The New Mastersounds’ guitarist and bandleader Eddie Roberts has released the second single with his brand new project The Lucky Strokes entitled “Sweet Dreams.” The newly formed band features Mississippi-based vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Shelby Kemp (Royal Horses) and the Florida-based sisters Ashely Galbraith on bass and Taylor Galbraith on drums. The release comes ahead of the band’s debut west coast performances next weekend with play at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley on 8/12 and The Peppermint Club in West Hollywood on 8/13.
“Sweet Dreams” started out as a funky blues guitar riff Roberts sent Kemp who penned lyrics over his morning coffee experimenting with various melodies for the hook. He eventually landed on a soaring three-part harmony part after recalling learning how to sing those kinds of harmonies with his mother while sitting in the car with her as a kid. The lyrics contrast the ethereal harmonies as he reflects, “The song is transparently about someone who is preying upon your mind for a while and the need to lay eyes or hands on them to ease your mind, but the character in the song seems to be a bit difficult to nail down. Maybe they are a traveler of sorts or just unreliable, or maybe the protagonist is in denial about the reality of the relationship.”
The new project’s name was not forged by accident or cheekiness. Roberts had initially connected with Kemp through his longtime friend and musical collaborator, keyboardist Chris Spies, who brought him into a session at Color Red Studios in Denver, Colorado to record with his psych-country-rock project Royal Horses. Roberts was also blown away by Kemp’s rendition of Little Milton’s “Grits Ain’t Groceries” to the point of feeling compelled to put together a band with him. In November 2022, Roberts was performing at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday at Station Square Park in downtown Clearwater, FL and Taylor Galbraith was on the lineup on drums. He would later find out that not only was Taylor an outstanding drummer, but her sister Ashley was also an acclaimed bassist in the area and the two possessed a simpatico rhythm section chemistry only found within a family bloodline. The cogs were whirling and personnel was finally in place epitomizing the adage that luck is what happens when hard work meets opportunity.
The story deepens beyond the organic cultivation of the band. At 11:20pm on New Year's Eve during an Eddie Roberts & Friends performance at The Brickyard in Mobile, AL, Eddie and Shelby were once again sharing the stage when what had initially sounded like celebratory fireworks ended up being gunfire ringing out outside of the club. A second blast sent shrapnel flying through the open doors above the heads of the glass and Eddie recalled seeing a piece of it in slow motion flying towards him during a solo that ricocheted off of his left index finger. The crowd hit the deck and the unfortunate reality of the situation ended up being a shooting due to a gang-related retaliation outside of the club, which the group would later find out left one dead and nine hospitalized. After sheltering in the office and ensuring the scene was safe, the band ended up performing for around 100 or so people who still remained in the club until 3:30 in the morning.
A few days later after returning home and setting up for a hometown show in Mississippi, Kemp had realized that a piece of the shrapnel that had flown through the door and bounced off of Eddie's finger turned out to be the bullet casing from one of the shots fired that had landed in the back of his amp. It was a stroke of luck that none of the musicians or concertgoers were injured and in a synergetic way, it felt as though the musical torch had been passed between the two musicians. The following month, Shelby presented Eddie with a necklace made from the bullet casing signifying their bond and newfound lease on life and musical collaboration.
A few weeks later, Eddie flew the Galbraith sisters to Denver to perform with him and Shelby at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom celebrating the venue’s 20th anniversary. The energy and connection between the quartet was unmistakable and they stuck around to record the project’s debut album which will be available via Color Red on October 13th. The record can be pre-ordered HERE.
