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OUR CALENDAR
May
25
Thursday
May
26
Friday
May
26
Friday
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May
26
Friday
May
27
Saturday
May
27
Saturday
May
28
Sunday
May
28
Sunday
May
30
Tuesday
5/22
Open Mic
18 & Over | 8 pm
Open Mic
Every* Monday, Nicholas St. James and The Bottleneck host Open Mic! Sign-up at 9:00, music at 9:30.
TWO stages - Main stage and the Bluegrass stage
FULL band (any genre)
Singer-songwriter
Acoustic
Electric
Comedian
JAMS - just show-up with an instrument!
FREE entry
$1.50 pints
45 minute slots available
Amongst the best sound systems in town
Try-out for playing Bottleneck shows
Big venue experience
Pool tables
Contact us with any questions at:
bottleneckopenmic@gmail.com
Instruments must be provided by the musician at this time.
*no open mic will be held if there is a show scheduled.
You MAY NOT sign up any sooner than 2 weeks of the date you wish to play. You may not sign up for two consecutive weeks.
OUR LINKS
5/24
PRIDE
18 & Over | 8 pm
Skating Polly
Skating Polly, a sister duo from Oklahoma made up of Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, formed in 2009 after a jam session at the girls’ Halloween party. Their sophomore album, Lost Wonderfuls, was produced by Exene Cervenka of X and mixed by Kliph Scurlock of The Flaming Lips. Lost Wonderfuls was released in April, 2013. They are now working on their third album, Fuzz Steilacoom, set to be released early 2014. Fuzz Steilacoom was tracked by Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening.
Raised on ‘70s punk and early-‘90s alt-rock, Mayo (age 13) and Bighorse (18) mine inspiration from artists as disparate as Johnny Cash, The Ramones, NWA, Nirvana, and Bikini Kill and saturate their own songs with a raw energy reminiscent of their musical heroes. Skating Polly takes a minimalist approach to songwriting, with the two largely self-taught musicians (Bighorse plays guitar, Mayo plays a guitar/bass hybrid called a basitar, and both girls play drums and piano) crafting super-catchy melodies mainly by “messing around with our instruments and figuring out how to make cool noises,” according to Bighorse. But despite their stripped-down aesthetic, each track on Lost Wonderfuls retains a rich emotionalism that’s at turns brutally in-your-face, gut-wrenchingly tender, and irresistibly fun.
Along with earning the adoration of Cervenka (whom they befriended after attending one of the X singer’s 2010 solo shows and playing their demos on a cell phone), Skating Polly has found fans in Rosanne Cash and Sean Lennon, taken the stage with punk legends like Mike Watt, and opened up for such indie heavy-hitters as Deerhoof and Band of Horses. Tapping Mayo’s dad as their tour manager, the stepsisters typically hit the road with their entire family and optimize their travel time by making up songs on their ukulele.
Both Mayo and Bighorse are intent on ignoring what’s fashionable and staying true to their passion for challenging music with long-lasting appeal. “The musicians we’re most inspired by are the ones who keep on going and going, who devote their entire lives to coming up with new and different stuff,” says Mayo. “A lot of times at our shows people will come up to us and tell us, ‘Keep on doing what you’re doing, don’t ever stop’ and we’re just like, ‘Yeah—we weren’t planning on ever stopping.”
OUR LINKS
Bruiser Queen
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Sluts
The Sluts are a two-piece garage rock/punk/grunge act from Lawrence Fucking Kansas.
OUR LINKS
Wendy Moira
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
5/26
Samantha Fish`s Big Summer Kick Off Party
Samantha Fish
Dumpstaphunk
Southern Avenue
Moreland & Arbuckle
and more TBA
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 6 pm
BUY TICKETS!Samantha Fish`s Big Summer Kick Off Party
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Samantha Fish
Samantha Fish Is Playin’ Up a Storm on New Ruf Records CD, Black Wind Howlin’, Due September 10 Follow-Up Album to Her Blues Music Award-Winning Debut Was Produced by Mike Zito and Features Guest Appearances by Zito, Yonrico Scott, Charlie Wooton and Paul Thorn
KANSAS CITY, MO – Ruf Records announces a September 10 U.S. release date for Black Wind Howlin’, the new CD from blues-rock guitarist/singer Samantha Fish and follow-up to her 2012 Blues Music Award-winning label debut, Runaway. Produced by Mike Zito, who did the same honors on her last album, Black Wind Howlin’ was recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and features Samantha’s blazing guitar and vocals backed by Mike Zito on guitar and vocals, plus his fellow Royal Southern Brotherhood members Yonrico Scott on drums/percussion and Charlie Wooton on bass. Special guests include Paul Thorn on vocals, Johnny Sansone on harmonica and Bo Thomas on fiddle.
