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Life is Hard – Mike Zito

So the other day I wrote a out one of the two songs that have been in my music rotation this month, Albert Cummings‘ latest album Strong. The other album is Mike Zito‘s new album Life is Hard. Like Cummings Zito has been a favorite of mine for many years a now. I started listening to his music back around 2010 in when I heard his album Pearl. I think that his last two albums, 2021 Blues for the Southside Live and Life is Hard have been the best of his career.

About Life is Hard

Life is Hard was recorded in September 0f 2023 at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California. Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith produced the album, Both Bonamassa and Smith worked on the production of Blood Brothers, the critically-acclaimed album Zito recorded with fellow label guitarist Albert Castiglia,. (another favorite) Blood Brothers topped both the Billboard and iTunes blues charts after its release in March, 2023. read more

Mike Zito -Resurrection Makes a Good Run Great!

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Oh, what a difference a cloudy sky and a temperature that is a few degrees lower make on a morning run! I have been making it a habit to check the running conditions each night before a run. Last night the rating for this morning was an 8 out of 10 until after 10am. And the rating was correct! The beat thing was there was no bright sun beating down on me!

I ran the first mile in just a shade under 11 minutes. (10:59). The second mile was slower because much of the mile was uphill. My mile time was 11:20 and the average pace dropped to 11:09. I ran the third mile and fourth mile in around 10:56 with a little sprint at the end.As a result, I was able to finish with an overall pace of 11:00 min/mile and I was a happy runner! Here are those pesky nerdy details

The Nerdy Details

Total Dist: 4.14 Time 45:33 Pace: 11: 00 min/mile

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=&2=& 1 10:59 =&2=& 2: 11:20 =&2=& 3 10:56 =&2=& 4 10:58? (I screwed up the Fitbit results by trying to edit my time and lost the exact last 1.14 miles)

=&6=&138 Max HR 152 Cals Burned: 563 Cals

The Soundtrack: Resurrection

The soundtrack for the run was =&8=&the latest release from Blues Guitarist Mike Zito. I’ve been a fan since I first heard his debut album Pearl back in 2010.

Zito says this about Resurrection ….

….Resurrection is an album of feelings, emotions, and is very personal. The title track is how I once almost lost my love, but it came back stronger than ever. I have had this song in me for years, but it only makes sense now to share it with the world. After the year we have had on planet Earth, I believe we all need a rebirth. This rebirth has given me an opportunity to be who I want to be musically and artistically.” More

About Resurrection

=&9=& was produced by Grammy-winner David Z. He is best known for his long-standing work with Prince. In addition, Z has contributed to albums by Etta James, Billy Idol, BoDeans, Buddy Guy and John Mayall, among many others.

Zito has help from a lot of old friends on Resurrection. While Zito provides blistering guitar work and lead vocals, those old friends helping out include: Matthew Johnson – drums; Doug Byrkit – bass guitar; Lewis Stephens – piano, organ; Zach Zito – acoustic guitar; Lisa Andersen – backing vocals; Eric Demmer – Saxophone; and Fernando Castillo – Trumpet.

About The Tracks on Resurrection

The eleven tracks on Resurrection include eight original songs that showcase Zito‘s talent as a composer. The remaining four tracks showcase his talent as an interpreter of other compositions, as he tackles the work of JJ Cale (“I’ll Make Love To You”), Eric Clapton (“Presence of the Lord”) and Willie Dixon (“Evil”). read more

Blues Wednesday – Mike Zito

So I was thinking about what to listen to yesterday on blues Wednesday a little Tab Benoit, Dave Hole, Buddy Guy – well maybe I’ll check out the Blues Radio Chart and see what looks good number 23 looks interesting Mike Zito so I went to Rhapsody and downloaded his 2009 release Pearl River and was not disappointed! Pearl River is Zito’s second major record release following on the heels of his first Eclecto Grove Records release Today. The St. Louis native Zito has had several independent releases and toured and shared the stage with some of my favorites Tab Benoit, Walter Trout, Bernard Allison, Coco Montoya, and Joe Bonamassa along with many others!.

Zito has some great special guests siting in on Pearl River including Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Reese Wynans (Double Trouble), Susan Cowsill, Lynwood Slim and Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone. These artists add to the spice of the album but the meat of the album is the great guitar playing of Zito coupled with his outstanding songwriting ability. Each song his a different unique quality from the searing guitar on the opening track “Dirty Blonde” to the slow moving sound of “Pearl River” to the classic blues harp sound Randy Chortkoff on “Eyesight to the Blind” and the funky vibe at the start of “Dead of Night”. All in all this is a great album and will definitely be in my rotation for a while! From his website site Modern Guitar Magazine says this about Zito’s vocals

“Zito’s voice is so incredibly soulful that it can be placed into that diminutive group of elite male blue-eyed soul/blues singers like Steve Winwood, Michael McDonald and Rod Stewart… A fine guitarist and composer as well, it’s a winning combination of a genuine and complete performer.”

and I’ll second that his guitar playing is pretty great. So, if you don’t know him check him out! As for me I’m going to go listen to his first release TODAY!

P.S. The album is currently # 10 on the Billboard Blues Chart

PEARL RIVER
01. DIRTY BLONDE (3:37)
02. PEARL RIVER (4:54)
03. BIG MOUTH (4:08)
04. CHANGE MY WAYS (5:15)
05. EYESIGHT TO THE BLIND (3:21)
06. ONE STEP AT A TIME (3:37)
07. 39 DAYS (4:07)
08. SHOES BLUES (3:24)
09. THE DEAD OF NIGHT (4:05)
10. SUGAR SWEET (3:30)
11. NATURAL BORN LOVER (5:30)
12. All LAST NIGHT (5:27)
13. C’MON BABY (4:57)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOPrI1NvZi8

Tag: Mike Zito