Blessid Union of Souls Recapturing the emotion

June 26, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

NILES

After a string of radio favorites in the late ’90s, Blessid Union of Souls went low-profile for much of the 2000s. But the band is working on a new CD — one that will take it back to its roots.

“The record is probably going to be an extension of our first CD [“Home”], in that the songs are all more spiritually based,” frontman Evan Sloan told The Vindicator. “It will more than likely be promoted as a Contemporary Christian CD.”

He described the new songs as “classic Blessid Union with piano and strings with lots of emotion, lyrically and musically. We involved a lot of orchestral strings with some of the songs, and there will be a good mixture of slow to up-tempo songs.”

BUOS is in the process of writing and recording and is shooting for an end-of-summer release.

Recording is being done in Cincinnati with producer Mark Liggett, who was the band’s manager for its first four records — when Blessid Union had its most success.

“We intend on doing some non-traditional promotion as well as going to radio for this record, and we’re seeking out new audiences in the arena of faith-based listeners as well as the millions of fans who are already familiar with our music,” said Sloan.

Best-known for its 1999 hit “Hey Leonardo [She Likes Me for Me],” the Cincy-based rockers will headline the Mahoning Valley Rib Burn Off tonight.

Those who go can expect to hear their old favorites, as well as some new material. “We’ll be playing a lot of the hits from the first three records we released from 1995 to 1999, including ‘Light In Your Eyes,’ ‘I Believe,’ ‘Hey Leonardo’ and ‘Let Me Be the One,’ as well as some not everyone has heard from our independent releases we did in the last three years,” said Sloan. “We try to put on a solid, energetic show, throwing in a few surprises of new songs and song arrangements.”

Blessid Union is keeping a light summer schedule, doing mostly outdoor shows, as it continues to work on the new record. A fall tour is being planned to coincide with its release.

Tonight’s show is one of the few on its slate, and Sloan said the band is looking forward to visiting Northeast Ohio.

“We have so much appreciation for our fans, especially up in the northern Ohio area, as they have been supportive of us throughout our career,” he said.