The great garden state has always been a hotbed for songwriters who wear their hearts on their sleeves lyrically but pack a punch sonically. Following in that blue-collar tradition is Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son who have built a reputation for themselves in the tri-state and beyond as a all killer no filler live act.
Recently, the group helmed by Mahoney (guitar, vox) along with James McIntosh (drums) Andrew Saul (guitar/backing vox) and John Shepherd (bass/backing vox) released two new singles, “Empty Passenger Seats” and “Another Deadbeat Summer.” Both cuts showcase the band’s knack for crafting hard-nosed, punk-inflected burners with engaging narratives not unlike forbears like The Gaslight Anthem.
Stream “Empty Passenger Seats” and “Another Deadbeat Summer” while reading statements from Mahoney on both tracks below and be sure to follow BM&TSS on Facebook and Spotify.
“‘Another Deadbeat Summer’ was written with Jon Alba (ABC Bangor, Living the Gimmick, original Seventh Son Member) in 2014 for ‘Friends in Low Places’, and since then it has been a staple of ours both on stage, and on YouTube. We did a video for the song with Zack Morrison that got us some attention, and it has become part of pretty much every show since. People sing along and know that song usually more than the others. We felt that the way we played it then versus now has changed enough to where we wanted to re-record it. It’s faster now, and has a few extra instruments and vocals on it – it just feels more live and out of control and I’m very happy about it. Zack Sandler guests on saxophone and Andrew threw on some piano in the choruses. This is probably the catchiest song I’ll ever write, and every time I play it, I get to feel like I’m 19. I always find new ways to enjoy playing this song.”
“‘Empty Passenger Seats’ started as a riff/jam with my friend Dan Cohen (Creating Clementine, Hero of Me), and then I brought it to the band and we shaped it and arranged it together in a hotel room near Pittsburgh. John Shepherd whistled that little guitar lick in the chorus, and recording that bit was one of my favorite parts of the process for these new songs. We drove over night home from Richmond at the end of last summer’s tour, and that experience became the lyrics for the bridge. This song feels like the band’s current journey in a way, and it is just a lot of fun to play. It’s loud and it kicks you in the ass. This is the first of a bunch of new singles we will be releasing and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. We had a great time working with Frank Marra (Brian Fallon, Jared Hart, Dead Swords, many more) at North End Recording and we can’t wait to keep releasing the new songs.”
