Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
Photo: BMG

Since the release of Time to Discover in the spring of 2000, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise have had their record label, manager and two of their founding members leave them. Bradley, the voice behind the 1997 hit "Once Upon a Time," thought about hanging up his well-worn hat, until he realized he would not only be leaving his passion, he would be losing his vision.

"One of the great things about being in the music business and being blind is that you really get a chance to see," Bradley, who was born blind, said Tuesday, the day his latest album hit shelves.

"Most blind people hang out with other blind people. Here I am always with sighted people. I'm on the road and they're like, 'Look at that, look at that.' I say, 'Don't just say that, tell me what it is so I can get some joy out of it.' I don't care if it's a blue sky, I want to know when it is clear or when it is cloudy. I want to know what kind of trees are those we're passing, what's out there. It's like a window to the world being in this band. I enjoy a great time with these guys, 'cause they're always looking at something. And they don't always tell me, but I ask."

When Michael and Andrew Nehra, the original guitarist and bassist of the Blackwater Surprise, told the band last year they wanted to spend less time on the road and more time with their families and in recording studios producing other bands, Bradley knew he had to find replacements if the band was to continue.

"For this band to work, you need to stay on the road," Bradley said. "You have to keep spreading the word, 'cause we don't know where this music is. It's hard to label it. A lot of people say blues or whatever, but it's just a mix."

Bradley and drummer Jeff Fowlkes, who brought the soulful singer to the band after hearing him sing on a street corner (see "Robert Bradley Follows Streets Of Detroit To Recording Career"), didn't look far to replenish the Blackwater Surprise, recruiting guitar technician Matt Ruffino, road manager (and Shannon Curfman bassist) Tom Wilber and keyboardist Randy Sly.

Since the Nehra brothers had produced the band's first two studio albums, 1996's self-titled effort and Time to Discover (2000), Bradley and company had to find an outside producer and selected Jay Joyce (John Hiatt, Patty Griffin). At Joyce's Nashville studio, the band worked on advancing its sound, a bluesy blend of rock and R&B that has won over fans from Dave Matthews, who took them on the road, to Kid Rock, a longtime friend and Detroit neighbor who appeared on Time to Discover and had the band on his Devil Without a Cause (see "Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise Talks Kid Rock").

On their latest, New Ground, the Blackwater Surprise embrace pop and hip-hop styles, like the record scratches and haunting reverb on "Profile," the groovy chorus ("Motion of the ocean/ Free my soul") on "Ride My Wave," and the conversational tone of "Lindy."

"The reason we gave it the title New Ground is we're using a little new, different types of things," said Bradley, who turns 52 next week. "We wanted to get something for the younger people to come in and listen to, some real music, but use some things that they like to hear and kind of bring them in. 'Cause there's not too much real music left around. The labels are like an assembly line kind of thing. Hopefully, our old fans won't get pissed off."

To ensure that they wouldn't abandon their loyal following, the Blackwater Surprise recorded a few of their signature love stories, like the heartache anthem "See Her" and the more hopeful "Young Girls." Bradley even convinced the band to record "Born in America," a song he wrote on the first day of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.

With its snare drum rumble and chorus of "It's so good to be born in America/ Where all men are free/ It's so good to be born in America/ Home of the red, white and blue," the song is fitting for a post-September 11 world. The song even pays tribute to the New York skyline, although it was recorded last June.

"I just thought it was a great thing that the military tried to go over there and get [the hostages]," Bradley said. "It has a lot more meaning to me after what happened [on September 11]. Maybe this song can uplift some people, 'cause we're just trying to get out and spread a little love around."

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, whose current single is the rollicking "Train," will spread the love on a national tour beginning in mid-March. Before then, the band will play in Royal Oak, Michigan, on February 8, and in Los Angeles on February 16.

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise

Blind bluesman Robert Bradley will take to the turf at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, Monday night to sing the national anthem prior to the Monday Night Football contest between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.

