SEAN CHAMBERS - Sean Chambers spent the first few years of his life growing up in Satellite Beach, Florida, before he and his family moved to Tampa when Sean was four years old. At the age of 10, Sean’s parents bought him a guitar as a Christmas present. It was at that point that Chambers would realize his calling. “As soon as I got the hang of playing the guitar, I knew this is what I wanted to do more than anything,” remembers Sean.

While Chambers was a fan of some of the popular rock bands of the era, he was also quite taken with the sounds of Jimi Hendrix. In fact, it was Hendrix’s catalogue that the young Chambers studied in depth, which had a noticeable influence on his style at an early age. “I learned to play by ear. My parents bought me a few lessons when I got my first guitar, but I wasn’t learning to play the stuff I wanted, so I stopped going to the lessons and started spending my time playing along to Hendrix tunes.” It was through those Hendrix songs such as “Red House,” “Catfish Blues” and so on, that Sean discovered his passion for blues music. In his teen years, he started discovering and listening to such greats as Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Albert, Freddie and B.B. King, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter.

Sean started his first band when he was 19 years old, playing local clubs around the Tampa Bay area, where he quickly began to establish a following. After having only a few years of experience under his belt, he found himself sharing bills with such artists as B.B. King, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and several other greats. He soon began expanding his horizons outside of the Tampa area to venues in and around his home state of Florida.

After playing a number of clubs and concert venues throughout his early and mid twenties, Chambers released his critically acclaimed debut recording, Strong Temptation, in October of 1998. The album captured the attention of both fans and critics alike. Guitar Magazine said about Sean: “Chambers plays his Strat with dirty ferocity, evoking shades of Johnny Winter and Freddie King in the process!”

Since then, Chambers has had a number of milestones in his career, one of which was becoming the musical director and guitarist for the legendary Hubert Sumlin. Touring the world with Sumlin for almost five years, they performed before sellout crowds at festivals, clubs and theaters around the US, Europe, Japan, and Canada, building a worldwide fan base along the way. Chambers recalls: “My band would usually open the show, and then we would bring Hubert out and back him up for his show. I consider it my college education in music. I learned so much from Hubert!” Following in the footsteps of many of his idols, Chambers has been especially well received outside the U.S., and particularly in Europe, where he has both toured with Sumlin and on his own. Europe’s premiere music authority, Guitarist Magazine, listed Sean as one of the Top 50 Blues Guitarists of the last century. Europe’s Total Guitar Magazine gave Strong Temptation five stars and cited the record as “The most impressive blues debut since SRV’s Texas Flood.” Chambers continued to develop his powerful style on his 2005 release, Humble Spirits, which showcases his musical evolution beyond the standard blues idiom. Produced by industry veteran Bud Snyder (Allman Brothers/ Gov’t Mule), the album features several notable musicians including Bernard Allison, Frankie & Danny Toler (Allman Brothers)and Bobby T. Torello (Johnny Winter), along with Greg Allman Band alumnus Bruce Waibel.

On Chambers’ newest release, Ten Til Midnight, Sean wanted to capture a live sound and feel; so overdubs were minimized, allowing him and the band to play as if they were at a gig.

The first song written for the album was the title track, “Ten Til Midnight,” which was recorded live in the studio as a three piece, with Ben Crider later coming in to add Hammond B3 organ, and Robin Bouie and C.L. Stevenson backup vocals.

While still in pre-production, the song “Too Much Blues” was recorded. You can hear that it has a slightly different mix than the rest of the album because the mic configuration was different. The band really liked the way the song felt and sounded, so it was kept as is. In keeping with the live sound, they were not looking for perfection on this album, just a good groove.

“In The Winter Time” and “Make It Go,” both written by Chambers within the last few years, are standards in the band’s set list and present an accurate feel as to how the band sounds like in concert.

“When I Get Lonely” is a song Sean wrote while doing some shows in Key West, and the idea originally came to him while driving. Chambers wrote the words in the hotel room, and the band was able to run through the song at sound check the next day. They started playing the new song that weekend, and it quickly became another keeper for their live show.

“Blues And Rock ’n’ Roll” was intended to be an instrumental when first recorded, but as Sean and co-producer Tim Blair were working with it, both agreed to try and write a vocal line for the song. While recording the vocals, it was decided that a harmonica part might also fit; so good friend Gary Keith was called in to lay down his harp track.

While Gary was there, he was asked to jam along to a song that Sean had been working with on the National Steel/Resonator guitar. They did two takes, but ended up keeping the first. Sean wrote words for it that night, then returned to the studio the next day to record the vocal part, which became “I Don’t Know Why.” Not only was it the last song recorded for the album, but it makes a good closing statement for the CD as well.

As for the three covers on Ten Til Midnight, the band all agreed that “Brown Sugar” by the Rev. Billy Gibbons, was one that they wanted to cover one day. It was recorded live in the studio; the slide guitar part was later added.

“All The Kings Horses” has always been one of Sean’s favorite Luther Allison songs. Being most familiar with Luther’s live version of the song, an attempt was made to capture as live of a feel as possible on this one.

“You’re Gonna Miss Me,” originally written by Eddie (“Guitar Slim”) Jones, is a jumpin’, up-tempo song that captures Chambers’ blazing slide guitar playing. This track also features Jack Henriquez playing some very tasty honky-tonk piano.

Sean’s regular touring band consists of longtime bassist Tim Blair and drummer Paul Broderick, who were also both members of Hubert Sumlin’s touring band.

Sean Chambers – Ten Til Midnight – Blue Heat Records - Release Date: October 20, 2009