Babaux & The Peacemakers - Lucky 13 (2022) [CD Rip]

Personnel:
Cristian Basso: vocals, dobro
Eric Martinez: guitar
Alana Velvis: drums
Niek Velvis: bass

Babaux & The Peacemakers, brings four of Colorado's most acclaimed musicians, songwriters, engineers and producers together for a dynamic excursion across the width and breadth of the Roots-Rock spectrum. Led by singer/songwriter and dobro player Cristian Basso (aka, Babaux), The Peacemakers are Eric Martinez on guitar, along with Alana and Niek Velvis on drums and bass respectively. Basso, whose history includes bass stints for an array of icons from Bo Diddley to Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) to Papa Mali, and has songwriting credits with no less than Eric Lindell (on his acclaimed Gulf Coast Highway album), picked up the dobro in 2020 (his primary instrument is bass) and it sparked a tectonic shift in his songwriting approach and output. "I started writing like crazy because the dobro was this new avenue of expression, it got me out of my old songwriting patterns," he relates. "What really inspired me with dobro is the slide aspect; translating the feel I'm used to from bass into the dobro's slide came very naturally to me. It changed my approach to writing in that it made me think about vocals in a much more melodic way. As a songwriter, I think it's brought me closer to what I mean to say in a more direct fashion rather than try to do a lot of word craftsmanship." While there may be more economy in word craftsmanship, the finely crafted structure and feel of the songs is a direct result of the depth of all four band members' collective experience. Embracing an array of moods and styles from jamband-rootsy to swampy bayou blues with excursions that touch on vintage Laurel Canyon and acoustic funk, each song is like a new chapter in the Roots Music playbook. Smooth and haunting vocals with a rough and tumble poetic delivery nestled atop a series of multi-layered grooves make every song a different experience. "Eric, Alana and Niek are all accomplished producers, engineers and songwriters, they all made really important contributions to the songs that speak to their own music sensibilities." The band's recently released debut album, Lucky 13, was immediately embraced by radio stations across the country, leading to debuts on the Roots Music Report Top 50 Rock Album Chart at #3, the Top 50 Roots-Rock Album Chart at #2 and at #1 on the Colorado Top 50 Album Chart, and remaining in the Top 5, Top 3, and at #1 respectively for the entire first month since its release.