With a rich, raspy voice and a remarkable ear for lyrics and composition, prolific songwriter Bill Scorzari is thrilled to release three acoustic versions of songs featured on his most recent album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (Independently Released Aug 2022): "The Broken Heart Side of the Road (Acoustic)," "I-70 East (Acoustic)," and "Multnomah Falls (Acoustic)."
“Now that we’ve started a new year (Happy New Year!), it's great to be able to look back at the good things that have come out of all of the effort we put into The Crosswinds of Kansas… It’s been a long road and I’m so grateful to everyone who has made it all possible,” says Bill. “As a thank you to everyone who has listened to and enjoyed the songs, I decided to release new versions of three tracks from the album, which I’ve re-recorded in a singer-songwriter style, with just acoustic guitar and vocals.”
The album was listed in Americana UK’s Top Albums of 2022! Mark Whitfield writes, “The simple use of imagery and clever phraseology make it a very poignant record at times… The pain on some tracks is visceral in its honesty—and Scorzari’s voice is the perfect match for these substantial songs.”
Today, Americana UK premiered “1-70 East (Acoustic)” here: https://americana-uk.com/track-premiere-bill-scorzari-i-70-east-acoustic
“Bill Scorzari has captured the sonic embodiment of the Tolkien quote ‘not all who wander are lost’ with each album he’s released, yet The Crosswinds of Kansas bleeds this sentiment with each chord and word. The vivid storytelling balances delicately on masterful musicianship to create a massively memorable album,” writes Nanobot Rock in their Top 10 Discoveries of 2022.
These stripped down versions reflect more of what seeing Bill perform live and solo is like, and had been requested by a handful of terrestrial radio stations. Recorded at his First Thunder Recording Studio in Huntington, NY, the abridged songs were mastered by Jim DeMain at Yes Master Studio in Nashville in 2022.
"The Broken Heart Side of the Road (Acoustic)" is the first of the three songs released—Hear it now at https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/i-70-east-acoustic. Glide Magazine premiered the album version and wrote, “With its melancholy tone, Scorzari lends his gritty vocals to a work of dark Americana roots music… a song that carries a stirring energy and a haunting tale.” Americana Highways’ John Apice wrote, “‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road,’ is pure Bill. Precise, an impressive composition that’s subtle & striking. Bullseye.”
"I-70 East (Acoustic)'' will be out February 17. Americana Highways’s Melissa Clarke calls it a, “song of the anguished parallels between an elderly mother fading and passing on, and a lover’s betrayal. He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.”
“Multnomah Falls (Acoustic)” weaves a chronicle of a rainy day’s hike into an account of the trials of change and transcendence. It will be out March 10.
FervorCoulee’s Donald Tepylske says, “The poetic rhythm of Scorzari’s lyrics is most impressive… Scorzari doesn’t do conventional… Each song envelopes the listener, sharing its secrets and truths.” Jim Hynes of Glide Magazine seems to concur, “To be sure, one needs solitude to appreciate his literate craft, a blend of prose and poetry put to music, a Walt Whitman of sorts for our times… With Scorzari, one hangs not just onto every word, but just about every breath.”
We hope that listeners will be as moved by the acoustic renditions as these folks were by the originals. Bill has also started working on a new album! It is too early to say when it might be finished; so stay tuned to Bill’s social media for more information as things start to gather momentum and move forward.
More about Bill Scorzari: Born and raised in New York, Bill transformed his life as a New York Trial Attorney to a new life as a full-time musician beginning around 2011. He has independently released four studio albums including 2014’s Just the Same, 2017’s Through These Waves (Produced by Jonah Tolchin at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville), 2019’s Now I’m Free (Produced by Neilson Hubbard at Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville), and The 2022’s Crosswinds of Kansas (Co-Produced with Neilson Hubbard at First Thunder Recording and Skinny Elephant Recording). Some of the musical artists that can be heard on Bill’s albums include Fats Kaplin, Eamon McLoughlin, Matt Menefee, Will Kimbrough, Michael Rinne, Dan Mitchell, Juan Solarzano, Brent Burke, Marie Lewey, Cindy Richardson Walker, Joachim Cooder, Kim Richie, Chris Scruggs, Laur Joamets, Jonah Tolchin, Erin Rae, John Estes, and Kyle Tuttle, among others.
Scorzari’s music has been well received by the press over the years with nods from those mentioned above in addition to Billboard, Acoustic Guitar, No Depression, The Bluegrass Situation, The Boot, Music City Magazine, Music Mecca, Making A Scene!, The Aquarian Weekly’s Rant ‘n’ Roll, Country Standard Time, The Alternate Root, DittyTV, Beyond A Song, Australia’s Listening Through The Lens, Alt Country Netherlands, and more.
His music can be heard on the airwaves across the country and beyond! The Crosswinds of Kansas made a handful of DJs’ Year End Lists including KPFA Radio’s Tim Lynch, XPN’s Chuck Elliot, KVMR’s Kim Rogers, WFPK’s Michael Young, and WWSP’s Jim Canales. In 2022, Bill did in depth interviews with WVTF’s Luke Church, Beyond A Song’s Rich Reardin, High Plains Public Radio’s This Is the Place with host Jenny Inzerilo, and The Long Island Sound Podcast with Steve Yusko. The Crosswinds of Kansas peaked at #4 on the Alt. Country Specialty Chart, hit #36 on the Folk DJ Chart, and #85 on The Americana Music Chart. Some of Scorzari’s top spins come from Americana Boogie Radio; WBCM in Bristol, VA; WVMO in Madison, WI; KNOW in St Paul, MN; and KSYM in San Antonio, TX.
If you have not yet heard The Crosswind of Kansas, listen here https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/the-crosswinds-of-kansas.
For more information, updates and tour dates, visit www.BillScorzari.com.