Bradley is on an off-day from touring with his band, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, which is in the midst of a fall trek behind its newest effort, "Time To Discover." The group is mulling a video for the album's second single, "Baby."

Remaining dates for the Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise's current tour:

• 9/21 - Park City, UT @ Harry O's
• 9/22 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
• 9/23 - Santa Fe, NM @ The Paramount
• 9/27 - Austin, TX @ Antone's
• 9/28 - New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina's Uptown
• 9/29 - Birmingham, AL @ Birmingham Southern College
• 9/30 - Atlanta, GA @ Cotton Club
• 10/1 - Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise has just kicked off a tour to support its new album, "Time To Discover," and the first single from the album, the soulful ballad "Baby," has already hit the Top 10 at AAA radio.

The band spent more than two and a half years touring after the release of its eponymous debut in 1996, and frontman Robert Bradley and bassist Andrew Nehra believe that the road brings out both the spiritual and the surreal in its live show.

"Well, you might see some nude dancing girls or some nude dancing guys, 'cause it is the Blackwater Surprise," Bradley told MTV News. "We don't know what you might see [at a show], but one thing is for sure, you will hear some good music, and you'll see some guys that are putting their total heart and soul into it.

"And Andrew will definitely have on a great outfit," Bradley added, joking with his bandmate. "I am designing him clothes as we speak."

"He is," Nehra confirmed. "He's got me some electric Elvis suits going on."

"It's gonna be happening, I'm telling you," Bradley said, laughing. "Without a doubt."

"We're not at the point where we have these huge productions and these huge budgets to spend on our show," Nehra said, "so it basically comes down to the music. When we're onstage, it's more of a spiritual thing, where we can feel it." [RealAudio]

Upcoming dates where you can catch the Blackwater Surprise feeling it in concert:

• 6/28 - San Francisco, CA (private show)
• 6/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
• 6/29 - Scottsdale, AZ (private show)
• 6/30 - Portland, OR @ Waterfront Blues Festival
• 7/1 - Seattle, WA @ Show Box
• 7/4 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
• 7/7 - Minneapolis, MN @ Basilica Block Party
• 7/8 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
• 7/10 - Omaha, NE @ Music Box
• 7/12 - Houston, TX (private show)
• 7/14 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's Down Under
• 7/15 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Pittsburgh Blues Festival
• 7/17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
• 7/18 - Stanhope, NJ @ Stanhope House
• 7/19 - Hampton, VA @ Mill Point Park
• 7/20 - Detroit, MI (private show)
• 7/22 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
• 7/23 - Glenwood Springs, CO @ Grooves & Grass Festival
• 7/29 - Schaumburg, IL @ Curragh

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise has returned with a new rock and blues collection, "Time To Discover," and the Detroit-based band is currently pushing a pair of singles from the record, "Higher" and "Baby."

"Higher" is a more direct rock and roll number that features a guest vocal appearance by the Blackwater Surprise's good friend, Kid Rock (see "Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise Talks Kid Rock"). "Baby," conversely, is a soulful, mid-tempo groove that is reminiscent of the band's R&B breakthrough, "Once Upon A Time."

Frontman Robert Bradley and bassist Andrew Nehra recently talked with MTV News about the "Baby" single, which the duo remembers writing while playing a show in Indiana during a tour to support its self-titled debut.

"We wrote that at a sound check in Bloomington, Indiana, at this place we love to play, The Second Story," Nehra explained. "And we were just playing, and we put it together and started singing the hook. Robert was outside and he [heard] it. He liked it so much that he came inside, so we finished it, put it together, and it was done. We wrote that in about an hour."

"It was real nice," Bradley added, "but Bloomington has always been nice to us, and Bloomington has always given us a good vibe, so...."

"We've actually written a lot of songs for some reason in that city," [RealAudio] Nehra said.

