Exclusive Premiere: Pat Ferguson Shares 'Blind' Off Debut Solo Album

Longtime The Smokin’ Bandits lead guitarist Pat Ferguson is gearing up to release his debut solo album. The Madison, Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter will issue Light Of Day / Dark Of Night via LoHi Records on April 27. JamBase is pleased to premiere the album’s seventh track, “Blind.”

“Blind” features contributions from Chad Staehly of Hard Working Americans & Great American Taxi and Kyle Keegan. “Chad is someone who I have known and played music with for a very long time, I just have an immense amount of respect for him. His brother and I started The Smokin’ Bandits together in 2003, so there’s a deep connection there. As was the case for the rest of the record, the base tracking for ‘Blind’ was done with acoustic guitar, fiddle and upright bass,” Ferguson told us. “After we laid it down all of us felt that it had potential to be a bigger sounding tune, so we brought in Kyle Keegan (of Ben Howard’s band and previously of Mandolin Orange) to layer in the percussion. I had wanted to get Chad involved on the record, and knew his playing would take the track to another level. This was one of two songs that Chad recorded with us at Blast House in Madison, and it was a treat to work with him in studio again.”

Staehly added, “‘Blind’ was the first song I recorded on for this session with Pat Ferguson while I was in Madison, Wisconsin back in January right after the new year. Adam Greuel who was producing the album was also there for the session. I was recording my parts as overdubs as they had most of the tracking already done on the album. As I was hacking away through this first song I started to see some big smiles start to creep across both of their faces as I added my best attempt at some loose honky-tonk piano to give the song the feel of it happening live in a bar somewhere. I knew I was on the right track when I saw their smiles and hope I helped give the song a really fun, loose, free-wheeling feel.”

Listen to “Blind” off Pat Ferguson’s Light Of Day / Dark Of Night:

As mentioned, Adam Greuel of Horseshoes & Hand Grenades produced the album. Contributors to the LP besides Keegan and Staehly include Jacob Jolliff (Yonder Mountain String Band), Kenny Leiser (WheelHouse), Sarah Vos (Dead Horses) and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. Pat Ferugson recorded his solo debut at various sessions held between November 2016 and January 2018.

Light Of Day / Dark Of Night is now available for pre-order here.

Stream the previously released “The Night (The Temptress)”: