Individually, JD Simo and Luther Dickinson are building their own legacies as solo artists, sidemen, songwriters, and guitar heroes. Together, they’re a creative force to be reckoned with, making their own version of amplified American roots music. On the pair’s first collaborative album, Do The Rump, the musicians trade blistering guitar solos, take turns at the microphone, and turn their classic influences — including hill country blues, spirituals, swamp rock, and Afrobeat — into something contemporary, reinterpreting a number of their old-school favorites into eclectic, electrifying anthems.
The partnership began onstage, where Simo and Dickinson first shared the spotlight as touring members of Phil Lesh and Friends. Dickinson had already established himself as co-founder of the Grammy-winning duo North Mississippi Allstars, as well as a celebrated guitarist for acts like Black Crowes and John Hiatt. Similarly, JD Simo had built an audience not only with his solo project, but also as a session musician for Jack White, Beyoncé, Chris Isaak, and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie. Occupying the same stage felt different, though. “Playing with Luther immediately felt as easy as water flowing down a river,” Simo remembers. “We had all the same influences but we played nothing alike. Our styles just fit together. We didn’t have to think about it —it was just instinctual.”
Those instincts take center stage on Do The Rump, whose eight songs were recorded at House of Grease, Simo’s home studio in Nashville during a series of live-in-the-studio performances. There were no overdubs. No production tricks, either. Joined by drummer Adam Abarashoff — whose background in Afrobeat and jazz helped push Do The Rump’s music into unexpected directions — the friends captured spontaneity in its purest form, recording most of the songs during a single take, allowing a natural combination of grooves and guitars to lead the way.
