Time: 8 p.m.
Cover:$10
June 4, 2013 saw the release of Leeroy Stagger‘s eighth studio album, Truth Be Sold, produced by Grammy Award winner Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, Truth Be Sold takes listeners on a journey to the edge of Stagger’s heavy-roots, rock ‘n’ roll mind.
The 11 song album is a mix of brand new and previously unreleased songs hand-picked by Berlin and Stagger. The beautifully scathing “Cities On Fire” was written eight years ago and was updated in the studio to document the Occupy Wall Street movement that was gaining momentum while the record was being made. In a departure from Staggers rootsy past, Stagger lets his punk rock past re-emerge with a tip of the hat to The Stooges and Queens of The Stones Age.
Featuring fuzzed out guitars and midi sax solos under Stagger’s rollicking vocal deliveries, Berlin took Stagger and his the band well away from their comfort zone.
“Steve had a gigantic suitcase of percussion and a weird pedals. There wasn’t a song we recorded that didn’t have some foreign object taped to the drum kit or a pedal plugged into a guitar,” says Stagger. “For instance, the drum intro to ‘Celebrity’ and the guitar on ‘Memo’. Steve also played keyboards on the record and added his signature baritone sax sound to the Stones-ish rocker ‘Goodnight Berlin’”.
“Leeroy Stagger is an extraordinarily talented singer, songwriter and player,” says Berlin. “I’ve utterly enjoyed the process of collaborating with him on the new record. He has a unique combination of street smarts and a comprehensive world view that is rare among the current crop of todays young artists.”
Over the years, Leeroy Stagger has shared the stage with plenty of talented musicians including Steve Earle, The Pixies, Los Lobos, Tegan and Sara, Ron Sexsmith, Joel Plaskett and George Thorogood to name a few. His songs have been heard on hit TV shows Greys Anatomy, Sons of Anarchy, Degrassi and Heartland. His seventh album, Radiant Land, was nominated for Roots Solo Recording of the Year at the 2013 Western Canadian Music Awards. Stagger has garnered an international fan base through relentless touring both home and abroad. It is simply a matter of time before Stagger joins the like of Ryan Adams, John Hiatt and John Prine as an ambassador for North American roots rock ‘n’ roll.
