Press Releases

Coyotes and Bourbon Utilizes
Plethora of Local Santa Barbara Talent

March 16, 2007

Recently completed, the new Buzzard God Publishing release Coyotes and Bourbon utilizes a plethora of local talent to create a unique sound that blends rock, reggae, hip-hop, afro-beat and folk. The album is a collection of songs by producer/songwriter Mike McHugh. “My goal was to make an album that was an all-encapsulating musical experience, blending musical styles into a juxtaposition of soundscapes.”

Coyotes and Bourbon features performances from a variety of guest musicians including very skilled keyboard playing by Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers/Foo Fighters) and Zach Gill (ALO). According to McHugh, most of the album’s songs began with the acoustic guitar. Parts were added steadily until each song sounded like a full band was playing it live.

Drums for five of the tracks were recorded by Dave Brogan (ALO) in his home-based studio in Seattle. Files were transferred back and forth electronically via the internet. The remainder of the performances were recorded at Santa Barbara Records throughout 2006, then mixed and mastered by McHugh for the final product.

“The mixing and mastering of an album is an art in itself, and always seems to take longer than one plans.” According to McHugh, mastering the album took a month in an attempt to make the music sound like it came out of a large record label studio.

The album’s complete list of guest musicians includes: Steve Adams (ALO), Dana Anton, John Ajao (AJAO), Mark Bennet (Roy Schmeck & the Schmecktones/Delta Martinis), Dave Brogan (ALO), Eric Cardenas (Messengers), Zach Gill (ALO), Jess Goldman, Doug Jaffee (Delta Martinis, Tao Jonz), Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers/Foo Fighters), Rebecca KIeinmann, Corey Linberg (Messengers), Karina Line, Adam Morgan, Playback, Paull E. Rubin, Nicky Shane, Bryan Smith (Delta Martinis), Kevin Vogul (Messengers), Jon Willis (Vajra).

In synopsis, Coyotes and Bourbon is a collection of songs that Mike has written over the last 10 years. A multi-instrumentalist, he played many of the instruments himself, but was also grateful to have other artists create parts to his material. “It’s always enhancing for the music to gain a different approach from a different set of ears. Every artist hears something unique. I was fortunate to work with great musicians on this project.”

The main influences for Coyotes and Bourbon are cited as Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Led Zepplin, the Beatles, Tribe Called Quest, James Brown, Tom Robbins and Charles Bukowski. The album is a collection of short stories, similar to a Bukowski book in that topics push the boundaries of sexual and traditional morality. For example, the song So Cold Maria finds the narrator caught in the situation of loving an assassin, and the subsequent dilemma of assisting her in her duties.

The album’s artwork was created by artist/singer Karina Line, who also appears on several of the album’s tracks as a back-up vocalist, most notably the sultry Spanish speaking parts on So Cold Maria.

“Coyotes and Bourbon created itself. There was a great deal of help from a variety of people and I’m very happy that it’s completed so that I can move on to the next project.” McHugh is currently working on several projects including: afro groove-based AJAO; acoustic groove Corey Jackson; and several songs by hip-hop artist Playback.