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Boston-based Septet Drops Hellcat Records Debut in September

Boston’s beloved ska revivalists Westbound Train will release their Hellcat Records debut, Transitions, on September 26. In advance of the hotly-anticipated disc, the road-savvy septet has embarked on an extensive, two month U.S. tour that launched last night July 6, 2006 at the Avalon Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“We want to create honest music for people to put out records that are both beautiful and emotional,” says singer/trombonist Obi Fernandez of The Westbound Sound.’ And that notion is quickly validated on the forthcoming disc’s epic, reggae-steered focal point “Travel On.” “It’s probably my favorite track on the record,” Obi explains. “The message is simple; Westbound Train is going to continue doing what we do regardless of whatever obstacles may turn up.”

That determination has seen the band previously oversee two self-released and well received studio albums, 2002’s Searching For A Melody and the widely-praised Five To Two, which counted collaborations with King Django and Hepcat’s Alex Desert. Sharing stages with everyone from ska originators The Skatalites to The Toasters, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Street Dogs and Reel Big Fish, the collective has toured incessantly across North America and Europe in the past three years. Eventually garnering the attention of Hellcat founder Tim Armstrong, a demo pass-off led to a deal and the danceable, groove-driven Transitions.

Cultivating the Westbound Sound from the ska, reggae, soul and blues of the 1960s, the uplifting vibe of “Please Forgive Me” and the determination-steeped “For the First Time” find the men of Westbound Train holding strong to their respective dreams on Transitions. Or as Fernandez explains, “We are determined to leave our mark on the music world and we want to accomplish that together as a family.”

Here are Westbound Train’s “Summer of Ska” Tourdates:

07-11 Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco CA
07-12 House of Blues, San Diego CA
07-13 House of Blues, Las Vegas NV
07-14 House of Blues, Anaheim CA
07-16 Launch Pad, Albuquerque NM
07-17 The Black Sheep, Colorado Springs CO
07-19 The Creepy Crawl, St. Louis MO
07-20 Metro Chicago, IL
07-21 St Andrews Hall, Detroit MI
07-22 Agora Theatre, Cleveland OH
07-23 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
07-23 St Andrews Hall, Detroit MI
07-25 Trocadero, Philadelphia PA
07-26 Recher Theatre, Towson MD
07-27 Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale NY
07-30 Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ
08-05 Saratoga Winners, Latham NY
08-06 The Palladium, Worcester MA
08-08 The Soapbox Laundrolounge, Wilmington NC
08-09 New Brookland Tavern, West Columbia SC
08-10 The Masquerade-Atlanta, Atlanta GA
08-11 The Imperial, Jacksonville FL
08-12 Respectable Street, West Palm Beach FL
08-13 State Theater, St. Petersburg FL
08-14 The Social, Orlando FL
08-15 Beta Bar, Tallahassee FL
08-16 The High Ground, Metairie LA
08-17 Meridian, Houston TX
08-18 White Rabbit, San Antonio TX
08-19 Fat Daddy’s Sound Shack, Lewisville TX