Kansas City-based Samantha Fish has been on a major roll ever since she teamed up with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde on Ruf’s 2011 release, Girls with Guitars, and fueled by the trio’s Blues Caravan tour of Europe and the U.S., created an international buzz in the blues world. Later that same year she recorded Runaway, her solo debut on Ruf, which mixed gutsy riff-blues rockers like “Down In The Swamp” with the mellow small-hours jazz of “Feelin’ Alright,” while marinating her songwriting in the groove of the Rolling Stones and even tipping a hat to Heart. “It’s all the sounds I grew up with,” she explained at the time, “with my own spin.” Earlier this year Samantha joined labelmate Devon Allman for a sultry duet of the Tom Petty classic, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” that appeared on Devon’s Turquoise CD and accompanying video.
Hitting a receptive international blues and rock press, Runaway was hailed as a thrilling opening statement, earning a string of rave reviews and radio airplay, climaxed by her winning the Blues Music Award (BMA) for “Best New Artist Debut” in 2012. “I’m truly humbled by the recognition,” Samantha said afterward. “I can barely wait to make record number two…”
Now, the wait is over, as Samantha Fish unleashes a major storm of her trademark guitar work and soulful vocals on Black Wind Howlin’. “It has a rebellious streak,” says the bandleader of her game-changing new album, “and a prevalent theme is, ‘I’m not gonna take your sh*t anymore…’”
No “sophomore slump” here, as Black Wind Howlin’ leaps from the speakers with 12 smoking tracks that chart Samantha’s evolution as songwriter, gunslinger and lyricist. “Since completing Runaway back in 2011, I’ve been on tour pretty much non-stop,” she proclaims. “I’ve spent a lot of time writing, playing and listening to music. I feel like the themes and the sound of my music have matured. To me, it’s about the human experience from my perspective, as well as people I’ve come into contact with over the last few years.”
Rather than trying to duplicate what she accomplished on her first success, Samantha re-defines her sound throughout the tracks on Black Wind Howlin’. She can be brutally rocking on cuts like the tour bus snapshot of “Miles To Go” (“Twelve hours to Reno/ten hours til the next show”), the swaggering “Sucker Born” (“Vegas left me weary, LA bled me dry/skating on fumes as I crossed the Nevada line…”) and the venomous “Go To Hell” (“Oh, this ain’t my first rodeo/You hit yourself a dead end/Your voodoo eyes, ain’t gonna cast a spell/So you can go to hell!”). “I’ve become tougher,” she notes of these head-banging moments, “and I think that was reflected in the sound we went for.”
And yet, elsewhere, backed by the versatile production of longtime collaborator Mike Zito, you’ll find Samantha shifting gears to the aching slide-guitar balladry of “Over You” (“Echoing words, said I’d never make it on my own…”) and the redemptive country song, “Last September” (“Don’t remember the curves of my face/Can’t feel the warmth in my embrace/Well I’m here to remind you…”).
She might stop off for a gritty cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talking,” and co-wrote “Go to Hell” with Zito, but all other tracks are Samantha’s self-penned originals, and it’s a mix that will keep listeners on their toes. “I wanted this record to have a modern rocking sound,” she explains of the album’s vibe. “I also wanted it to have elements of Americana, country and roots.”
For Samantha, the recording sessions proved just as rewarding as the writing “I had a dream team of musicians and special guests,” she recalls. “And Dockside Studios quickly became one of my favorite places on earth.”
It hasn’t been that long since a teenaged Samantha Fish first started showing up at her local Kansas City blues club, Knuckleheads Saloon, and began soaking up the sounds of visiting modern blues guitar masters like Mike Zito and Tab Benoit, then going back to ’80s heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan and following the lineage to the pre-war Delta masters. “I fell in love with it,” she told Premier Guitar of her growing passion for the form, “and started doing my homework by listening to the old guys like Son House and Skip James.”
