Biography

Tim Lake - We All Need Heroes
Release Date: 2005

The purpose of this singer-songwriter/banjo recording project is twofold. First, Tim Lake wanted to create a collection of original songs that would address the spiritual issues that we all confront daily during these turbulent times. Therefore, there are four songs that are inspired by the events of what is now referred to as “9/11.” The series begins with “We All Need Heroes” (Track 4) and ends with “If Only I Was A Praying Man” (Track 7). The second objective of this recording is to explore the role of the banjo in American popular music. “It’s You” employees the four-string plectrum banjo in an early twentieth century style while unique five-string banjo accompaniments are juxtaposed with inventive solos such as the raucous banjo solo on “Who’s The Lord Get To Talk To?”

We All Need Heroes

1. Are You Ready? 4:38

2. It’s You 2:32

3. They Will Always Love You 3:31

4. We All Need Heroes 4:15

5. Praise The Lord & Shoot To Kill 5:36

6. Two GIs In A Foreign Prison 2:07

7. If Only I Was A Praying Man 3:00

8. Only Eat When You’re Hungry 4:13

9. Annette And Me 2:41

10. That’s Why I’m Smiling 4:35

11. Sail For The Lord 2:36

12. Outside Looking In 5:34

13. When I Think of You 2:21

14. Who’s The Lord Get To Talk To? 8:17

15. When We Make Love 4:39

16. Ain’t Nobody Normal Anymore 4:15

17. After All 4:00

All songs, words and music written by Tim Lake and published by Padraig Publishing, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved.

Musicians:

Tim Lake - five string and four string plectrum banjos, guitar, ukulele, slide whistle, and lead and background vocals

Dave Anderson - clarinet, oboe, alto, tenor and soprano saxes

Tripp Bratton - all percussion: congas, dejimbe, deng deng, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, shaker and wood block

Rick Cook - Trumpet

Jay Flippin - piano, organ and string arrangements

Bob Hackett - Tuba

John Heinrich - steel guitar

Ken Holbrook - fiddle, mandolin and lead acoustic and electric guitars

Charlette's Web - Charlette and Danielle Thompson - background vocals

Nathan Wilson - bass and background vocals

Children's voices: Sheehan Lake, Luke and Eli Francis, and Ben and Elliott Mawby

Produced, engineered, and digitally edited by Tim Lake for Lake's Sake Productions

Recorded at Pad's Place

Mixed and Mastered by John Roper, Digital Dream Studios, Montclair, NJ

Additional Mastering at Greer Mastering Studios, Montclair, NJ

Art direction and design by Gerald Muir Creative, Tampa, FL and Helen Dean Design, St. Petersburg, FL

Photography by Lee Thomas, Lexington, KY

Reviews

We All Need Heroes “It’s a big plus that Lake, besides being a clever, tuneful writer, knows how to dress up these songs in a broad variety of arrangements. We All Need Heroes successfully dips into a number of styles to create an album that’s easy on the ears but never insults your intelligence.”
—Ronald Lankford, Jr., Sing Out!, Fall 2005 Vol. 49 #3



We All Need Heroes “Lake has assembled a collection of 17 original songs that delve into a variety of subject matter from politics and religion to social values, history, children, love and life conjuring up many moods and feelings and Lake’s voice and stellar banjo work are comfortable in all of these settings. Highly recommended.”
—Kevin Kerfoot, Bluegrass Music Profiles, September/October 2005



“Lake has been plucking all over the US, Japan, Ecuador, Norway, and Austria, all the while actively redefining the possibilities of one of the few truly American instruments. What came out of this experimentation would eventually become Lake’s doctoral piece: An American Concerto for Five-string Banjo and Orchestra.”
–Arkady Pritsker, International Musician, September 2005



We All Need Heroes
“We All Need Heroes,” the latest album from Tim Lake, fuses bluegrass, gospel, country, rock, pop, and light jazz behind his singing voice on all-original material. With sultry, bluesy and soulful vocalizing, Lake is also somewhat of a political spokesman with songs like “If Only I was a Praying Man,” “Praise the Lord and Shoot to Kill,” “Two GIs in a Foreign Prison” and the title cut. He also presents some tender love sentiments, gospel, and other messages that are creative and unique (“Ain’t Nobody Normal Anymore”). A typical arrangement has Lake’s banjo and vocals layered with piano, pedal steel, percussion and other instruments. Lake addresses the spiritual issues that we all confront daily during turbulent times. Four of his songs were inspired by the 9/11 tragedy. He also successfully explores the role of the banjo in American popular music, with the 4-string plectrum banjo played in “It’s You,” while the 5-string is more frequently used. “They Will Always Love You” is a personal favorite due to its contemporary bluegrass feeling. With nearly 70 minutes of music on this album, you’re bound to find some melodies and lyrics to personally relate to.
–Joe Ross, Joe Ross Reviews, November 2005



We All Need Heroes “Tim Lake is a folksinger with a song to sing, a man on a mission on We All Need Heroes. He can be a broad social critic and satirist, as on the first cut, a straight singer/songwriter on “It’s You,” and a storyteller on the title cut. Lake also has a knack for adding politics to the mix without being overly obvious. We All Need Heroes is a well-wrought collection by a thoughtful performer, and will be warmly welcomed by good liberals and folk fans tired of the same old same old.
–Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide, MSN



