Spring '24 European Tour

I'll be returning to Europe this Spring backed by my good pals (and great musicians) Smokestack Lightnin'. Tix on the tour page

10/05: Gothenburg, SWE - Heartland Country

11/05: Öland, SWE - Carlas cafe Näsby

12/05: Löderop, SWE - Strandkompaniet

14/05: Östersund, SWE - Captain Cook

15/05: Stockholm, SWE - Melodybox

16/05: Malmö, SWE - medley malmö

17/05: Hamburg, DE - Stellwerk Hamburg

18/05: Lelystad, NL - Corneel

19/05: Groningen, NL - Der Aa-Theater

20/05: Raalte, NL - Ribs & Blues Festival 2023

21/05: Brussels, BE - Le Botanique

22/05: Edegem, BE - Hoogmis

23/05: Frankfurt, DE - Feinstaub Frankfurt am Main

24/05: Nürnberg, DE - Zentralcafé Kaya e.V.

25/05: Prague, CZ - Zasekávák

26/05: Munich, DE - Rattlesnake Saloon

27/05: Zürich, CH - el Lokal

29/05: Strasbourg, FR - Bateau du Rhin

30/05: Haarlem, NL - Patronaat Haarlem

31/05: Diksmuide, BE - Buurderij 4ad Diksmuide

01/06: Brandenburg, DE - R'n'R festival

On tour with Los Straightjackets

Through the Midwest Aug 23- Sept 3, 2023

8/23/2023 Milwaukee , WI Shank Hall

8/24/2023 Minneapolis , MN The Hook & Ladder Theater

8/25/2023 Madison , WI The Bur Oak

8/26/2023 Roswell , GA Roswell Riverside Sounds Concert Series

8/28/2023 Grand Rapids , MI Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill

8/29/2023 Ann Arbor , MI The Ark

8/30/2023 Cleveland , OH Beachland Ballroom

8/31/2023 Indianapolis , IN Radio Radio

9/1/2023 Cincinnati , OH Woodward Theater

9/2/2023 Columbus , OH Natalie’s Grandview

9/3/2023 Pittsburgh , PA Club Cafe

European Tour - Spring 2023

25/05: Kleinstaasdorf, AT - Mojo Music Club

26/05: Kempten, DE - KQA

27/05: Zurich, CH - El Lokal

28/05: Walldorf, DE - RocknRoll Weekender Walldorf

29/05: Hildesheim, DE - Jazztime Festival Bischofmühle

30/05: Hamburg, DE - Stellwerk Hamburg

31/05: Berlin, DE - Badehaus Berlin

01/06: Dortmund, DE - Subrosa

02/06: Zaandam, NL - Flux

03/06: Oud-Turnhout, BE - Goezot in 't Hofke

03/06: Cologne, DE - Blue Shell

05/06: Eindhoven, NL - Muziekgebouw Frits Philips

07/06: Apeldoorn, NL - Gigant

08/06: Paris, FR - No.Pi

09/06: Lessines, BE - Salle Cc René Magritte

10/06: Strasbourg, FR -@ Le Bateau du Rhin

11/06: Stuttgart, DE - Kiste

Tattoo Across America Tour rides again!

For the first time in 5 years I’ll be playing your favorite ink-slinger’s studios around the U.S. of A. Read more about it in American Blues Scene magazine

09/07: Kansas City, MO @ Electric Influence Tattoo

09/09: Springville, UT @ Buffalo Nickel Tattoo

09/10: Salt Lake City, UT @ Piper Down Pub (sponsored by Utah Rockabilly)

09/11: Boise, ID @ Interfaith Sanctuary Emergency Shelter (private show sponsored by Betsy’s Cookie Co.)

09/14: Portland, OR @ Freaks and Geeks Tattoo

09/15: Kirkland, WA @ Under the Needle Tattoo

09/16: Friday Harbor, WA @ Under the Needle Tattoo

09/17: Salem, OR @ All American Tattoo

09/21: Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar

09/22: Fallbrook, CA @ Little C’s Tattoo Parlor

09/23: San Diego, CA @ Absolute Tattoo

09/24: Phoenix, AZ @ Old West Tattoo

9/25: Albuquerque, NM @ Casa Barelas

09/27: Tulsa, OK @ The Outsiders House Museum (sponsored by Danny Boy O’Connor)

09/28: Dallas, TX @ Elm St Tattoo

09/29: Austin, TX @ The Austin Tattoo Co.

