Twenty Aught Eight was a year long project during which I published a new song every week. It was challenging and fun, and marks one of the happier years of my life. Those songs are available in 4 volumes with 13 songs each and can be purchased via my Nimbit store.
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There are fifty two weeks in a year and Todd
Lorenz has established a goal to write a song in each of them for 2008, or as he
has called it ‘twenty aught eight’. Todd is a big man with a
big voice and an even bigger heart. I’ve listened to and reviewed his earlier
works and enjoyed them all. While his output is not even nearly 100% blues, it
is American roots music and it is delivered from that huge heart of his. His
compositions reflect his emotions and feelings, from pains and emotion of a lost
love to the primal urges between a man and a woman...Working to a calendar would
stifle the creative juices of most songwriters, but Lorenz seems up to the
challenge...his songs allow us to see through the window to a bygone era in
music. We have some songs that could easily be work songs sung in the field and
certainly all of the songs could be played on the front porch or before a warm
fire with family and friends, allowing them to evoke the gamut of human
feelings. Vocally, Todd has a big instrument. He has power and enunciates the
lyrics with clarity and a folky tonal quality. His finger and thumb work on the
guitar strings are excellent as is his mastery of the slide. Whether bending a
note, playing a blues riff or playing accompaniment to a folk song, his guitar
play is both precise and colorful. (full review here)
Steve Jones
Crossroads Blues Society
52 songs in 52 weeks is a Herculean effort, and Todd Lorenz
proved that he was up to the task. I’ve listened to all four volumes now
(I reviewed V1 and V2 in our November-December 2008 Crossroads Blues Society
Newsletter) and I can honestly say that this was a true labor of love...What
impressed me most on these newest CDs (and really in all of Todd’s body of
work) is his meticulous guitar work. Whether Lorenz is playing the blues, rock,
or folk, his guitar work seems to float and flow effortlessly. It amazes me to
hear the fine fingering and picking. He is a bear of man, but the gentleness and
touch he has with the six strings belie his size and power. The guitar prowess
he displays continues to improve and refine with time. I think you’ll be
impressed with it...His voice is also quite unique. In the lower registers he
growls and evokes some darkness with the deep natural timbers of his
voice...It’s worth checking these CD’s out. You can sample them on the web.
Todd is a very good musician who worked to find himself with all these songs
last year and he has done a darn good job! (about Twenty Aught Eight,
V3 & V4 - full review here)
Steve Jones
Crossroads Blues Society
Twenty Aught Eight is an acoustic project made up primarily of Todd Lorenz and his guitar. One would expect that the pressure of releasing one song per week would create a barrier to strong, consistent songwriting, but the recorded evidence is quite to the contrary. Twenty Aught Eight V.1 and V.2 contain consistently strong songwriting and performances from Todd Lorenz...Todd Lorenz is a unique and brave artist who warrants further attention. The Twenty Aught Eight project is highly recommended listening, and is as fine example of the raw creative process as we've had the pleasure to hear here at Wildy's World.