With those influences as her template, Samantha incorporated the sounds of the classic rock of The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty, alongside contemporary artists like Sheryl Crow and The Black Crowes, in putting together a sound that would become her own.
By the age of 18, Samantha had settled on a searing lead guitar style that expressed her own voice rather than mimicking clichéd blues licks note-for-note. She quickly broke into a dues-paying period on the Kansas City jam circuit: an apprenticeship at the sharp end that tightened her musical chops, polished her stagecraft and gave her the grit to overcome occasional skepticism about her age, hair tone and gender. “I always hated the idea of the gimmick,” she told Premier Guitar. “People come out just because you are a girl, but then you have so much more to prove once you get them in the door.” And Samantha has delivered on that promise, as evidenced by one listen to the new recording. “I really got to do exactly what I wanted to do on Black Wind Howlin’,” she says, “and I’m incredibly proud of it.”
Samantha Fish will support the release of her new album with constant touring. For more information on the artist, visit www.samanthafish.com and www.rufrecords.de.
OUR LINKS
Dumpstaphunk
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Southern Avenue
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Moreland & Arbuckle
“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica” –USA Today
“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals” –Living Blues Guitarist Aaron Moreland—co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio Moreland & Arbuckle—describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” Moreland, harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues. Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base. Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garage band attack.” The group’s evolution continues with their Alligator Records debut Promised Land Or Bust, produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far-reaching musical showcase. The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.” Moreland says signing with Alligator is a perfect fit. “One of our biggest influences ever, Hound Dog Taylor, was the very first Alligator artist. One of the reasons we have the non-traditional lineup of no bass player was inspired by listening to Hound Dog’s music as we were coming up.” According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, bringing Moreland & Arbuckle to the label known for its Genuine Houserockin’ Music was an easy choice. “I’ve watched this band grow from talented interpreters of raw, traditional blues into creators of fresh, original roots-based songs. Live, the energy just pours out of them.” Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk music before having what he calls his “Son House moment.” Hearing the blues legend’s Death Letter Blues for the first time at age 22, he changed course, focusing his playing on nothing but acoustic blues for the next several years. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens and received what he refers to as “a calling. Getting into blues made me want to play music,” he says. He played in blues-rock bands, inspired by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, while learning to sing with deep soul and honest authority. The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas back in 2001 and they quickly bonded over their mutual love of blues. Less than a year later, they joined forces, their raw and energetic approach to the music melding perfectly. Soon after coming together, Moreland and Arbuckle played both as an acoustic duo and as The King Snakes, a four piece electric band. Keeping a bass player proved difficult, and they soon found they made a better sound without one, as Moreland kept the rhythm thumping on his guitar while Arbuckle took the music into overdrive with his harmonica and vocals. The band quickly became local heroes, filling clubs beyond capacity. It wasn’t long before they started touring larger cities around the country, earning new fans with every performance. From their 2005 self-release Caney Valley Blues to 2013’s 7 Cities on Telarc, Moreland & Arbuckle have grown from a fiery, crowd-pleasing duo to a genre-smashing three-piece band. Together, Moreland’s simultaneous bass, rhythm and lead guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally-charged harmonica and edgy vocals—driven by Newby’s propulsive drumming—create a sound that is forceful enough to grab a listener’s attention and nuanced enough to hold it. American Songwriter says the group’s music is “swampy, sweaty and muggy...mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” WNYC’s Soundcheck says the band plays “gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.” Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond. No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.” Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.” Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.” That new place is clearly part of Moreland & Arbuckle’s never ending musical journey. And for them and their ever-growing fan base, there’s no turning back now.
OUR LINKS
and more TBA
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
BJ Barham
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Adam Lee
A former honky tonk acolyte, Adam Lee’s newest writing turns traditionalism on its head. It’s a varied and engaging collection, criss-crossing genre and influence and bringing to mind artists such as Cory Branan, Justin Townes Earle, or John Moreland.
In preparation for the release he spent much of the past year on the road. He completed his second European tour and also played shows with Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, and Austin Lucas.
