Low Society is back with a new album that is drawing attention, having been placed on the ballot for a Grammy in the American Roots category. The title song is a hit and a delicious irony in itself. Sanctified means pure – whereas “Sanctified” the song is an unselfconscious synthesis of blues, rock & roll and rockabilly. The insistent, lighthearted slide lick is an ear worm that sticks in your head for hours, driven by handclaps. The audacious, clever lyrics are delivered in a fire and brimstone vocal performance by Mandy Lemons, and they name-check some classic songs: Driving Wheel, Broke Down Engine, Take it Easy, sealing the deal that this tune is a love letter to rock and roll. In the account below, Sturgis recounts the genesis of the song and album, Sanctified by Low Society.
“Sanctified,” let's see. First draft/concept in Jan/Feb 2012, written shortly after leaving NYC and relocating to Texas. Landed in Memphis in April '12 and a year later started looking for a way to crank out the 2nd Low Society album. Enter Johnny Phillips and Icehouse Records/Select-O-Hits.
We went into a cheap studio in the winter of 2013 to do pre-production demos for You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down, for Icehouse Records. Sanctified was one of ten songs we recorded, and was the ONLY song that was dropped from the list of potentials. The approach was a little too "hard rock" and not bluesy enough, I guess. The funny thing is, Icehouse was less than enamored with our demos and Johnny Phillips (Sam's nephew) sent me a CD of songs he owned the publishing on, asking me to pick what I liked and consider recording them. You can imagine my reaction - "F You!!!!!"
Fast forward to October 2016. We're in Belgium for our second consecutive year, touring. Through the recommendation of our great friend and booker Danny De Man, we picked up a Belgian rhythm section to support us over there. Two extremely capable and lovely gentlemen: Jacky Verstraeten (Bass), and Bart De Bruecker (drums), from the Belgian group Raw Blues Experience. We got along with them SO well, and Low Society sounded SO good, that I expressed a wish to do some recording with them while we were there. Jacky took it upon himself to make some inquiries, and found us a GREAT studio. Closed Session Recording, in Roeselare Belgium - owner/engineer Kristof Maes.
We booked twelve hours. I started thinking about what we could record. There were five songs, of the twenty or so we were performing, that were possibilities. Mandy and I had a little meeting to discuss what other songs we had "stashed" that would be appropriate for such an occasion. There were 3: “Sanctified,” “Drowning Blues” and “River Of Tears.” Get to the studio - the five songs that were already in the repertoire we knocked out in no time flat, and took a lunch break. When we got back to work I taught Jacky & Bart the three additional songs, and we would consecutively do a rehearsal take, and then go for a master take. In the space of ten hours we recorded rhythm tracks for eight of the ten songs that ultimately became the album, Sanctified. Kristof handed me a thumb drive and wished me luck.
We said our tearful goodbyes after our last gig, and got on the plane and returned to Memphis in November. I contacted our engineer, Will Danger, when we returned, and within two weeks, we were at American Recording. I honestly didn't know exactly what I was going to hear when we unzipped those files, whether or not we had enough quality anything to make a record out of it. Fortunately for everyone involved, the quality was extremely high. Kristof is an excellent engineer, and the bass and drum tracks were wonderfully recorded, except for one minor issue. My guitar. You see, we didn’t go to the trouble of isolating my amp that day, so the guitar bled into the overheads and room mics. Unless we scrapped everything, I would have to keep what were essentially scratch rhythm guitar tracks as master takes. On all eight songs! Ultimately, as I usually do, I decided that my first instincts are my best and the guitar tracks I recorded live with Jacky and Bart in Belgium make up the bulk of the guitar that you hear when you listen to Sanctified (the song....and the album).