As a young man in the blues game, Selwyn Birchwood has some big shoes to fill. Thankfully the Tampa Bay blues guitarist gone global has some pretty big feet.
"That is definitely a first in an interview," Birchwood, 32, told CL after we asked about his pedal pushers. "[They're a size] 13."
All jokes aside, Birchwood — who broke out of Tampa on the way to signing with famed blues label Alligator Records — has been a revelation for blues, and Rolling Stone has even called him a "remarkable contemporary blues man" with a powerhouse vocal.
He is a firebrand on lap steel, and his gritty, soulful voice is known the world around. On May 19, Alligator Records (current home to acts like Mavis Staples and Mofro, former home to late greats like Sonny Boy Williamson, Buckwheat Zydeco and Pinetop Perkins) will release Birchwood's new LP, Pick Your Poison, where he continues to update the blues by applying a style that is as infectious and fun as the gigantic smile Birchwood wears onstage at his live show.
"I think the songs on Pick Your Poison do a great job of bridging the old school sounds that I love so much and putting a fresh vibe and my own personality to the music," Birchwood added. "We are continually trying to find our own voice and our own sound and this record is the best interpretation of that yet."
The 13-track effort was tracked at Orlando, Florida's Phat Planet Studios by Aaron Gandia and then mixed and mastered in Chicago, Illinois by a trio of heavyweights including Blaise Barton (Smoking Popes, Pinetop Perkins), Collin Jordan (Toronzo Cannon, The Casket Girls) and Alligator Records founder Bruce Iglauer.
On May 12, Bay area fans will get a chance to experience the album before anyone else when Birchwood and community radio station WMNF 88.5 FM Tampa stage a release party at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa. The entire crew — including Regi Oliver on baritone sax, Huff Wright on bass and "Big Love" on drums — will be on hand, and Birchwood himself is stoked to have a friend, swing/jazz songwriter Josh Miller, opening the show. Expect to hear the entirety of the album at the show, but get a taste of LP highlight "Guilty Pleasure" via this the track premiere below.
Call your local record store to see if they'll carry the release and get more information on the show via local.cltampa.com.
This article appears in May 4-11, 2017.