Prior to landing in Chicago, Lee fronted Kansas City-based Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company, a scrappy alt-country outfit with traditionalist leanings. His time in the honky tonks paid off; he was nominated for Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Awards and found homes for his country songs in writer/director Kevin Smith’s Red State and TUSK.
Following these successes, he moved to Chicago after being offered a leading role in the Tony Award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet, under the musical direction of Chuck Mead. It was at this point he began writing and recording the songs that make up ‘Sincerely, Me,’
All told, ‘Sincerely, Me’ is a strong and diverse debut. Roots-rock songwriter Justin Wells sums up this sentiment. “Somebody’s gonna file this album under Americana, but that's because Adam Lee isn't a genre... it nods at several American musics without knowing the meaning of derivative.”
OUR LINKS
Dirtfoot
Dirtfoot is an all original, all acoustic band out of Shreveport, LA. Forming in early 2002, they've been honing their songs and craft in bars and pubs across North Louisiana, Southern Arkansas, and east Texas. After winning the Shreveport Times Battle of the Bands in January 2006, doors have really been opening. Now playing festivals like Voodoo Music Experience in NOLA, Wakarusa Music Festival in Lawrence, KS, Diversafest in Tulsa, OK, Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival in Ozark, AR, Cutting Edge Music Festival in New Orleans, LA, Red River Revel in Shreveport, LA, Northgate Music Fetival, College Station, TX, etc, and playing major markets like Austin, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, etc, things are definitely looking up.
Led by the organic writings of Matt Hazelton with each player adding his own flavor and feeling to the songs and sound of the group, Dirtfoot is a blend of eclectic styles as well as diverse personalities. By far, their claim to fame is their high energy shows and overwhelming crowd participation. They involve the fans with infectious grooves, call and response songs as well as their famous "Beancans'. Each show, bean cans (homemade shakers) are passed out to the audience which turns them into a part of the percussion section. Though all of their instruments are acoustic, their energy and ingenuity will make you swear they are plugged in. Featuring instruments ranging from an acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass, pots n' pans, drums, bells, saxophone, xylophone and more, this band has a truly engaging sound, a real dose of Gypsy, Punk, Country, Grumble Boogie! It is like a good gumbo - you have some growling vocals, upright bass and percussion that makes a good, dark, dirty Louisiana roux, mixed heartily with some meaty rhythms, combined liberally with fresh offerings from the guitar and banjo that are like okra and tomatoes picked from your backyard garden, topped with the hot n' sexy spice of the saxophone and jazz style drums, and finally a little something magical and indescribable, and you have Dirtfoot - a delicious, spicy, dirty band that will make you stomp your feet, shake your ass and yell like a lunatic on a full moon night.
OUR LINKS
WT Newton
From the whiskey-fueled ranks of County Graves, WT Newton comes roaring out with a much simpler and much more intimate approach to songwriting and storytelling. It's as though he's left all of the screaming and howls directly from hell behind for the opportunity to sit around an old barroom with a handful of dear friends, weaving stories of hometowns and heartbreak. Americana from the front porch, and roots for the hopeless. Driven by an undying work ethic, WT Newton writes songs for the underdogs in all of us. Pour yourself a drink and gather round. There's stories to be told and heart strings to pluck.
OUR LINKS
5/27
Samantha Fish`s Big Summer Kick Off Party
Samantha Fish
Dumpstaphunk
Southern Avenue Band
Moreland & Arbuckle
and more TBA
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 6 pm
BUY TICKETS!Samantha Fish`s Big Summer Kick Off Party
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Samantha Fish
Samantha Fish Is Playin’ Up a Storm on New Ruf Records CD, Black Wind Howlin’, Due September 10 Follow-Up Album to Her Blues Music Award-Winning Debut Was Produced by Mike Zito and Features Guest Appearances by Zito, Yonrico Scott, Charlie Wooton and Paul Thorn
KANSAS CITY, MO – Ruf Records announces a September 10 U.S. release date for Black Wind Howlin’, the new CD from blues-rock guitarist/singer Samantha Fish and follow-up to her 2012 Blues Music Award-winning label debut, Runaway. Produced by Mike Zito, who did the same honors on her last album, Black Wind Howlin’ was recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and features Samantha’s blazing guitar and vocals backed by Mike Zito on guitar and vocals, plus his fellow Royal Southern Brotherhood members Yonrico Scott on drums/percussion and Charlie Wooton on bass. Special guests include Paul Thorn on vocals, Johnny Sansone on harmonica and Bo Thomas on fiddle.
