November 5, 2020

“Nite Train is back on track with their certified bluesified 7 track CD. With blues originals like “Cat on a mission”, “Stay Even”, “Love Me Baby” and “Right Where You Wanna Be” the band continues to keep the blues alive and well in the North Country.”

– Sonny Speed, Host of “Stormy Monday Blues“ @ WRPI – 91.5 FM – Troy, NY

Nite Train with Thomasina Winslow Prepare

Cat On A Mission
For Release on December 11, 2020 

Nite Train with Thomasina Winslow has taken its music to new heights first with the addition of 2019 Eddie award nominee Thomasina Winslow to their line-up in mid-2019 and then by recording this dynamic new 7-piece line-up on a rockin’ blues and funk CD “Cat on a Mission” in early 2020.  Excitement is high for fans as the band is releasing the CD to the masses just in time for the holidays.

“The majority of the Cat On A Mission music was recorded unbeknownst to us at the time but most certainly ‘just under the wire’ in February and March of 2020 just prior to the news of the pandemic hitting the U.S.” said Nite Train with Thomasina Winslow’s band-leader, Ken Briggs.

The title track of the CD was inspired by the Briggs family’s blind cat, Alexei who was adopted late last year.  “Alexei is a joy to have around and we’re amazed at how, despite being blind, he uses all of his remaining senses to navigate his world.  He has memorized the location of all the furniture in the house but is occasionally stymied by a misplaced chair or an open kitchen cabinet.  We admire his bravery as he will leap from his 6-foot cat tower into the abyss without hesitation despite not exactly knowing how he’ll land. Writing songs about animals has proven effective for me and really strikes a chord with our audiences.”, says Briggs, whose first CD (“Best Man”, 2007) featured the popular “Junkyard Dog”, a song inspired by his golden retriever/black lab mix Midnight Chance who sadly passed this October. “Animals form a magical bond with their owners and people definitely relate to these songs.”  The CD digipack contains a special memorial tribute to Midnight (“Middy”) and a special “nod” to Alexei the cat (a.k.a. the “Cat On A Mission”.) Briggs says he is incredibly proud of this CD and features what he considers the best line-up of Nite Train musicians yet. Featured musicians are:

Thomasina Winslow (guitar/vocals),
Marla Briggs (vocals),
Al Kash (drums/percussion),
Paul Quigley (rhythm & lead guitars),
Mike Kelley (keyboards),
Marcus Benoit (saxophone),
Ken Briggs (bass/vocals).

Briggs gives an Ode to Memphis Minnie with his song “Truck Trouble”

Briggs provides what he calls an Ode to Memphis Minnie in his song “Truck Trouble” which was inspired by a breakdown of Nite Train’s truck on a visit to Steve Daub’s WRPI Stormy Monday Blues show in Troy a few years back. Listeners are hearkened back to Minnie’s “What’s the Matter with the Mill” in the lyrics of this throwback song. 

The group is elated to have more than one songwriter on this project. Two of the songs on the CD are written by Thomasina Winslow.  She says of her song “Right Where You Wanna Be”: “This song is a celebration of those moments when you find balance in your life. In those moments you can hardly contain your own excitement that you are in that place that is ‘Right Where You Wanna Be’!”.

Thomasina Winslow offers a celebration of lifes’ moments with her song “Right Where You Wanna Be”

As for the song, “Stay Even”, Thomasina says “I wrote this song based on a phrase that came to my mind when a friend who was struggling with medical issues asked me ‘is there anything that comes to your mind when you focus on what I can do to get through this?’ My response was that I keep getting the message “Stay Even.” From there, the verses just flowed and Nite Train brought it to life just as I envisioned it sounding and feeling.”

Thomasina Winslow’s “Stay Even” Offers Hope to get you through the Tough Times!

Two songs on the CD deal with relationships. On “Love Me Baby (Stop Driving Me Crazy), Briggs explores a relationship of a couple madly in love with each other and yet simultaneously struggling to preserve their sanity.  Briggs says “Gone So Long” is about a time when he and his wife, Marla, were engaged but living hundreds of miles apart and the difficulties that situation can pose. 

Briggs & Quigley Offer “Bonus Track” to 46ers with their song “46r”

Briggs says that there is a “bonus” song on the album in “46r”.  This song features acoustic and electric guitar composed by Paul Quigley and lyrics by Briggs which he says draws from his experiences reaching 42 Adirondack High Peaks summits as an “aspiring 46er” himself with fellow hikers including his wife and a myriad of his friends over the last 24 years. Briggs says he was optimistically planning to become a 46er in 2020. Sadly, however, the pandemic has pushed his plans to reach that goal out to 2021 but he hopes 46ers and aspiring 46ers enjoy he and Quigley’s song inspired by the famous Adirondack High Peaks climbing group.

Songs on the new Cat On A Mission CD:

For more information, interviews and correspondence, please contact: Ken Briggs ken.briggsy@gmail.com 518.320.4647