Gulf Coast Records announces the signing of Boston-based blues guitar ace Monster Mike Welch, and will release his label debut album, Nothing But Time, on June 30th, with the first single, ”I’ve Got Nothing But Time,” due May 26th.
The new album was produced and engineered by Kid Andersen (who also plays on the album) at Greaseland Studios, San Jose, California, during March, 2023. It features an all-star band including legendary bassist and two-time Grammy winner Jerry Jemmott (Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Gregg Allman).
“I have been a fan of Monster Mike Welch for 25 plus years,” said Gulf Coast head Mike Zito in making the announcement. “He is one of the absolute finest blues artists/guitarists of our time and I am thrilled to be working with him. I am hopeful for some free guitar lessons.”
Welch, who battled the COVID-19 demon for over a year-and-a-half, had this to say about his signing and the recording of Nothing But Time: “At its worst, Long Covid was completely debilitating, and I spent most of 2022 genuinely unsure whether I’d be able to play music full time ever again. Kid Andersen and Mike Zito inspired me to take a leap of faith and make a new start; they both had my back and gave me the support and freedom to make the most personal record of my career.”
With almost three decades of touring and recording under his belt, guitarist Monster Mike Welch is a seasoned veteran of the international blues scene. Given the nickname “Monster Mike” by actor/”Blues Brother” Dan Aykroyd at the tender age of 13, Welch has since carved out a niche as a highly accomplished and in-demand guitarist. To date, Welch has released several albums under his own name and in 2001, he joined the ranks of one of New England’s most beloved blues institutions, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, where he stayed until 2017, recording five albums and racking up multiple Blues Music Award nominations with the band in that time. In addition, Welch has recorded with Shemekia Copeland, Ronnie Earl, Danielle Nicole, Duke Robillard, Johnny Winter, Victor Wainwright, Nick Moss, the Mannish Boys and Sugaray Rayford, among others. Welch left the Bluetones in 2017 to focus on his partnership with Mike Ledbetter, which led to seven Blues Music Award nominations and the formation of the Welch Ledbetter Connection within the first year. They won Best Traditional album in 2018, and Mike won the BMA for Guitar (and Band ) in 2019. Welch received three consecutive Blues Music Award nominations by the Blues Foundation for Instrumentalist-Guitar beginning in 2016, a Boston Music Award for Best Blues Act, and is an inductee of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2023, Monster Mike Welch has embarked on the next phase of his career with his signing to Gulf Coast Records to make new music.
