Blair Rush-Releases ‘Precious Gem’ for Christmas

Williamsport--Family, actor Clive Owen, and "bicycle diaries" are elements in I LIKE THE STREET, the title of a full-length recording in progress by "Singer at Large" Johnny J. Blair.

"Something great happened in the studio while we were working on the album," he reported. "We were listening back to a song I wrote about my daughter. It's called 'Precious Gem.' The lyrics are about parenthood. You don't know what it's like till you become one. Two people pointed out that the lyrics mirror the story of the Christ child. Then came the suggestion, why not put it out as a 'Christmas single?'"

The song lyrics are devoted to Blair's daughter. He said, "I wrote it when she was very little, but I never got around to recording it. Now she's grown. Better late than never." The song is available as a download single at http://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/. Blair added, "Musically I was reaching for a Bruce Cockburn guitar style with an Erik Satie piano. When I finished, it made me think of 'Groovin' by the Young Rascals filtered through the acoustic sides of Led Zeppelin or King Crimson."

Parts of Blair's current project, I LIKE THE STREET, were recorded in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, but most of the work was done at Mind's Eye Studio in Williamsport. Scott Francis of Mind's Eye "rush mastered" the song, along with a B-side, "Train Tracks in the Snow."

"'Train Tracks' is about the old train tracks along Pine Creek during winter. I grew up around that, and this is a spoken word piece about what I remember from that time. The train tracks seemed impervious to the cold and ice, and they reminded you there is life out there beyond your own little world," said Blair.

Other musicians on I LIKE THE STREET include Tim Breon, Keith Kavanaugh (Ron Fleeger&the Stranger), Eric Biondo (Beyondo. The Monkees), Mike Garson (David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails), and Felipe Torres (Carmine Appice's Slamm). Biondo and Torres work with Blair in the Davy Jones Band. Blair has performed and recorded with the ex-Monkee since 1993.

Urban irreverence, romantic abstraction, and bittersweet spirituality define Blair's "sunny brand of pure pop music." His catalog includes the New Wave concept album DOOR IN THE WATER, the neo-soul masterwork FIRE , and the "PET SOUNDS meets Ziggy Stardust" of GRATEFUL. Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) called Blair "a virtuoso."

I LIKE THE STREET will be released by Wampus International (www.wampus.com), a record company devoted to releasing recordings "off the beaten path."

For further information go to www.johnnyjblair.com. To download the single go to http://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/.