Bolt through the heart : Adam Bolt to preview his ‘Gazeteer’ EP album release at Wolf Hills Brewing Co. on Saturday
Adam Bolt’s new EP is a bit of a travelogue through the human heart.
Hear Bolt’s latest when he performs an album release show at Wolf Hills Brewing in Abingdon on Saturday, May 22. In the aftermath of last year’s “And the Vines Grow Still,” Bolt heralds his latest EP, “Gazeteer.”
“It’s a new one that I’m working on,” said Bolt. “It will not be ready on release day. It’s going to be a CD preview show.”
Recorded at Mike Stephenson’s Classic Recording Studio in downtown Bristol, Bolt’s four-track EP was produced by Logan Fritz. As opposed to Bolt’s John Prine-influenced “And the Vines Grow Still” EP from last September, his forthcoming disc fits well within the category of rock.
“All of the songs are about specific places,” Bolt said. “That’s the theme of this record.”
As on the EP, Logan Fritz and his band, Fritz & Co., will back Bolt during Saturday’s show. He plans to perform the EP in its entirety, beginning with lead track “The Curse of Bellingham.”
“In 2008, I was running away from working at a restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina,” Bolt said.
He and a buddy decided to hit the road. They paid $107 for one-way bus fare to adventures untold.
“Bellingham is a beautiful place in Northwest Washington,” Bolt said. “It seemed almost haunted, enchanting.”
The song details their meeting with an old coot in Washington. He plied them with legends and lore the likes of which identified Bellingham as being haunted.
“We had been up for three and a half days drinking on the Greyhound,” Bolt said, “so that might have contributed to our belief in the story.”
A pop-rocker follows. Titled “Saxapahaw,” the song details a journey taken in the aftermath of a domestic argument.
“Saxapahaw is in North Carolina,” Bolt said. “I love the name. I liked it, and it rhymes. Well, when you get into a fight with your significant other, maybe the answer is to get into your car and drive until you’re not angry anymore.”
Bolt concludes “Gazeteer” with “18th Hole” and “Throwing Back the Wind.” In keeping with the album’s theme, each song makes its points while wrapped in a sheen of travel or place.
They’re rockers. A departure for Bolt, who typically writes as well as sings and records in veins of folk music, the songs nonetheless feature touches of the longtime musician’s primary influence — the late John Prine.
“Probably 1,000%,” Bolt said. “I love Drive-By Truckers. Love Mark Knopfler and Wu-Tang Clan. But I can’t find anyone as poignant as John Prine to what I want to do. He’s more than an influence. If I continue to do this, then he’s a part of it.”
Prine composed songs from the silly to the serious. Even at his most silly, he made salient points. Bolt’s songs resonate in a like manner. As with Prine, he aches to make audiences feel something.
“I like to see all of the emotions,” Bolt said. “If I see joy, sorrow, anger in one song, then I’m doing it right.”
