External Combustion, the new album from Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, is set for release on March 4 via BMG. Recorded last summer, the record is Mike Campbell’s second as a band leader, following up Campbell & The Dirty Knobs’ 2020 critically acclaimed debut album, Wreckless Abandon. Fans can pre-order External Combustion HERE.
In celebration of the forthcoming record, Campbell & The Dirty Knobs are premiering their blistering garage-rock single, “Wicked Mind,” today alongside a George Mays (My Morning Jacket, Brittany Howard, Chicano Batman) directed video. Listen to/share the track HERE and watch/share the video HERE.
External Combustion showcases Campbell & The Dirty Knobs’ evolution, pushing the band to a new level, jumping ahead in vision and drive, proving the first record was no one-shot deal. “The band became this spontaneous type of combustion—to borrow a word,” Campbell recalls. “The longer we played, the more intuitive it got.”
Co-produced by Campbell and George Drakoulias (The Black Crowes, The Jayhawks), the 11-track album was recorded at Campbell’s home studio, Hocus Pocus Recorders in Los Angeles. External Combustion also features Margo Price and Ian Hunter as well as piano from fellow Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers founding member Benmont Tench on “Lightning Boogie.” Although Campbell wrote most of the songs on the new album within the past year, two of the tracks had been written in the 90’s, only to be rediscovered in Campbell’s extensive vault of unreleased compositions.
The band will finally embark on their first-ever national tour this spring, featuring an extensive run of sold-out headlining shows. Kicking off on March 9, the tour includes performances at Brooklyn Bowl in both New York City and Nashville, Chicago’s Park West and Philadelphia’s World Café Live, as well as multiple dates at Los Angeles’ Troubadour and San Francisco’s The Independent. In addition, Campbell & The Dirty Knobs will perform a run of arena and amphitheater shows with Chris Stapleton in June and July. Full tour routing can be found below.
“The band’s too good,” says Campbell as he prepares for the upcoming tour. “And now we have two albums to draw from when writing setlists.”
On February 2, SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio will premiere “The Breakdown With Mike Campbell,” a monthly conversation show where Campbell is joined by friends, bandmates and collaborators all united by their connection to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, in an intimate conversation about music and life. Premiering on February 2, the first episode will feature a conversation between Campbell and Tench. “We’re going to go down memory lane and break down some of the old stories and impressions we lived through, building this legacy we have with Tom,” notes Campbell.
The Dirty Knobs came together nearly two decades ago, after Campbell met guitarist Jason Sinay (Neil Diamond, Ivan Neville) at a session and liked the way their guitars sounded together. What began as a less structured project for Campbell in between The Heartbreakers’ touring became something else altogether when they added the rhythm section of bassist Lance Morrison (Don Henley) and drummer Matt Laug (Slash, Alanis Morissette).
What followed was several years of intimate, almost incognito, performances in the band’s home base of Los Angeles and surrounding Southern California cities. After all those years playing together, it became clear The Dirty Knobs should take what they were doing to the next level. Following the passing of Campbell’s longtime compatriot, friend and bandmate Tom Petty and his performances with Fleetwood Mac on their 2018-2019 World Tour, The Dirty Knobs released their album Wreckless Abandon in 2020 to widespread praise; Forbes declared, “The aptly titled Wreckless Abandon is a wholly rollicking, joyous affair, a record whose 13 songs recall some of Campbell’s finest recorded moments alongside Petty as co-writer,” while American Songwriter proclaimed, “[Mike Campbell] doesn’t diverge from the essential sound of The Heartbreakers as much as it celebrates and builds on the legacy he helped establish.”
For additional information on the band, see the group’s bio/artist notes HERE.
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE DIRTY KNOBS
EXTERNAL COMBUSTION
1. Wicked Mind
2. Brigitte Bardot
3. Cheap Talk
4. External Combustion
5. Dirty Job (featuring Ian Hunter)
6. State Of Mind (Featuring Margo Price)
7. Lightning Boogie
8. Rat City
9. In This Lifetime
10. It Is Written
11. Electric Gypsy
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE DIRTY KNOBS TOUR DATES
March 9—Tampa, FL—The Orpheum
March 11—Gainesville, FL—High Dive
March 12—Gainesville, FL— High Dive
March 15—Nashville, TN—Brooklyn Bowl
March 17—Philadelphia, PA—World Café Live
March 19—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall
March 20—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall
March 23—New York, NY—Brooklyn Bowl
March 25—Derry, NH—Tupelo Music Hall
March 26—Ridgefield, CT—Ridgefield Playhouse
March 28—Alexandria, VA—The Birchmere
March 30—Indianapolis, IN—The Hi Fi Lounge
March 31— Indianapolis, IN—The Hi Fi Lounge
April 2—Chicago, IL—Park West
April 4—Minneapolis, MN—Fine Line
April 15—San Francisco, CA—The Independent
April 16—San Francisco, CA—The Independent
April 19— Los Angeles, CA—Troubadour
April 20— Los Angeles, CA—Troubadour
April 23—Boulder, CO—Fox Theatre
April 24—Denver, CO—Bluebird Theater
April 26—Dallas, TX—Trees
April 28—Houston, TX—Warehouse Live Studio
April 30—Austin, TX—Antone’s
May 1—Austin, TX—Antone’s
June 2—Boise, ID—Ford Idaho Center Arena*
June 3—Portland, OR—Sunlight Supply Amphitheater*
June 4— George, WA—The Gorge Amphitheatre*
June 11—San Bernardino, CA—Glen Helen Amphitheater*
June 16—Bakersfield, CA—Mechanics Bank Arena*
June 17—Wheatland, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre*
June 18—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre*
June 23—Salt Lake City, UT—USANA Amphitheatre*
June 24—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center*
June 25—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center*
July 23—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field*
*w/ Chris Stapleton
