Search - The Subdudes :: Flower Petals

In 1987, four musicians got together for what they envisioned would be a one-time performance at Tipitina s in New Orleans. It was a night of mostly acoustic music sparse instrumentation with a strong emphasis on songwriting and vocal harmonies. The show far exceeded expectations, and on that March night the Subdudes were born. Nearly 23 years later, after numerous well-received albums and several years of hard touring, The Subdudes (Tommy Malone, John Magnie, Steve Amedée, Tim Cook and Jimmy Messa) keep groovin along with the release of their newest album, Flower Petals.

Flower Petals, in fact, has something of an Old West flavor. The songs are loosely tied together by a common theme, set at the turn of the century and mostly told from the point of view of a soldier who has passed on. Toward the end of the recordings, the narrator's spirit is finally released to the great beyond.

Interestingly, Flower Petals was originally envisioned as the follow-up to Miracle Mule, the first post-reunion CD by the band that was released in 2004. By August of 2005, the songs for Flower Petals were all written, and rough demo recordings had been made. The band s label at the time, however, persuaded the band to put the project on the backburner and focus on what the label thought would be more appealing: slicker, more commercial songs.

In conversations through the years, each of the band members, though, has talked about wanting to return to Flower Petals. Then, last fall, the band embarked on an all-acoustic tour and the guys found themselves returning to the stripped-down sound that harkened back to their earliest days as the Subdudes. It was the perfect sound to complement the rootsy, Americana songs of Flower Petals, so proper studio work on the songs finally got under way earlier this year.

The band performs mostly unplugged on the recordings. Tommy Malone, of course, is prominent on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, with electric guitar on a number of songs; Magnie plays mostly accordion in lieu of organ, and Steve Amedee is featured prominently on mandolin on several songs. Tim Cook and Jimmy Messa again split bass chores, with Tim also helping out on percussion. The compositions are jointly credited to the five subdudes.