We are very excited to announce guitarist's Mike Null's three-month musical sabbatical to China!

Mike is taking his satellite project, humbly named "The Mike Null Blues Band," to the other side of the world to play The House of Blues and Jazz in Shang Hai until December! You can learn more about his trip and follow him as he funks up the Orient at his blog. We've also enlisted him to do some on-location reporting for us about what it's like to be a young, good-looking, killer American guitar player in the most populated city in the most populated country in the world. And we've given him specific instructions to GET US A GIG in China! So check back here for more updates from our roving six-stringer. We wish you all the best, Mike, and as Confucious says, "He who breaks a leg, must sit down to play." Or something like that...

"What on earth will you do without Mike?" you might ask? Never fear, for the 'Slacks always pull it off with the grace and soul that's kept us running for eight long years now. We're pleased as punch to announce our fill-in "acting" guitar ace, Mike Duke. Mr. Duke has a very long and impressive musical resume, having been the musical director and guitarist for Johnny Adams and Mighty Sam McClain, and having performed with the likes of Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, Cab Calloway, The Coasters, The Drifters, and dozens of New Orleans artists. Mike Null's sabbatical offers us the chance to perform with (and for our fans to witness) a tried and tested veteran guitarist of the American soul and funk scene. We're truly thrilled. Come check us out over the next couple of months and let us know what you think!

And be sure to wish Mike Null the best of luck out there in Chinatown. Come home safe!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAN YOU DIG IT? THE CHICKEN SLACKS FIND THEIR OWN FUNKY SOUND

The new 13-track album from Boston's hardest-working
funk and soul band is on sale now at several online outlets and in stores on January 27th...

BOSTON, Mass. - December 16, 2008. A year in the making, Can You Dig It? is the culmination of the latest chapter of the now seven-year 'Slacks saga, closing a year that could be considered one of their best. With the 3rd anniversary of their Thursday night residency at The Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, The Chicken Slacks also starred in a short "rockumentary" (available on their website), and will appear as the wedding band in the upcoming Hollywood film Bride Wars starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway.

"We worked very hard to make this record sound like us  - with all the energy, humor, and groove that our fans have come to appreciate," says Justin Berthiaume, the band's drummer and manager (and only remaining founding member). "We've gone through a lot of personnel changes over the years, but this current lineup has a chemistry and comraderie that really shines. That's unusual in a band, and you can hear this on the CD."

Can You Dig It? mixes original songs penned by the band with their own take on several obscure covers, some of which one may not think of as classic soul or funk. The CD opens with a surprisingly soulful Captain Beefheart tune "Too Much Time", and track 9 has singer Diamond D crooning Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See The Light". Throughout the CD the band stays true to the classic themes of the soul and funk genre: love and heartbreak (Diamond D's "I'm In Love" and trumpeter and vocalist John Moriconi's "Only A Fool Gets To Heaven"), tongue-in-cheek sexual innuendo ("Going To The Shack" and Berthiaume's "I Wanna Take A Shower With You"), and social justice (Diamond D's "Tragedy") all get their due.

Even the CD artwork alludes to The Chicken Slacks long story. Inside, the 3-panel fold-out features a collage of 'Slacks fans boogying down against a backdrop silhouette of the Boston skyline. "It's a nod to our fans and to our city," explained Berthiaume. "We love them and we wanted them to feel a part of this CD."

Can You Dig It? is now on sale at The Chicken Slacks shows and at several online outlets, and will be available in stores and online January 27.