Somewhere between songwriter, social worker and truth seeker sits lauded Australian blues guitarist Lloyd Spiegel.
In 2019, Lloyd is celebrating his 30th year on tour and what better way than with his brand new album 'Cut And Run'.
First taste of the record is lead single ‘Track Her Down’, a deep and soulful blues number about the fleeting, yet precious, nature of connections he makes with people on the road.
“It was probably an amalgamation of several women I’ve met over the years who I’ve wanted to get to know better, but simply don’t have the time and have travelled off,” Lloyd explains.
“The greater story of the song is that the lifestyle I lead often doesn’t allow me to have but fleeting connections with people, and that I don’t take those connections lightly; I carry them a lot more seriously than people may imagine.”
Steve Perry of Journey once sang: “Lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be”, and Lloyd has learnt the hard way that it's the truth.
'Cut And Run' is Lloyd's tenth album, but it's also more than that; for Lloyd, it's the final part of an unintended trilogy about personal redemption.
“The last two albums, ‘Backroads’ and ‘This Time Tomorrow’, were asking a lot of questions and maybe begging for forgiveness in some ways, whereas ‘Cut And Run’ when I had a good listen to it I realised this was the final part of a trilogy,” he says.
“I hadn’t realised I had been recording a trilogy, but this is the final part and it answers a lot of those questions and it gives myself a break. I’m actually forgiving myself a little on this album and wrapping things up so I can move on to the next chapter.”
Currently on tour in Canada, where he's formed a deep, intercultural bond with audiences there through his music, Lloyd returns to Australia for his 'Cut And Run' album tour from mid-October through to December.
Lloyd is a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool travelling bluesman whose first years on the road in America were spent hopping Greyhounds and sleeping in Amtrak stations; pretty much everything short of actually riding the rails with the hobos.
“They wouldn’t let me do that,” Lloyd laughs.
“At the same time when that was happening I was working with some of the old bluesmen in the States, some of the true legends of the genre and they were 60 years in to a career that I was 10 years into, so I always feel like there’s so much further to go and so much to learn. I’ve certainly developed a knack for people and seeing the real human condition as I travel, rather than being blinded to it.”
At the 30-year mark, Lloyd reflects warmly on a life lived doing what what he truly loves.
“[It's] a real way of life, the travelling artist,” he says. “I have been very blessed to spend the majority of my life travelling around the world and being paid for it.”
Lloyd Spiegel Australia Tour 2019
Fri 18 Oct - Stag & Hunter (Newcastle)Sat 19 Oct - Akoostik Festival (Mid North Coast)
Sun 20 Oct - Beaches (Wollongong)
Fri 25 Oct - Red, White, Amber and Blues Festival (Canberra)
Sat 26 Oct - Spotted Mallard (Melbourne)
Thu 31 Oct - Rock Paper Scissors Brew Co (Halls Gap)
Fri 1 Nov - The Piping Hot Chicken And Burger Grill (Ocean Grove)
Sat 2 Nov - Maldon Folk Festival
Sun 3 Nov - Way Out West Roots Music Club (Melbourne)
Mon 4 Nov - Grand Ridge Brewery (Mirboo)
Wed 6 Nov - Sonar Room (Fremantle)
Thu 7 Nov - The Ellington Jazz Club (Perth)
Fri 15 Nov - Tomerong School Of Arts (South Coast)
Sat 16 Nov - Camelot Lounge (Sydney)
Sun 17 Nov - Brass Monkey (Sydney)
Fri 22 Nov - Trinity Sessions (Adelaide)
Sat 23 Nov - Burrinja Cultural Centre (Melbourne)
Sun 24 Nov - Mansfield Football Club (VIC)
Wed 27 Nov - No 5 Church St (Bellingen)
Thu 28 Nov - HOTA (Gold Coast)
Fri 29 Nov - Lighthouse Music Club (Bangalow)
Sat 30 Nov - Old Museum (Brisbane)
Sun 31 Dec - Imperial Hotel (Eumundi)
