Luther Black and the Cold Hard Facts Will Strip Down for Manhattan Acoustic Show
To support the release of their third album, Let The Light Back In (DA Records), Luther Black and the Cold Hard Facts (well, one Cold Hard Fact) will play the Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan on September 8. The music of this no-frills Americana band, based in Maplewood, has drawn comparisons to Texas troubadours like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Black—real name: Rick Wagner—will have, on this night, only slide guitarist Lance Doss accompanying him, thus the power of his poetry will take center stage. “We are living in dark times,” opines the multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter/producer, “and this album is my way of finding an escape from the darkness.”
Wagner has survived for over 40 years in this cut-throat music business, be it by playing bass for The dBs, The Silos, or racking up touring/recording credits with Paul Collins [Leonia], The Cucumbers [Hoboken], Storytown and Emily Duff. “I’ve always been content to be `just the bass player.’ I don’t mind lurking in the background, digging into the groove and getting lost in the music, but one of the side effects of working with so many great songwriters is that little by little, it rubs off. Now it’s my turn.”
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