09/30: Port Neches, TX @ The Avenue Coffee & Cafe

10/06: South Shore, KY @ Snake Oil Tattoo

10/07: Cincinnati, OH @ One Shot Tattoo

10/08: Indianapolis, IN @ Yellow Rose Inn (Blues, Tattoos, and Recovery sponsored by Mental Health America of Indiana)

10/09: Milwaukee, WI @ Shotski’s

10/13: Anoka, MN @ Wingnut Tattoo


Music Video for “Hair On Fire” Premieres in Holler Magazine

The title track of my upcoming album, Hair on Fire, has a music video and it just premiered in Holler Magazine!

Holler says:
‘Hair on Fire’, the rafter-raising title track to his forthcoming album is the song that perhaps best exemplifies this awakening and that somehow embodies the entire spirit of the new record. It's a kind of raw, spooked neo-blues reminiscent of The Cave Singers, Charlie Parr or the Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.

Imagine the gospel fervour of Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth For Christ Choir mixed up with the energetic neo-folk of Arcade Fire and the contemporary rootsiness of The Lumineers and you might be getting somewhere close to the sound that La Botz has pulled together on ‘Hair On Fire’. It’s both heavily indebted and oddly anachronistic. A loose fusion of floor-thumping country, hand-clapping gospel folk and low down, dirty delta blues that lifts you up and shakes out your soul.

Click here for full article

They're Coming for Me wins Best Album award at IMAs

My Hi-Style Records/Free Dirt Records & Service Co. release They're Coming for Me won a best album award from The Independent Music Awards!

Heartfelt thanks to the label, the fans, the IMAs and the many iconic judges there including: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan, Robert Smith, Ziggy Marley, KT Tunstall, Dee Snider, Drowning Pool, Roberta Flack, Jaci Velasquez, Coolio, Joshua Bell, Beth Gibbons, Joe Satriani and many more. I hope this will help make it possible to keep getting music out to you all!

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FREE DAILY SOMATIC MEDITATION CLASSES ONLINE During Covid-19

Hi Friends,

With the recent deadly tornado here in Nashville, and now Covid-19, impermanence becomes harder to ignore.

Right now there are so many folks everywhere feeling scared, shaky, and uncertain. So many of us who have to give up "business as usual". Many of us taking part in social distancing and staying home as a measure to help slow down the spread of Covid-19, and to help prevent our hospitals from becoming overrun as they have in elsewhere. And then again some of us may feel relieved that we finally have no choice but to give up our plans, slow down, and listen to nature.

As some of you know I'm a meditation practitioner and instructor. Since 2001 I've been training in teachings and practices that show how to give over to the moment by moment arising of life as it is experienced directly in the body. At the very core of these teachings is learning to understand and appreciate, on a visceral level, that everything is in constant flux. That there is no solid ground to be found anywhere other than in the "groundless ground" of impermanence itself - which turns out to be none other than the vast, loving space of Reality holding and caring for us. Impermanence in this way is equated with freedom. Freedom from the suffering caused by endless grasping at things that are ultimately unfulfilling and freedom for deeper experience and appreciation of life.

In my Vajrayana Buddhist tradition we call this set of teachings Somatic Meditation. For us everything that disrupts our egoic-thinking agendas and that helps support coming back into our bodies is considered sacred. That is not to say that we think people ought to be sick, jobless, hungry, homeless, etc. Rather, that there becomes a deep appreciation for one's personal situation (including seemingly "negative" situations) the more one learns to leave mental manipulation aside and relax into "what is". This is no small feat. It takes a lot of work to be with emotions without a mental storyline. To recognize and trust intuition. To honestly reflect on one's individual life and let go of what is harmful or unhelpful. To cultivate priorities that are inline with what is truest inside oneself and with life itself. And ultimately to care for all of life and for other beings. "Coming home" to one's deepest self and connection with others is what Somatic Meditation is all about.

