Fri. June 13

Wondering where the roots-rockin' blues band the Tarbox Ramblers - which plays Johnny D's Friday June 13 - have been? Us, too. We posed the question to the band's leader and namesake, singer-guitarist Michael Tarbox. He e-mailed us: "Local Tarbox Ramblers shows have been fewer and further between lately, mostly because our bass player, Scott McEwen, and our drummer, Robby Cosenza, are southern boys, living in Tennessee and Kentucky respectively. It's a drag having those guys so far away in the sense that we can't just set up a Boston show whenever we want,  or put together a quick three- or four-day run down the east coast; we only get together in the context of longer tours, which provide enough money to subsidize the cost of transporting three people to and from different parts of the country. Which means we only play Boston a few times a year.  Still,  the group's chemistry makes the tradeoff worthwhile.

Tarbox continues; " In the absence of easy access to the band,  my local shows have been either solo efforts or duos with drummers. It's all good - I find that almost any format works for the music I play.  The Tarbox Ramblers have always played songs with a certain stark quality, and the duo lets me amplify that aspect of things.  There's some overlap between what I do with the band and what I play solo,  though when playing alone I place more emphasis on the new songs I've written than the traditional music near and dear to The Ramblers. 

We recorded many of the new songs last year at The Fry Pharmacy Studios, in Old Hickory, Tennessee.  Old Hickory's a fifteen-minute drive from Nashville,  out by the lake where Johnny Cash and June Carter made their home.  As you might guess, the studio's name comes from the pharmacy which once occupied its space, operating from about 1930 until the early '60s. The place was shuttered for over forty years,  and still has enough ghosts to keep recording interesting.  Most of the songs we cut were simple and acoustic, with a stripped-down dusty sound befitting the studio surroundings. We hope to have a new CD out this year." The JD's show starts at 9:45. Tickets: $10.

17 Holland St., Somerville, 617-776-2004 www.johnnyds.com