Riverboat Gamblers: Blue Ghosts – new video

 

 

It’s edgy and intense but you could dance to it if you wanted to, ‘Blue Ghosts’, directed by Justin Wilson, comes off RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS' 2012 Volcom Entertainment released album ‘The Wolf You Feed’. RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS worked on the pre-production for the album with musician and producer Ted Hutt and recorded it in Dallas, Texas with Grammy Award-winning engineer Stuart Sikes who reportedly pushed the band to “creatively get outside of their box”. Lyircs-wise, vocalist Rookie Sensation Mike Wiebe explained:

“I think there’s a really strong connection between comedians and musicians; they’re ripping their hearts out onstage for people who might not care at all - so that was my love letter to how enamored I am with [comedians] and what they do.” [Concerning the album's title he said:] “It’s kind of referring to an old Navajo saying that you’ve always got two wolves inside you and one is good and one is evil; you have to feed one and starve one and it’s up to you.”

“Vocalist Mike Wiebe has learned to enunciate and add emotional color to his performances while still sounding like he has enough attitude to power a good-sized city; saying he’s matured probably gives the wrong impression, so let’s say he’s moved from a welterweight to a cruiserweight and the impact is obvious. …Great punk bands often have a hard time finding new ways to make themselves understood on plastic, but after a brief stumble, the RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS have shown they can evolve without losing the plot, and if ‘The Wolf You Feed’ isn’t their best album, it’s smart, ambitious, and rocks with authority, sounding fresh and exciting in ways you might not have expected,” [commented Mark Deming, AllMusic – more here]

‘The Wolf You Feed’ can be found on iTunes and Amazon.

 

Formed in 1997 in Denton, Texas by bassist Pat Lillard (otherwise known as “Spider Stewart”) with lead guitarist Fadi el-Assad (occasionally referred to as “Freddy Castro”) and vocalist Mike Wiebe (“Rookie Sensation”), the group's original intention was to “emulate Virginia rockers THE CANDY SNATCHERS in direct contrast to the popular emo music at the time”. RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS self-released a 7” single ‘Jenna (Is A No Show)’, followed by self-tiled Tim Kerr-produced album in 2001 and 2003's ‘Something To Crow About’. The group continued to promote their tongue-in-cheek cock rock on Volcom Entertainment from 2005 on with 2006's ‘To The Confusion Of Our Enemies’ and Andrew Murdock-produced 2009's ‘Underneath The Owls’.

RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS features: Rookie Sensation Mike Wiebe – vocals, Fadi El-Assad – guitar and vocals, Ian MacDougall – guitar and vocals, Rob Marchant – bass and vocals and Sam Keir – drums