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise

After scoring an MTV hit a few years back with its soulful ballad "Once Upon A Time," the Detroit-based Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise has finally returned with its second effort, "Time To Discover."

Following the release of its first album in 1996, the Blackwater Surprise spent much of its time on the road -- although frontman Robert Bradley did make a guest appearance on Kid Rock's "Devil Without A Cause" LP, as did several other members of the band, including guitarist Mike Nehra and bassist Andrew Nehra.

Kid Rock repaid the favor by guesting on a pair of tracks from "Time To Discover," both the first single, "Higher," and another song, "Tramp 2 ," a cut he actually produced for the Blackwater Surprise after hearing an early demo version.

In a recent interview with MTV News, Robert Bradley and Andrew Nehra talked about the group's association with Kid Rock, a fellow Detroit resident whom the band has known and performed with since the early '90s.

"I met him about a year after I met these guys," Bradley said, "and, you know, he was always a nice guy. We used to go over to his house, go to the bar together, whatever. He wasn't who he is [now], he wasn't famous. He had a little following in Michigan, and we would do some shows together, two or three songs, back in '93, '94, '95 and all that."

We were like, 'Cool, just come on in one day and we'll do it.' So that's what we did. He willingly wanted to contribute, and we accepted it. And if it didn't feel right, it wouldn't have been on the record. It's not on 'cause he's Kid Rock. He's a friend first and foremost."

"Yeah, he would have done it [anyway] if his record wouldn't have sold like it did," Bradley added. "He was still gonna do it. We're still friends, we still hang out together. I saw him the other night at one of the local bars [in Detroit]." [RealAudio]

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise is currently promoting both "Higher" and another new track, titled "Baby," as the first radio singles from "Time To Discover," and Tuesday night the band will launch a tour to support the record in New York City.

Dates where you can catch Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise in April and May:

• 4/18 - New York, NY @ Shine
• 4/19 - Boston, MA @ Karma Lounge
• 4/20 - Boston, MA @ Karma Lounge
• 4/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
• 4/22 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
• 4/27 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
• 4/28 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
• 4/29 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater - KBCO Radio Show
• 5/3 - West Palm Beach, FL @ SunFest
• 5/4 - St. Louis, MO @ St. Louis University
• 5/5 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown Festival
• 5/6 - Roanoke, VA @ Elmwood Park
• 5/7 - Nashville, TN @ River Stages
• 5/20 - Ferndale, MI @ Magic Bag

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
• Kid Rock

As Kid Rock finds himself occupying a brighter spotlight thanks to his current hit "Bawitdaba," he is doing his best to spread the love.

The man they call Kid will help out Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise on that band's next album. Kid has already produced a track called "Tramp" for the blues rockers' upcoming album, "Time To Discover." Kid may also rap on a track on the album, though it remains to be seen if that will take place.

While the rap-flavored metal of Kid Rock and the soulful blues-rock of Robert Bradley may have little in common, the two acts forged a friendship when both were coming up in Detroit.

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise
• Kid Rock

October 28 [12:00 EDT] -- While others come into music with dreams of stardom, Robert Bradley was just trying to survive.

The 47-year-old blind singer currently fronts Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, but he recently told MTV News that he took his steps toward a career in music, and found his bandmates, on the streets of Detroit.

"Disability for the blind, you know, you can get a little check or a little Medicaid or something like that, that's what they was going on in. The government said I was dead so they cut all that off, and that's the reason why I went off and started doing what I was doing, and it took them like nine months before they found out that I wasn't dead," Bradley said.

"So they started sending back again, but it was too late. I was hooked. I was hooked, and so I been doing it ever since and that's how I met these guys. .

Robert Bradley and his Blackwater Surprise went on to land a recording contract with RCA Records, and recently released their self-titled debut album. The group also recently won over MTV's "12 Angry Viewers" with their new video, "Once Upon A Time" [800k QuickTime]. Bradley and company return to the road on November 5 in Springfield, Missouri.

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise