Crazy Baldhead covers project (Slackers, Hepcat, Toasters, Pietasters) nears completion

Slackers guitarist Jayson "Agent Jay" Nugent has posted an update on his side project Crazy Baldhead. Jay posted:

For over 3 years I've been working on the most significant project I've ever organized. CRAZY BALDHEAD–THE SOUND OF '69 is a collection of classic songs from 1969 covered in a skinhead reggae and rocksteady style. The band includes the top ska/reggae players from the New York scene. The best known ska frontmen from around the world have graced this project with their vocals.

As this album nears completion, so too does the latest chapter in my life come to an end. During the production I've learned a tremendous amount about music and myself. These last years have been the best of my life. Recently I've seen some of the best things in my life vanish before my eyes. I've heard you can never really be an artist without pain. I now know that to be true. Just as this album reflects on the past, I must now look to the future and wonder what it will bring for me... ...and for all of us.

You can read Jay's full message by clicking Read More.

The Sound of `69 will feature covers of songs by the Beatles, James Brown, Johnny Cash and the Stooges among others. Vocalists featured on the release include the Pietasters' Steve Jackson, the Slackers' Vic Ruggiero, Hepcat's Alex Desert and Bucket from the Toasters. The band features Jay along with Eddie Ocampo, Victor Rice and Vic Ruggiero, with Dave Hillyard and Glen Pine making up the horn section. Recording and mixing were done in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, Sao Paolo and Valencia with Jay and Victor Rice producing. Expect the full length sometime this year.

For over 3 years I've been working on the most significant project I've ever organized. CRAZY BALDHEAD-THE SOUND OF '69 is a collection of classic songs from 1969 covered in a skinhead reggae and rocksteady style. The band includes the top ska/reggae players from the New York scene. The best known ska frontmen from around the world have graced this project with their vocals.

As this album nears completion, so too does the latest chapter in my life come to an end. During the production I've learned a tremendous amount about music and myself. These last years have been the best of my life. Recently I've seen some of the best things in my life vanish before my eyes. I've heard you can never really be an artist without pain. I now know that to be true. Just as this album reflects on the past, I must now look to the future and wonder what it will bring for me… …and for all of us.

Music has been a constant in my life since I was very young. Now I need it more than ever. Music is the reason I get out of bed in the morning. It sustains me through the tough times. Undergoing loss, as we all do, it would be easy to lose myself in negativity. As I ponder what I no longer have, I realize how truely blessed I am. My family and friends keep me going. I have been a member of a musical community that stretches around the world, for over 15 years.

New York, the city where I grew up, can be a cruel mistress. Now I feel her embracing me and protecting me. Even though I "cheat" on her by spending the night in different cities on tour, she always takes me back. I am so fortunate to be able to travel the world with my Slacker brothers and see all of you every night.

Thank You. You have made this an amazing life…