I will be offering some of these teachings and practices daily starting Thursday March 19 online via the Zoom platform. If you're not familiar with Zoom it's a video conferencing program. It's like Skype or Facetime but with the ability for several people to meet on video all at once calling from different locations. I will guide practice, give talks, and we can have discussions and connect about how the teachings meet our lives in the midst of the current situation. ​

The teachings will be shared in a non-sectarian way and are open to anyone, from any background, with an interest in exploring themself and their life with an open heart and mind. There is no need to become a Buddhist to do these practices. There is no cost to attend.

If you're interested in attending please go to the website (below) I've set up for the group that has info, updates, resources, and a discussion board. Feel free to message me with questions. (link removed).

With love,

Jake

"They're Coming for Me" album and reviews out now!

NO DEPRESSION: “…this idiosyncratic songwriter can handle types of heavy lifting that many others frankly can’t.”

ROLLING STONE: “…Jake LaBotz turns paranoia into a haunting, Tom Waits-worthy piece of cabaret Americana with “They’re Coming for Me,” the title track from his newest solo effort. He delivers his lyrics like a method actor, imbuing each line with a mix of theatricality and wild, wide-eyed believability.”

GLIDE: “This album has staying power. It’s a good kind of weird.”

AMERICANA HIGHWAYS: “Resplendent storytelling, street tales, juke joint humid air & a pinch of unusual twists… (La) Botz lyrics are beautifully creative.”

AMERICAN SONGWRITER: “It’s surely a mixed bag but in a creative way where Sutton’s subtle and layered production pulls you into each tune. He adds just enough mojo to La Botz’s already idiosyncratic persona to qualify this as the singer’s best album, even with—or perhaps because of– its many offbeat qualities. Hopefully it’s the one to finally get La Botz the recognition he deserves.”

INK 19: “Jake’s music is rooted in blues and Americana with absolutely no fidelity to tradition. He’s happy warping expectations, seriously making music that doesn’t take anything too seriously. They’re Coming For Me covers a lot of emotional territory, from Noir paranoia to absurdist comedy.”

Now available on all purchase and streaming sites:
smarturl.it/theyrecomingforme

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FalL 2019 U.S. Dates

SEP 12 - FT Worth, TX @Magnolia Motor Lounge
SEP 13 - Austin, TX @White Horse
SEP 14 - Houston, TX @Axelrad Beer Garden
SEP 15 - Driftwood, TX @Vista Brewing
SEP 18 - TOC, NM @Truth or Consequences Brewing Company
SEP 19 - Albuquerque, NM @Marble Brewing
SEP 20 - Phoenix, AZ @The Dirty Drummer
SEP 21 - Santa Monica, CA @McCabe's Guitar Shop
SEP 23 - Flagstaff, AZ @TBA
NOV 6 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 7 - Montreal, QC @ Cafe Campus w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 8 - Ottawa, ON @ The 27 Club w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 9 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 10 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 13 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Music Hall w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 14 - Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 15 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House w/Pokey Lafarge
NOV 16 - Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall w/Pokey Lafarge
DEC 6 - Chicago, IL @The Hideout
DEC 7 - Madison, WI @Kiki's House of Righteous Music

European Tour June 2019

Heading back to Europe! This time backed by German roots band Smokestack Lightnin’

06/06: Ingolstadt (DE) Kleinkunstbühne Neue Welt
07/06: Stuttgart (DE) Rakete
08/06: Aachen (DE) Musikbunker Aachen
09/06: Utrecht (NL) DBS
10/06: Eindhoven (NL) Blue Collar Hotel
12/06: Cologne (DE) Sonic Ballroom
13/06: Nürnberg (DE) Künstlerhaus im KunstKulturQuartier
14/06: Berlin (DE) Die Blaue Stunde at MAZE
15/06: Heathfield (UK) The Rockabilly Rave
17/06: Zurich (CH) El Lokal
18/06: Munich (DE) CLUBZWEI
19/06: Steyr (AT) kv roeda
20/06: Kleinstaasdorf (AT) Mojo Music Club
22/06: Hameenlinna (FIN) Midsummer Rockabilly Party

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