Bang at the Door – Nominated for Best Acoustic Blues Album
Donna’s new Album Bang at the Door was nominated for a 2021 Blues Blast Music Award for Acoustic Blues Album.
Donna Herula’s third CD, Bang at the Door, includes 14 tracks – 11 original songs and 3 cover songs. The physical CD includes a 12-page booklet with liner notes by blues writer and reviewer, Mark Thompson, pictures, and lyrics from all of Donna’s original songs on the recording.
The music flows from acoustic blues through gospel, jazz, and ragtime, to the electric Chicago blues style, with nods to New Orleans, folk, and country influences. Special guests include Anne Harris (violin), Daryl Davis (piano), Bill Newton (harmonica), Tony Nardiello (singer/guitarist), and backup singers Katherine Davis and Rebecca Toon. The CD was produced by Jon Shain and recorded by FJ Ventre (also the upright bass player) at Good Luck Studio in Chapel Hill, NC.
Song List
- Bang at the Door: Pop/rock blues about a late-night visitor
- Pass the Biscuits: New Orleans style about relationship between musician and DJ host
- Can’t Wait to See My Baby: Chicago-Blues style duet about the excitement of love
- Promise Me: Folk song about the loss felt when a loved one is in prison (with slide guitar and mandolin)
- Not Lookin’ Back: Jazz combo about leaving a partner with a drug addiction
- I Got No Way Home: Chicago blues jam with piano, harmonica, guitar and three-part harmonies
- Black Ice: Brooding slide guitar instrumental
- Fixin’ to Die: Traditional Delta Blues with slide guitar solos (cover)
- Jackson: Ballad with acoustic guitar and slide with male lead and harmonies (cover)
- Movin’ Back Home: Comical ragtime song with call and response
- Got What I Deserve: A woman’s view on the tribulations of motherhood (with fiddle)
- Who’s Been Cookin’ in My Kitchen: Double entendre solo, acoustic blues
- Something’s Wrong With My Baby: Heartfelt vocals, desperation with loving a partner with depression
- The Soul of a Man: Blues gospel with harmonies (cover)
All songs written by Donna Herula except track 8 (Booker White), 9 (Lucinda Williams), 11 (Jon Shain & Donna Herula), and 14 (Willie Johnson)
CD Review - Mark Thompson, writer and reviewer
The music highlights a musical palette that flows from acoustic blues through gospel, jazz to the electric Chicago blues style, with nods to New Orleans, country and folk influences. It is the first of her three releases to feature her heartfelt songwriting, focusing on the joys, tribulations, and problems that are part of the human experience.
With this album, Donna Herula is making a statement, testifying song after song to her talents as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter…And when you are finished listening, you will no doubt agree that she deserves recognition as one of the finest purveyors of the acoustic blues traditions on the scene today
— Mark Thompson, writer and reviewer, Blues Blast Magazine, Blues Music Magazine, and the Chicago Blues Guide
Bang at the Door
Donna Herula’s third CD, Bang at the Door, includes 14 tracks – 11 original songs and 3 cover songs. The physical CD includes a 12-page booklet with liner notes by blues writer and reviewer, Mark Thompson, pictures and lyrics from all of Donna’s original songs on the recording.
