“Running Out Of Time” was written and recorded in an Austin liquor store. Tucked away in a neighborhood on the east side of town, the off-hours workspace had become a refuge for San Gabriel’s James Bookert during a time of uncertainty after his former band, Whiskey Shivers, was forced off the road due to the pandemic.
“I found myself at a crossroads,” says Booker. “Do I continue playing with a well-oiled touring machine that’s been at it for nearly a decade, or do I fully commit to my efforts as San Gabriel?”
There’s a bit more to the story than that. In addition to a small acting role in the 2017 film Pitch Perfect 3, Booker also played a big part in the recording and production of the Whiskey Shivers songs that appeared on its soundtrack. He came away from the experience wanting more, and that laid the groundwork for San Gabriel. A health scare pretty much made the decision for him.
“After a string of seizures that led to a seizure-disorder diagnosis and waking up in a hospital bed surrounded by my family, it became abundantly clear to me how short life is,” says Booker. “At that moment, I made the decision to fully commit myself to that path.”
Now living in Ashland, Ore., Booker is prepping San Gabriel’s debut album, Nights And Weekends, for an August 15 release via Share It Music. And if the wind-tunnel vocal effects, jittery new-wave guitar and lo-fi edge of “Running Out Of Time” are any indication, he couldn’t be venturing farther afield from the rugged “trashcan” bluegrass of Whiskey Shivers.
“The song is my coming to realize that life is short, and that I want to fill my time with things that fulfill me as a person,” says Booker.
We’re proud to premiere San Gabriel’s “Running Out Of Time.”
—Hobart Rowland
