BLACK STONE CHERRY Has 'Gone Up Musically Another Level' After Bassist Switch

In a new interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, BLACK STONE CHERRY guitarist Ben Wells spoke about the 2021 departure of bassist Jon Lawhon and addition of his replacement, Steve Jewell Jr. (ex-OTIS). He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it was kind of an adjustment at first. It was coming out of the — well, it was still in the pandemic during the time. I think that kind of changed a lot of people. And we respected his wishes to come off the road. And it was an adjustment, because we'd always been together. But luckily for us, as far as the band moving on, Steve, our bass player now, was the first guy that we called, because he's from the same town as we are. He grew up just like we did, and he's always been around. He was in a band called OTIS that used to open up for us. And so he's always been a part of our chemistry in a different way before he was in the band, because he would always be hanging out with us and stuff. So that wasn't a thing we had to get used to — somebody else's personality — 'cause we already knew the guy. And then, of course, he's a super-talented musician, and we're just so honored and lucky to have him now. And you can listen to the [new BLACK STONE CHERRY] record ['Screamin' At The Sky'] and you hear his bass playing on it. He even played slide guitar on the song 'Nervous'. He was just amazing."

Ben continued: "I think we have we've gone up musically now, dynamically another level, just because his heart is on fire for music and he has such a passion for it. And, yeah, we're lucky to have him. And he has just as much energy as I do when it comes to playing live, which is a great thing. Now, people, when they come to see us, they don't know who to watch, which is awesome, because I love that. So it was an adjustment at first, but luckily, I think everything happens for a reason, and we're just glad to be able to still be here and put out this album."

BLACK STONE CHERRY recently announced a co-headline tour with GIOVANNIE AND THE HIRED GUNS. The run begins on November 2 at Piere's in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Fourteen appearances have been announced, wrapping with a performance on November 18 at Columbia, Missouri's Blue Note.

"Screamin' At The Sky" will be released on September 29 via Mascot Records. The opus will be available in white solid vinyl, limited edition vinyl boxset, CD and digitally.

Earlier this year, BLACK STONE CHERRY released the album's lead single, "Out of Pocket", which went on to be a crowd favorite on the band's recent U.K. arena shows.

The Kentucky-based band, featuring Chris Robertson (lead vocals/guitar),Ben Wells (guitar/backing vox) and John-Fred Young (drums/backing vox),are joined for the first time on an album recording by Jewell. The band's fanbase will be more than familiar with Steve, as he has been touring with BLACK STONE CHERRY since 2021.

"Screamin' At The Sky" features all-new material written collaboratively while on tour, but when it came time to record, BLACK STONE CHERRY decided to try something it's always dreamed of doing: tracking an album at The Plaza Theater in Glasgow, Kentucky — a legendary 1020-seat venue built in 1934 that boasts meticulous acoustics.

BLACK STONE CHERRY's last album, "The Human Condition", released in October 2020 was their sixth consecutive No. 1 debut on the U.K. Rock Albums chart. The album's lead single, "Again" was the band's biggest single in over 10 years in America, peaking at No. 15, and their highest-charting record ever in Canada, landing in the Top 15. The album racked up 50 million streams worldwide. Over the years, BSC has both headlined and rocked 12,000-cap arena shows and shared the stage with a wide range of superstars, including ALTER BRIDGE, DEF LEPPARD, GOV'T MULE, NICKELBACK, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, BAD COMPANY, MÖTORHEAD, HALESTORM, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, THE DARKNESS and ZZ TOP. In 2018, BSC performed in front of 100,000 people at the Download festival as main support to GUNS N' ROSES and in 2021, the band played the venerated Royal Albert Hall, immortalized on 2022's live DVD "Live From The Royal Albert Hall…Y'All".