“The first record I can remember getting as a Christmas present was Kiss, Double Platinum. It was a slick double record with a silver cover. Pretty freaking cool. I think I wore it out between the ages 8-10.”
“My Mother had a small but unbelievably influential record collection which I discovered in the basement as a kid and promptly brought to my room. The Beatles’ White Album, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume 1, Bob Marley’s Rastaman Vibrations, Donovan’s Greatest Hits, Dr. John’s Right Place. These are a few that really impacted my life and still do.
I think listening to the White Album and Dylan’s Greatest Hits as a young teen really subconsciously brainwashed me into writing songs. Listening to those records gave me expression. Then connecting with Donovan, Dr. John, and Bob Marley gave me vocal craft and style. But it was the joyful trippy sound of the Beatles and the presence and words of Bob Dylan that changed my life…and that’s why I’m here.”
—G. Love
And here he is indeed—20 years on—with a new release entitled Sugar that landed on store shelves just yesterday (4/22), G. Love & Special Sauce are back—and in a big way. And that includes on vinyl—and even more special, we have 1 of just 2 test pressings to give away and put in the hands of 1 of you.
“Twenty years after the release of their self-titled debut and eight years since their last live performance together, the original lineup of G. Love & Special Sauce return with their first album in nearly a decade. Built on the trio’s signature hip-hop blues sound, Sugar finds vocalist/guitarist/harmonica player G. Love (aka Garrett Dutton), upright bassist James “Jimi Jazz” Prescott, and drummer Jeffrey “The Houseman” Clemens breathing new life into their groove-heavy, Chicago-blues-infused brand of stripped-down rock & roll.
“The goal for the album was to make it really raw and immediate, with live takes and live vocals and everybody playing so that it all comes together in that intangible way,” says G. Love. ‘That’s what our music is all about.’”
Now, admittedly, this is a pretty cool artifact to award one of you, so we’d like to be certain it lands in the mailbox of a fan. In the comments below, share with us a G. Love and Special Sauce memory from any point in G’s or the band’s history to make it count, and the headiest one wins our sweet Sugar test pressing.
We’ll choose one winner a week from today (4/30) with a North American mailing address!
