“Still Burnin’” The new CD from John Batdorf and Mark Rodney Coming Mid April

Two years ago the thought of doing a new BATDORF & RODNEY LIVE CD was the farthest thing from my mind. I hadn’t spoken to Mark since 1987 and wasn’t feeling terribly nostalgic about the music we made together. I was making new music, exploring new creative frontiers and so the idea of reclaiming a by gone era wasn’t on my radar. But life, as the saying goes, is what happens to us while we’re making other plans. Turns out I was on my way to St. George Utah to do a gig at the beautiful Tuachan Center for the Performing Arts. My traveling companions were my wife Melanie, her sister Robin and her husband Steve Smith. Steve was the roadie, road manager and sound guy for Batdorf & Rodney all those years ago. When we got to Las Vegas we all decided to take a trip down memory lane and so I called Mark to see if he could meet us for dinner. It was a bit awkward at first, but before long we all were laughing and having a great time together. It wasn’t like the heavens opened and a Batdorf & Rodney reunion was ordained from on high, but it wasn’t long after that dinner while working on a new solo CD that I decided to re-record a few Batdorf and Rodney songs. So it was in making the CD “HOME AGAIN” that I invited Mark to play on the recording. It was a whole lot different than the old days but the finished product came out great. It must have been a good experience for Mark because he got the itch to perform again so I added him to a few of my shows here in L.A.. The word got around and the next thing you know, we were performing in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and the fans were really enjoying it.

It was while I was out on the road with James Lee Stanley last summer that I stopped by the XM Studios and had lunch with Mike Marrone, Jerry Rubino, and George Taylor Morris. James and I wanted to thank them again for the incredible support of our CD,”All Wood And Stones”. Mike, who is a true Batdorf and Rodney fan, asked how the shows were going with Mark and I told him about how much fun we were having and the next thing you know, we were booked to do a Loft Session at XM Studios in November 16, 2007. The music gods at this point were really smiling down on us and Mark, Bill Batstone and myself recorded an hour of music and stories that was, (and I don’t know any other way of saying this) simply magical! XM was nice enough to give me the whole raw session so that I could mix it the way I wanted and release it as a new live CD. During the editing and mixing I tried to capture the sounds and the feelings of the early albums and the result truly makes me smile. My only regret is that we didn’t get to go for another hour! In addition to the live performances, the CD contains two brand new songs, “Summer of Love” and “Four Days Runnin’” recorded here in L.A.. I am very excited about this project and my hope is that everyone who listens to it will be taken right back to the first time they heard these songs and smile as much as I did.
John Batdorf