told me to do anything I wanted in this world. She had given up being a painter to raise her children and had just gotten back to it before she got sick - and it marked a very happy albeit brief time for her. She said, do what you love, do it as best you can and you will be okay. This song is for her."
Of the boisterous 'Bring Us Together', Ewing comments, "Boys like to fight in the sand box...Grown men aren't much different.
Perhaps our universal well-being would stand a better chance if the moms had a chance to take over and clean things up." On 'Come Back Now', a second track dedicated to his mother, Ewing brings closure to the loss that has haunted him since her passing. He reveals, "during the time my mom died and in the following few years, I was having a hard time. I didn't really know how to process the loss, and I was pretty lost myself. I found myself overcome with emotion over the smallest things. I'd see movies - sometimes happy one - and I'd just think of my mom feel overwhelmed. I decided I really needed to get some closure, and say goodbye once and for all. I planned a retreat in the woods, so that I would move past and move on. While there, something became very clear. The grief had kept my mom with me...it was all I had left of her. It was real and made me feel close to her. If I didn't hurt, I could say good-bye. And I wasn't sure I wanted that ... Freud would have a field day."
A U.S. tour in the works for the spring. In the mean time, fans can see Ewing perform a special acoustic set at
Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on November 21st. the show will benefit the efforts of The Sato Project, which rescues abandoned and abused dogs from Puerto Rico.
www.thesatoproject.org
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