The Linemen

CLOSE THE PLACE DOWN was released October 15th on SAM RECORDS on MP3,
CD, and translucent 180-gram vinyl.

Mixed by JOHN ALAGIA (John Mayer, Liz Phair)

Recorded by ANDY TAUB at Brooklyn Recording (Keith Richards, Calexico, Spoon)

“[A] vibrant record [that] alternates between the kind of spirited Americana Kevin Johnson and Jonathan Gregg have built a career on [and] a healthy injection of expertly delivered jangle and power-pop. Alt-country-tinged … lonesome Jayhawks/Petty jangle, painted in all the right places by Gregg’s chiming guitars and lush pedal steel, [with] weary yet gorgeously melodic vocals.”

– VENTS Magazine

Kevin Johnson and Jonathan Gregg first met in the early 1990s when the bands they were fronting (the Linemen and the Lonesome Debonaires, respectively) started playing on the road together. Johnson was a well-established singer and songwriter in the Washington, DC, area, playing shows at The Birchmere, the 9:30 Club, and Mountain Stage, and winning a WAMMIE award for best male vocalist, while Gregg was working the New York club scene at CBGB and Rodeo Bar as well as touring with They Might Be Giants. Gregg’s first CD, BLUE ON BLONDE, got three and half stars in Rolling Stone and a rave from CMJ.

The Linemen build on the combined strengths of Johnson (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Gregg (vocals, guitar, pedal steel), with DC veterans Scott McKnight (bass), Bill Williams (guitar, mandolin, lap steel), and Antoine Sanfuentes (drums, percussion) rounding out the arsenal.

Fans of Neil Young, Ryan Adams, Richard Thompson, the Rolling Stones, and Nick Lowe will appreciate the Linemen’s command of the strands that make up their own brand of melodic rock ’n’ roll, with an emphasis on classic songwriting in the pop, rock, and country vein.

With equal measures of freshness and experience, CLOSE THE PLACE DOWN is the state of the art of American roots rock ’n’ roll, laced with the best of pop instincts.

Web: http://thelinemen.bandcamp.com