B. Hamilton Nothing And Nowhere
What started as a bedroom project in 2010 for songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Ryan Christopher Parks (whose collaborative track with Boots Riley OYAHYTT features heavily in Riley's 2018 film Sorry to Bother You.) with the addition of Parks' good friends Andrew Macy on bass, and Raj Kumar Ojha on drums (Once and Future Band, Shannon Shaw Band, Howlin' Rain), B. Hamilton has since become one of Oakland, California's staple Rock and Roll bands. With Parks' moody, atmospheric guitar riffs and lyrical ability to encapsulate entire characters and scenes within a few short minutes, there is a decidedly driven, cinematic feel to B. Hamilton's sound. B. Hamilton's fourth album Nothing and Nowhere is an album to drive late at night to, windows down, pounding along with Ojha and Macy's urgent, yet steadfast tempos and rhythms on the roof of the car to stay awake. Parks' vocals and guitar take us over potholed, winding, terrain that has led many from adolescence into adulthood. In the album opener North San Juan, Parks describes the fall out of 1960's San Francisco's Summer of Love in contemporary Northern California. A situation where Peace and Love has given way to addiction, false prophets, and youthful recklessness. Numbers like 45 and Straight may be more a meditation on the kind of adult one hopes they don't become: disillusioned, entitled, sitting on a powder keg of resentments. Song for T.W. cements the album's theme that love is excruciating and worth fighting for, while hate is easy and designed for the weak. Noteworthy: Ryan wrote and played on a OYAHYTT from the 2018 movie Sorry to Bother You with writer and director Boots Riley. Riley is a supporter and friend of the band. - https://youtu.be/JAxDgkVlve0 Teddy Rankin-Parker (Iron and Wine) plays cello on North San Juan and Sarajevo Roses. Joel Robinow (Once and Future Band, Shannon Shaw Band, Howlin' Rain, The Black Crowes) sings and plays keyboards on the entire record.