Americana singer-songwriter Al Staehely is thrilled to announce his new album, Somewhere in West Texas to be released on June 30th via Quarto Valley Records.
As a preview, he has released the music video for his single “Something Good Is Gonna Happen” that is featured on CMT.com.
A third generation Austinite, Al splits his time between Houston and the Big Bend high desert area of far West Texas. His album of new music, Somewhere in West Texas, recorded in Marfa, TX, features an all-star lineup of musicians, including Fran Christina (Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bonnie Raitt), Scrappy Jud Newcomb (Ian McLagan, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Patty Griffin, Slaid Cleaves) and Chris Maresh (Eric Johnson, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Wayne Shepherd).
About Al Staehely
Al Staehely is the only person on the planet who has both played Carnegie Hall and provided legal services for Stevie Ray Vaughan. It didn’t take long for Staehely to begin making those dreams a reality. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles in 1971, he and his brother John were asked to join the critically acclaimed band, Spirit. With Al as the band’s new lead vocalist, bass player, and chief songwriter and John taking over lead guitar duties from Randy California, Spirit recorded the album, Feedback, in November of 1971.
Successful tours followed - Canada, Australia, and the U.S. - including the aforementioned performance at Carnegie Hall. When Spirit splintered, Al and John formed a group appropriately named the Staehely Brothers, releasing the album Sta-Hay-Lee on Epic Records in 1973.
In 1980, Staehely returned to Texas and pulled his law degree out of the drawer. Lawyer by day, musician by night. Al did shows with Roy Orbison, Jefferson Starship, Emmylou Harris – two European tours with John Cipollina and Nick Gravenitis (of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Electric Flag, respectively) documented by the LP, Monkey Medicine, which was recorded in Hamburg and featured three of Al’s songs. Back in Texas, he even played a show with Rodney Dangerfield! Just as he was beginning to build his law practice, Polydor Records came calling and in 1982 Staehaley’s Comet, Al’s long-awaited solo record, was released – but only in Europe.
In 2011, Steady Boy Records oversaw the first US release of the Polydor album, with the new title, Al Staehely and 10k Hours. In 2013, Cadillac Cowboys, an EP by Al Staehely and the Explosives, was also released on SteadyBoy Records. In more recent years, he has returned to the studio and continues to play live – frequently with his brother John, Freddie Steady Krc, Mike Rosenbaum and sax player Evelyn Rubio.
