Band's new album set for release in August

You never know where you may find things in Danville. Take for example, a recording studio above a pizza shop. In that very studio on Main street, Jim Duff and the Necessities recorded their sophomore album, “Rise Up.” It is set for release toward the end of August.“We’re pretty excited to be able to make records here in Danville, Kentucky,” said Jim Duff. “I just felt like Danville was right on the cusp of great things happening. It’s a great vibe here. It’s kind of an artsy little town and I love it.”Jim Duff and the Necessities are a band whose music includes hints of blues, rock and jazz, along with traditional country. The majority of the band’s members live in Nashville, Tenn. Duff and his son Waylon are the only two Danville residents in the band. “I’ve been playing with this band for the past three years,” said Duff. “We’ve toured all over the southeast and already have one album under our belt called ‘Jim Duff & the Necessities.’”The band recently released a new single titled “Rise Up” that, according to Duff, has been getting good radio play. It will be out on iTunes Aug. 30.Duff said fans can expect more energy in this new album, as well as more funky, jazz-driven music. “Lyrically, the songs are much better. Most of the songs I wrote almost 10 years ago,” said Duff. “This is going to be the first album with them that I did some co-writing with the bass player Seth Thomas. We co-wrote two songs together.”Duff enjoys writing music as much as he enjoys playing it. “I can’t really write music or songs without really living. My inspiration is life,” said Duff.Take, for example, “Rise Up.” Duff said he wrote the song after experiencing some hard times. “The song is about some stuff I was going through at the time,” said Duff. “I had ran into some difficulties in the telecom industry. I worked in that industry, too. Things started to slow down for us in that business so the song reflects that by saying, ‘Hey, we took one on the chin but we’re going to rise up again — wait and see.’”Duff credits his love for music to his family. “My parents, both of my parents, influenced me heavily in music. My mom played music. My father didn’t play a note but he had this marvelous record collection that he handed down to me,” said Duff. “My grandfather played music heavily. He was a very accomplished musician. He played the fiddle.”As far as artists who inspire him, Duff says he could go on all day.”The biggest influence is Waylon Jennings. When it comes to country I love Waylon,” Duff explained. “Jimi Hendrix was a big influence of mine in high school (when I was) wanting to play guitar. “Song writers? Townes Van Zandt. Bands? Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Guy Clark, and more.”All of these influences and many others can be heard in “Rise Up.” “The release date will probably be Aug. 30. That’s when our single ‘Rise Up’ will be on iTunes and it could be sooner — it depends on how iTunes works with us,” said Duff. “We’ll let folks know. We’ve gotten over 7,000 ReverbNation page fans, (and)¿4,000-5,000 fans on our Facebook, so we have a lot of folks that we’ll be able to let know when our album will be released through those networks.”In addition to the new album, Jim Duff and the Necessities recently have recorded a video. “We signed a deal with a booking agent in Nashville ... and they recorded an electronic press kit video,” said Duff.Up next for the band is promoting its album and trying to get gigs at casino shows and bigger festivals. They will perform July 9 at Joe’s Fourth Street Deli and Tap. “That will be our first show this year in Danville and we’ll be playing a lot of new cuts off the album,” said Duff.