Kansas City-based Samantha Fish has been on a major roll ever since she teamed up with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde on Ruf’s 2011 release, Girls with Guitars, and fueled by the trio’s Blues Caravan tour of Europe and the U.S., created an international buzz in the blues world. Later that same year she recorded Runaway, her solo debut on Ruf, which mixed gutsy riff-blues rockers like “Down In The Swamp” with the mellow small-hours jazz of “Feelin’ Alright,” while marinating her songwriting in the groove of the Rolling Stones and even tipping a hat to Heart. “It’s all the sounds I grew up with,” she explained at the time, “with my own spin.” Earlier this year Samantha joined labelmate Devon Allman for a sultry duet of the Tom Petty classic, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” that appeared on Devon’s Turquoise CD and accompanying video.
Hitting a receptive international blues and rock press, Runaway was hailed as a thrilling opening statement, earning a string of rave reviews and radio airplay, climaxed by her winning the Blues Music Award (BMA) for “Best New Artist Debut” in 2012. “I’m truly humbled by the recognition,” Samantha said afterward. “I can barely wait to make record number two…”
Now, the wait is over, as Samantha Fish unleashes a major storm of her trademark guitar work and soulful vocals on Black Wind Howlin’. “It has a rebellious streak,” says the bandleader of her game-changing new album, “and a prevalent theme is, ‘I’m not gonna take your sh*t anymore…’”
No “sophomore slump” here, as Black Wind Howlin’ leaps from the speakers with 12 smoking tracks that chart Samantha’s evolution as songwriter, gunslinger and lyricist. “Since completing Runaway back in 2011, I’ve been on tour pretty much non-stop,” she proclaims. “I’ve spent a lot of time writing, playing and listening to music. I feel like the themes and the sound of my music have matured. To me, it’s about the human experience from my perspective, as well as people I’ve come into contact with over the last few years.”
Rather than trying to duplicate what she accomplished on her first success, Samantha re-defines her sound throughout the tracks on Black Wind Howlin’. She can be brutally rocking on cuts like the tour bus snapshot of “Miles To Go” (“Twelve hours to Reno/ten hours til the next show”), the swaggering “Sucker Born” (“Vegas left me weary, LA bled me dry/skating on fumes as I crossed the Nevada line…”) and the venomous “Go To Hell” (“Oh, this ain’t my first rodeo/You hit yourself a dead end/Your voodoo eyes, ain’t gonna cast a spell/So you can go to hell!”). “I’ve become tougher,” she notes of these head-banging moments, “and I think that was reflected in the sound we went for.”
And yet, elsewhere, backed by the versatile production of longtime collaborator Mike Zito, you’ll find Samantha shifting gears to the aching slide-guitar balladry of “Over You” (“Echoing words, said I’d never make it on my own…”) and the redemptive country song, “Last September” (“Don’t remember the curves of my face/Can’t feel the warmth in my embrace/Well I’m here to remind you…”).
She might stop off for a gritty cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talking,” and co-wrote “Go to Hell” with Zito, but all other tracks are Samantha’s self-penned originals, and it’s a mix that will keep listeners on their toes. “I wanted this record to have a modern rocking sound,” she explains of the album’s vibe. “I also wanted it to have elements of Americana, country and roots.”
For Samantha, the recording sessions proved just as rewarding as the writing “I had a dream team of musicians and special guests,” she recalls. “And Dockside Studios quickly became one of my favorite places on earth.”
It hasn’t been that long since a teenaged Samantha Fish first started showing up at her local Kansas City blues club, Knuckleheads Saloon, and began soaking up the sounds of visiting modern blues guitar masters like Mike Zito and Tab Benoit, then going back to ’80s heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan and following the lineage to the pre-war Delta masters. “I fell in love with it,” she told Premier Guitar of her growing passion for the form, “and started doing my homework by listening to the old guys like Son House and Skip James.”
With those influences as her template, Samantha incorporated the sounds of the classic rock of The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty, alongside contemporary artists like Sheryl Crow and The Black Crowes, in putting together a sound that would become her own.
