From a lost corner of New Mexico many years ago songwriter Ben Todd began releasing cassettes under the name Lonesome Shack. Ben continued to record and perform as he migrated around the Southwest of America and eventually settled in Seattle, WA where he teamed up with drummer Kristian Garrard finding an instant chemistry. The duo toured the country and played regular gigs at the local watering hole, Cafe Racer, where they enticed bassist Luke Bergman to join the band. Lonesome Shack has performed all over the US, UK and Europe.
Lonesome Shack’s latest album Desert Dreams (to be released March 1st, 2019 on Alive Records) was written by Ben at his current home in London, UK, and recorded at Dandelion Gold, Seattle with Johnny Goss. Here the band holds down their heaviest grooves to date, and Todd has found a new place in the urban jungle without losing sight of the expansive desert where his musical journey began.
On More Primitive:
“...an enormous artistic step. Lonesome Shack were a great blues band, but now they are at the level of genre transforming...Surely, Lonesome Shack makes you shake your ass. But the way they’ve been locking in with audiences—it’s been more than a beat. I’ve realized the real pull is that Ben Todd, while borrowing licks now and then, really isn’t thinking of a tradition, he isn’t a true blues nerd. The reason Ben Todd and his band have been so compelling is that this shit is genuinely personal with him.” - Bart Cameron, American Standard Time