Kurt Baker is giving fans a taste of his upcoming album 'Rock 'N' Roll Club' (out this Fall on Wicked Cool Records), with the release of the LP's first single "Anchors Up."
Of the track Baker says, "‘Anchors Up’ started around an idea I had while living in Spain during the lockdown confinement. Being confined to your house was not a great experience, but I remember I used to take my guitar and play it next to my window, to get some sunlight. I guess the rays of sunshine brought a happy upbeat melody to my mind, definitely with the flavor of something Green Day might have recorded on their ‘Warning’ album, or maybe even the Kinks, which coincidently, I think Green Day was listening to a lot when they recorded ‘Warning’."
"Anyway, I had this demo, and the lyrics were just kinda silly," continued Baker. "When I sent it to Little Steven to listen to he told me straight up that the song was way too 'happy' sounding! I’m very fortunate to have the ability to work with somebody like Steven, who knows his music, and his feedback and critique of my ideas are so extremely valuable. The song took another direction, once I sat down with my best buddy Geoff Palmer to work on the lyrics. Now the track has this sort of ‘Sloop John B’ vibe to it. Almost a bit of a maritime thing going.. Anchors, drunk captains… You know, I’m from Maine so I’ve been on a boat, and I’ve been around a lot of drunk captains and captainesses, or so they say they are! I’m very very excited for ‘Anchors Up’ to be the lead kick-off single for my new album ‘Rock N Roll Club’. Dig it!"
Of the video, he says, "I have to thank my real deal all-time best homie and bandmate, Wyatt Funderburk, for envisioning this video, and coming up with the entire idea in his mind, and brilliantly executing the direction of it. We were on a day off in Benicassim, Spain, deep in the midst of our recent successful tour of Spain. It was a beautiful day and we were by the beach, relaxing and enjoying a bit of free time. We had just finished a run of 6 shows and were feeling GREAT. We wanted to capitalize on the fact that we had a new album coming out, and we were all together hanging out on the beach, so we decided to shoot this video. One take. We did a practice run, and then hit a record! Thanks to our great pal Luis Sanchez from Los Reactivos and K7’s for filming this. We are the anchors and we are about to set sail into the sea. We could be tappin’ into something like the Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ or Semisonic’s ‘Closing Time’ with this video, or it’s just a simple single one-shot video of the boys getting together for a little stroll to the Mediterranean sea. The only problem is that we forgot to bring our towels! Hey, this video came out great and I feel like it totally encompasses the mood and the vibe of the track ‘Anchors Up,’ which I think is the goal with any music video. I’m very happy about this, grateful to everybody who was involved in making it happen and excited to drop the new album! ‘Rock N Roll Club’ out September 29th on Wicked Cool Records, baby! Yeah!"
The video was directed by Wyatt Funderburk, shot by Luis Sánchez, and edited by Evan Sprague. It was shot on location at Voramar Beach, Benicàssim, Castellón, Spain. Best boy: T-boy.
"Kurt Baker is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for his work as a guitarist and vocalist in the power pop and punk rock genres. He is the lead singer and guitarist for the Kurt Baker Band, a group that has released several albums on Little Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records and toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Baker is known for his energetic live performances and catchy, upbeat songs that often feature clever lyrics and catchy hooks. He has drawn inspiration from a wide range of musical styles, including rock, pop, punk, and new wave." -- It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine
"Well, I certainly hope so, it seems like it is," laughed Blues Traveler bassist Ben Wilson as he discussed what the band has been up to and their preparations before they hit the road once again for a Summer tour. "The band has been quite active over the years through touring and we managed to continue to record some records. We've done two kinds of covers records, the first one was a blues record which actually got nominated for a Grammy which was pretty cool and the next one, we did some soul covers. That one wasn't quite as well received but it was sure fun to make. So, it's been really cool; you have this massive success for a decade or so and then you kind of dip below that cultural Gestalt line where you're just kind of bubbling below the surface and you can do just fine there even though you're not on the cover of "The Rolling Stone" and that's kind of what we've been doing. We've had a good run, it has been fantastic and these summer tours where we get together with these other kind of bands of similar eras with similar kinds of hits; we're very fortunate as kind of a neo-hippie jam band from that era that kind of bucked some of the trends that were going on at the time but we were lucky enough to have a couple of hits and that has allowed us to have kind of a different career than just the straight jam bands do; not that that wouldn't be awesome as well because obviously many of them are doing just fine but it's just a slightly different road but it has been wonderful. We didn't rehearse a whole lot because we've been playing together for 38 years but things are good and we're stoked for this upcoming tour."
(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 7:30pm. Griffin is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller. Touring and making records for over 20 years, House has a discography that includes over 13 albums.
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets to Reeves-Reed Arboretum and celebrate summer with their 2025 concert series, Sounds of a Summer Night! All performances will be held on select Wednesday evenings on the grounds of this non-profit public garden located in Summit.
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