We All Need Heroes “Sonically, he explores a varied palette of banjo styles from plectrum to swing to bluegrass to support these and other songs in the collection. These other songs, all originals, are a bit like the broadside ballads of an earlier time, themed around contemporary politics and spiritual questions and grounded in the images of daily life. Lake’s work is straightforward, heartfelt, and consistent. He can really play the banjo, too.”
–Kerry Dexter, Dirty Linen Magazine, June/July 2005 #118



We All Need Heroes “Virtuoso 5-string banjoist Lake’s latest is a remarkable collection of 17 instrumentals and songs. This CD is nigh onto indescribable, except to say that it’s impossible not to enjoy it and want to leave it in the ol’ CD player for days on end. A wonder!”
–Mitch Finley, The Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association, May/June 2005



We All Need Heroes “Tim Lake has spent a career redefining the banjo’s musical territory. On We All Need Heroes, Lake continues his imaginative songwriting. The album features a diverse collection of tunes ranging from the bluesy “Outside Looking In” to the sweet “When I Think Of You.” The centerpiece of the disc is a four-song suite inspired by the events of September 11 (anchored by the sardonic “Praise The Lord and Shoot To Kill.”). Lake dispenses all kinds of front-porch wisdom and is equally adept at humor and earnestness, but the obvious draw of his music is his incredible banjo playing. “Heroes” features a number of solos that give the listener a wonderful taste of the banjo’s versatility.”
–Kory Wilcoxson, Louisville Music News, May 2005



We All Need Heroes John Shelton Ivany’s Top 10 Recommended Albums (Mar.3-Mar. 10, 2005) – Tim Lake, We All Need Heroes, Padraig

Foust Concert Series brings Dr. Tim Lake to chapel “Dr. Tim Lake brought his Bluegrass music talents to Hill Chapel last Thursday evening in a concert that was part of the Foust Concert Series. In perhaps the most interesting two performances of the evening, Lake, Holbrook and Wilson combined Handel’s Messiah with Dueling Banjos in one song and infused Vivaldi and Bluegrass with one another. Needless to say, all in attendance had a great time with the lively Bluegrass music, and it would be great to see Lake back next year.”
–Patrick Purcell, The Georgetonian

About the Artist – Tim Lake

Tim Lake is a singer-songwriter, composer, performer, and teacher who was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Playing banjo and guitar, Tim has been a professional musician for over 40 years, has released eleven albums of original songs, and has performed internationally and across the United States with his group “The Little Big Band.”

Tim received a doctorate in music in 1991 from the University of Kentucky. In 1993, he performed and recorded the world premiere of his doctoral work, “An American Concerto For 5-String Banjo And Orchestra,” with the Atlanta-Emory Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1995, his concerto was awarded Kentucky’s prestigious Al Smith Fellowship for music composition and he has also received recognition as a composer from ASCAP’s Standard and Popular Awards panel from 1994 through 2017.

Rounder Records released Tim’s first recording entitled “Same Old Roadside Inn” and in 1993, Tim started his own company, Padraig Records LLC, which has since released seven compact disc/cassette recordings. His recording efforts are very diverse in scope but easily fall within an ‘eclectic folk’ and Americana category in that they are unique banjo related efforts. “Jazz With Bluegrass And Blues” has as its major focus the singer-songwriter and banjo player attributes of his music while the “banjo concerto” and selections such as his banjo arrangement of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” should intrigue classical aficionados as well. The Padraig Records/ Audio Park release entitled “Live In Tokyo, Japan” features two duets with Japanese traditional musicians on shakuhachi and shamisen while “Kentucky Home” is a two CD set that is Tim’s first recording to feature primarily traditional music. He has received acclaim from respected music critics such as Nat Hentoff, Paul E. Comeau, and John Lupton.

Tim’s trio plays an eclectic mix of American music presented in an original show on banjo, guitar, bass, fiddle, and mandolin. The recording “Jazz With Bluegrass And Blues” best demonstrates his live show. A typical performance will take the listener through original songs with thought provoking lyric content, to Classical music on the banjo, to Jazz, and finally, to Bluegrass and Blues.

As a banjo artist, songwriter, and composer of the highest order, Tim Lake has performed his brand of American music with Kentucky style in international music festivals and concerts all over the world, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokosuka, Japan; Ambato and Quito, Ecuador; Bø, and Oslo, Norway; Graz, Austria; and Wexford, Ireland. His form of American music, boundless and refreshing, will always be welcomed by world audiences.

Education
D.M.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1991.
Major: Music composition.

M.M., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1988.
Major: Music composition.

B.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1987.
Major: History.

B.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1983
Major: Music.

Contact Information:

Tim Lake
Padraig Records, LLC
P. O. Box 31
Wilmore, KY 40390
Phone/Fax: 859-858-0118/cell 859-797-6505
web site: www.TimLake.com
email: TimLakePAD@aol.com