Sadler Vaden Releases Surprise Solo Project For Father’s Day

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Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit has released a surprise solo project, Dad Rock, via Thirty Tigersjust in time for Father’s Day.

Vaden recorded the eight-song set of classic rock jams and ballads just after he became a father, and recruited fellow dad rockers Benmont Tench, Elliot Easton, Art Edmaiston and more to join him on the album.

Dad Rock includes new tracks that Vaden wrote specifically for his two sons, “Townsend’s Theme” and “I’ll Always Come Back,” the latter of which was inspired by what he tells them every time he leaves for tour, as well as older tracks he has waited to share with the world, like “Two Balloons,” a tribute to his late parents that matches the tattoo on his left arm.

“I was technically only in the studio for two days, two sessions in December just days before my second son Theo was born,” says Vaden. “Everything else was done remotely or at my home studio when I could carve out an hour here and there. I really knew what I wanted things to sound like on this record, so it was important to me to not let things get overcooked by laboring over parts and sounds too much. We mixed the record remotely with Owen Lewis using Audiomovers, which is software that you can put on the stereo output of your DAW and send a link to a mix or recording session in real time. I’d be listening to the link in my airpods while he’s mixing and I’d be changing dirty diapers or making bottles or chasing my toddler around getting ready for bedtime, ‘Dad Rock’ indeed.”

Since his last release, Vaden has continued touring and recording with Isbell while further establishing himself behind the board by producing Morgan Wade’s last two records, Reckless and Psychopath, among others.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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