Our favorite outlaw folk group is back with a new album called Stolen Goods that’s out on May 7, 2021. The 10-song album is made up of covers from classic traditional Americana, folk, and bluegrass artists that have played a major influence on the band and other modern folk acts. Along with the announcement of their new album, the group has announced a new drinking board game and released a new live performance video for their cover of Walter Taylor’s “Deal Rag,” which we’re premiering today. In the video, the band’s core members Connor O’Neal and Shawn D’Amario play along with a stand up bass and washboard player.
“This release is a collection of songs that are staples in our band’s history. Even before we were a band, I was traveling the country and playing music and busking. I picked up a ton of traditional and old-time tunes along the way,’ said O’Neal. “I really got into artists like Pink Anderson and jug bands like the Mississippi Sheiks and took a ton of inspiration from them. These were the songs we played when the band first formed. Before we even started writing our own songs, these were the ones we’d play when we busked. And we’ve kept them around ever since. We love sneaking them into our sets to keep that old spirit alive.”
Stolen Goods was recorded over the course of just one day in Colorado Springs at Royal Recordings with producer Bill Douglass. The artwork was done by Jim Evans, who is also known as TAZ the “Rock Poster God” and has illustrated and designed iconic artwork for groups like The Ramones, Pixies, Neil Young and more.
“Stolen Goods was an easy choice for this album because we can’t take any credit for writing these,” said D’Amario. “They are American traditional songs. They shaped music as we know it today. The rag songs turned into jazz, the blues songs turned into rock ‘n roll. Like many before us, we ‘stole’ them. And songs with that much history tend to be good ones!”
In addition to D’Amario’s guitar and O’Neal on banjo, the album features Spencer Mode on the washboard, Michael Sinner AKA King Strang on bass and Lightnin’ Luke on the fiddle.
“This album was kinda a miracle,” said O’Neal. “We were finishing up tracking for another album and decided to do the last song in a live setting. We set everyone up with mics and played together. The setup took longer than the tracking did so Bill suggested we do another one, and another one, and another after that. Before we knew it, we had an entire album done! We recorded a total of 13 songs in a night. 10 of them made it onto Stolen Goods. We’ve played these songs thousands of times together and Bill Douglas is a master of his craft so it was seamless. It ended up being one of the funnest studio experiences we’ve ever had.”
As evidenced by the two Tejon Street Corner Thieves videos we’ve premiered over the last year or so, the band has great sense of humor. That’s translated into a unique new piece of merch from the band, a board game that doubles as a drinking game, allowing you to play as a member of the band experience the ups and downs of life on the road. You can purchase the game at the band’s online store as part of a bundle for Stolen Goods, which includes the vinyl which folds out into a board game inclusive of game pieces, drink tickets, rules & the board itself. Watch O’Neal and D’Amario explain how to play the game below:
It’s been a long year since bands have really been able to tour, so it begs the question will Tejon Street Corner Thieves start playing shows this year? The answer is a resounding “yes.”
“Hell yeah we’re going to tour! We can’t wait to be on the road again and see all our friends and fans,” said O’Neal. “We live for it! Our live shows get rowdy. We never have as much energy as we do on stage. It’s a high like nothing else. We keep our shows interactive and wild. And we have a habit of taking our shirts off.”
Real Drag tracklist
1 – Wayfaring Stranger
2 – Crawdad
3 – Deal Rag
4 – Down By the Bay
5 – Five Foot Two
6 – Greasy Coat
7 – Keep It Clean
8 – Mobile Line
9 – Rollin In My Sweet Baby’s Arms
10 – Sugar Hill
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