Rip Cat Records is proud to present In The Middle Of Nowhere, the latest CD from John Clifton. The California based singer/harmonica player, whose legend continues to grow with every release, seamlessly translates his onstage blend of West Coast and Chicago Blues, ’50s style hard R&B and high-energy vintage Rock ‘n ‘Roll to the studio for 11 tracks that sizzle and shake to perfection. “The new record is the live band, the guys who I play with every night,” he comments, “so it definitely has more of a live feel to it.” Clifton’s singing and playing have never been better as he continues to blur the lines between multiple genres; he never lets the blues slip out of sight while touching on everything from soul to jazz to R&B and even country.
Nowhere features five all-new originals, along with six covers of songs by artists as diverse as Lightnin’ Slim and Merle Haggard. Clifton’s ability to craft a unifying thread between his own originals and those disparate covers is what sets him apart from the pack.
In The Middle Of Nowhere is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2018 release, Nightlife (which spent six months in the Top 50 Contemporary Blues charts, hit the Top 10 on Sirius/XM’s Rack Of Blues, #11 on Living Blues Radio, and finished the year at #72 on Roots Music Report’s Top 200 Contemporary Blues Chart).
Fronting a band firing on all cylinders, Clifton is an intense and magnetic live performer. His reputation as both a harmonica player and vocalist has led to onstage invites from the legends like James Cotton, Rod Piazza, Mark Hummel, John Mayall, Kim Wilson and Huey Lewis (among others). Since beginning his solo career 4 years ago (after first rising to prominence in the late 1980s as lead singer for California blues-roots favorites The MoFo Party Band) he has emerged as a true showman, delivering straight from the heart, soul, and gut, while staying clear of the typical clichés and novelties.
