Lake Street Dive's album Obviously was produced by Grammy Award winner Mike Elizondo, a songwriting collaborator for Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent and record producer for Fiona Apple and Mary J. Blige, among others. "Mike encouraged us to make bolder arrangement choices, take those chances and try those things," says bassist Bridget Kearney. "The record really is a success in what we set out to do: continue to challenge ourselves, continue to grow, and do things we’ve never done before." "You need to make this band part of your life," exclaims the AP. "Lake Street Dive have never sounded better, full and clear with every instrument given a chance to shine in every song."
Lake Street Dive's new album, Obviously, was released March 12 on Nonesuch Records.
Obviously was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Elizondo who is best known as a songwriting collaborator for Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent and has also served as a record producer for Fiona Apple, Mary J. Blige, Carrie Underwood, and 21 Pilots, among many others. Utilizing Elizondo’s hip-hop record-making expertise coupled with the permanent addition of keyboardist Akie Bermiss, Lake Street Dive’s wide-ranging taste in pop, rock, R&B, and jazz have blended together to make an impressively cohesive sound, combining retro influences with a contemporary attitude.
“We’ve been a band for so long that we didn’t want to just become a feedback loop of our own ideas,” recounts Kearney. “It felt like a really good time to bring another person like Mike [Elizondo], and he really opened us up. He encouraged us to make bolder arrangement choices, take those chances and try those things. The record really is a success in what we set out to do: continue to challenge ourselves, continue to grow, and do things we’ve never done before.”
The members of Lake Street Dive founded the group in 2004 while attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band features Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike “McDuck” Olson (trumpet, guitar), Bridget Kearney (bass) and Mike Calabrese (drums) as well as their newest member Akie Bermiss (keyboards), who has been a touring member of the group since 2017.
Since the band’s inception, they have released six studio albums. Their 2018 self-produced record, Free Yourself Up, debuted at #4 on the Top Album Chart and charted #8 on the Billboard 200. In addition, the album’s hit single “Good Kisser” peaked at #5 at Americana radio and appeared in the Top 20 at AAA radio, both career peaks for the band. The group has toured worldwide performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival while preforming alongside artists such as T Bone Burnett, The Avett Brothers, Robert Finley, Jack Johnson, and Trombone Shorty.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Mike Elizondo
Recorded at Phantom Studios, Gallatin, TN
Engineered by Lawson White
Assistant Engineering by Zach Stokes
Additional Engineering by Pat DiCenso (“Making Do”) at Welcome to 1979, Nashville, TN
Mixed by Adam Hawkins
Mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound
Cover Photo by Shervin Lainez
Album Art by Dewey Saunders
MUSICIANS
Rachael Price, vocals
Mike “McDuck” Olson, guitar, trumpet, mandolin, other stringed things, moral support
Bridget Kearney, bass, background vocals, synthesizer, Mellotron, Septavox
Mike Calabrese, drums, percussion, vocals, grunts, wah wah, marimba, arrangement on “Sarah”
Akie Bermiss, piano, keyboards, vocals, synthesizer, beatbox, melodica, arrangement on “Sarah”
Mike Elizondo, synthesizer, programming, keys
Alec Spiegelman, baritone saxophone
Kristin Andreassen, background vocals
String Section on "Nobody's Stopping You Now"
Alan Umstead, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale, Jung-min Shin, Bruce Christensen, Catherine Umstead, Anthony LaMarchina
Arranged by David Campbell
