By their prolific standards, not releasing a new record for 4 months is almost as long a drought as when the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies team lost 23 consecutive games. Eventually Gene Mauch's side beat the Milwaukee Braves 7-4 to end that losing streak and Mike Patton's Vista Blue have triumphantly returned with a new record.
Recorded by Mike and Mark in Nashville last month, the new record is a 9 track baseball themed album with a release date designed to coincide with Major League Baseball's Opening Day. It isn't their first baseball themed release (and I doubt it'll be their last), the guys have a great love of the game and that shines through in the songs. Even the band name, Vista Blue, comes from Mike and his brother Todd's local park team from when they were growing up. Titled Wonderband, you can find the new album on Bandcamp. As with all Vista Blue releases it's very generously pitched as name your price https://wearevistablue.bandcamp.com/album/wonderband
Below you'll find a video, put together by Joe Wellington, for a song which is a tribute to David Ortiz. Nicknamed Big Papi, Ortiz is a recently retired designated hitter who played MLB for Minnesota Twins and then the Boston Red Sox. He hit 541 home runs including a Red Sox season record of 54, set during the 2006 season. He was the MVP in the 2013 World Series. For those that don't know, in baseball, teams are permitted to have one player, the designated hitter, who's sole role is to take the place of the pitcher in the batting line up. A great way to make a lot of money without hardly having to play at all, but when you can hit a ball as far as Ortiz, no one was complaining.
Later this year, Vista Blue are planning to release their first 12" (on Something To Do Records) which will be titled Seasons and feature some of the music they recorded over the last couple of years. They're considering themed football, covers and children's song releases. Oh, there may also be a split 7" with The Zambonis timed to coincide with the 2018 Winter Olympics and featuring songs about curling!
Combining the punk simplicity of The Ramones with the pop sensibilities of Weezer, this is Designated Hitter....
It might sound crazy
But I don't even own a glove
Some people think I'm lazy
But hitting's just the thing I love
And I bat four times every night
I never have to play in left or right
I never have to dive to catch
And stand to make a throw
Cause I'm the designated hitter whoa oh
It might sound funny
But all I do is hit the ball
I make a lot of money
And I barely have to play at all
And I come in late every day
I spend most of my time at the buffet
Nobody ever asks me to shag flies
Cause they all know
Cause I'm the designated hitter whoa oh
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