Mike Sponza & Central European Orchestra - Running On Empty (Live)

A veritable, out and out orchestra, with all the usual trappings, violins, cellos, brass instruments, back vocals, percussions and ... a blues band. This is Mike Sponza’s way of celebrating thirty years of music: when he bought his first guitar, back in 1983, he would never have thought that one day his songs would be arranged for and performed by a 30-element orchestra. But that’s exactly what has happened! When, in 2012, Slovenian musician Primoz Grasic proposed writing orchestral arrangements for his compositions, Mike immediately started thinking about how he could actually make this happen and produce an album: it hasn’t been easy… it took him more than a year to find the right opportunity and the right partners. The right partners were the newly founded Swiss label “Epops”, who put their trust in Mike’s idea and produced the CD and the DVD. The right opportunity was to be found in Trieste (Italy), on a rainy mid-fall night. Certainly, one must admit that this is an exceedingly ambitious project: on the one hand it breaks away from some of the unwritten rules of Blues music, on the other it allows MIke a leap of daring into bringing to life something really groundbreaking: 14 original tunes, the lyrics written in English by an Italian bluesman, and arranged and performed by Slovenian musicians. There is a lot of music in this recording: Primoz Grasic has a tremendous artistic background, a unique preparation, and such a boundless vision of the orchestra sound to blend a blues quartet with an ensemble of 26 musicians, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Just play it, it’s your music, Mike”. And then we have the special guests: Ian Siegal – we’ve been collaborating since 2006, he doesn’t need an introduction to blues lovers… Also, Lara-B and Lela Klapowitz are two superb singers from Slovenia and Croatia, respectively, bringing their unique backgrounds to this heady mix: it’s been an incredible pleasure for us to discover their dazzling way of performing Mike’s songs.