It doesn’t matter if she’s “a New Orleans lady, a New Iberian Queen, a Carencro Princess” or “a pretty girl from Robeline.” As Johnny & The Mongrels proclaim in the lyrics for their new single, she can “float your pirogue” and “make your heart break outta your chest.” She is, as the song title says: a “Louisiana Girl.” And you’ll never meet anyone else like her anywhere else.
Written by the band’s lead singer Johnny Ryan, bassist/singer Jeff Bostic and guitarist/producer Scott Sharrard, the song celebrates the Bayou State’s most alluring asset, with a saucy funk groove, soulful vocals and Craig Dreyer’s wailing tenor sax. It is available now at Spotify Pre-Save.
“It’s a tribute to the women who make Louisiana the incomparable place that it is,” Ryan says. “There’s just something about the women in this state. They have a rhythm, locution and je ne sais quoi all their own.”
“Louisiana Girl” is the second single to herald the upcoming album CREOLE SKIES, which drops on July 17. All tracks were recorded at historic Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana, with JoeBaby Michaels (Neville~Jacobs, Shaun Murphy) and Scott Sharrard (Gregg Allman, Levon Helm) producing. Along with Ryan, Bostic and Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay (The Derek Trucks Band, Leftover Salmon) and drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas (The Black Crowes, Jon Cleary) comprise the core band on CREOLE SKIES.
Johnny & The Mongrels is a high-powered, New-Orleans-influenced band that has been described as “the perfect combination of a funk-filled heart and a deep bayou soul.” Its founders, currently based in Fort Collins, Colorado, are singer/songwriter Johnny Ryan and singer/bassist/songwriter Jeff Bostic. The band has played many prominent venues and music festivals nationwide, sharing stages along with way with Scott Sharrard, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Bob Malone (John Fogerty), Deanna Bogart, Shakedown Street, Samantha Fish, Honey Island Swamp Band and Bobby Messano (Steve Winwood).
Johnny & The Mongrels
YouTube
*Feature image Jim Mimna Photography courtesy of So Much Moore Media
