Wisconsin duo 20 Watt Tombstone is preparing for a major artistic shift with their forthcoming album The Chosen Few. This record marks a deliberate move away from their self-described “death blues” roots toward a more polished, “straight-up rock and roll” sound, echoing the style of contemporaries like Rival Sons and Clutch.
This change did not emerge from convenience but from creative necessity. Frontman Tom Jordan admitted he felt “stuck in that box” after writing an entire album’s worth of material that sounded too much like their previous work. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he initiated a radical experiment: soliciting drum tracks from different musicians. The goal was to disrupt the long-standing cohesion he shared with drummer Mitch Ostrowski after thirteen years together. According to Jordan, this approach “forced me to come out of my box a little bit and write differently.”
The confidence to embrace such a transformation stems from a core artistic philosophy. Influenced by advice from Joe Bonamassa, Jordan came to believe that true fans will follow creative growth. This mindset empowered him to prioritize authenticity over the constraints of genre labels, pursuing evolution rather than repetition.
Supporting this sonic reinvention is a carefully crafted technical foundation. In the absence of a bass player, Jordan relies on his gear: a chambered Gretsch guitar providing the low-end, driven through high-powered Orange amps into 600-watt cabinets loaded with Eminence Swamp Thang speakers. He credits this setup for delivering the massive low frequencies needed to achieve the band’s signature two-piece power.