By the age of 18, Samantha had settled on a searing lead guitar style that expressed her own voice rather than mimicking clichéd blues licks note-for-note. She quickly broke into a dues-paying period on the Kansas City jam circuit: an apprenticeship at the sharp end that tightened her musical chops, polished her stagecraft and gave her the grit to overcome occasional skepticism about her age, hair tone and gender. “I always hated the idea of the gimmick,” she told Premier Guitar. “People come out just because you are a girl, but then you have so much more to prove once you get them in the door.” And Samantha has delivered on that promise, as evidenced by one listen to the new recording. “I really got to do exactly what I wanted to do on Black Wind Howlin’,” she says, “and I’m incredibly proud of it.”
Samantha Fish will support the release of her new album with constant touring. For more information on the artist, visit www.samanthafish.com and www.rufrecords.de.
OUR LINKS
Dumpstaphunk
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Southern Avenue Band
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Moreland & Arbuckle
“Raw, dirty, primal and infectious…sizzling guitar, sturdy vocals and rude harmonica” –USA Today
“Deeply satisfying...gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals” –Living Blues Guitarist Aaron Moreland—co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio Moreland & Arbuckle—describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” Moreland, harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby bring fierce electric fury and unrelenting punk rock energy to their original songs, inspired by raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues. Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base. Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garage band attack.” The group’s evolution continues with their Alligator Records debut Promised Land Or Bust, produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far-reaching musical showcase. The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.” Moreland says signing with Alligator is a perfect fit. “One of our biggest influences ever, Hound Dog Taylor, was the very first Alligator artist. One of the reasons we have the non-traditional lineup of no bass player was inspired by listening to Hound Dog’s music as we were coming up.” According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, bringing Moreland & Arbuckle to the label known for its Genuine Houserockin’ Music was an easy choice. “I’ve watched this band grow from talented interpreters of raw, traditional blues into creators of fresh, original roots-based songs. Live, the energy just pours out of them.” Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk music before having what he calls his “Son House moment.” Hearing the blues legend’s Death Letter Blues for the first time at age 22, he changed course, focusing his playing on nothing but acoustic blues for the next several years. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens and received what he refers to as “a calling. Getting into blues made me want to play music,” he says. He played in blues-rock bands, inspired by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, while learning to sing with deep soul and honest authority. The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas back in 2001 and they quickly bonded over their mutual love of blues. Less than a year later, they joined forces, their raw and energetic approach to the music melding perfectly. Soon after coming together, Moreland and Arbuckle played both as an acoustic duo and as The King Snakes, a four piece electric band. Keeping a bass player proved difficult, and they soon found they made a better sound without one, as Moreland kept the rhythm thumping on his guitar while Arbuckle took the music into overdrive with his harmonica and vocals. The band quickly became local heroes, filling clubs beyond capacity. It wasn’t long before they started touring larger cities around the country, earning new fans with every performance. From their 2005 self-release Caney Valley Blues to 2013’s 7 Cities on Telarc, Moreland & Arbuckle have grown from a fiery, crowd-pleasing duo to a genre-smashing three-piece band. Together, Moreland’s simultaneous bass, rhythm and lead guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally-charged harmonica and edgy vocals—driven by Newby’s propulsive drumming—create a sound that is forceful enough to grab a listener’s attention and nuanced enough to hold it. American Songwriter says the group’s music is “swampy, sweaty and muggy...mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” WNYC’s Soundcheck says the band plays “gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.” Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond. No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.” Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.” Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.” That new place is clearly part of Moreland & Arbuckle’s never ending musical journey. And for them and their ever-growing fan base, there’s no turning back now.
OUR LINKS
and more TBA
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
5/28
Smackdown Trivia
18 & Over | 6:30 pm
5/28
So Much For The Afterglow
20th Anniversary Tour
Everclear
Vertical Horizon
Fastball
$77.50 | All Ages | 7 pm
BUY TICKETS!So Much For The Afterglow
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
20th Anniversary Tour
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Everclear
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Vertical Horizon
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Fastball
We might sell more records if you could, but at the same time, it forces people that really want to be interested in us to pay a little more attention to what we're doing."
In October of 2000, Fastball began touring in support of The Harsh Light of Day in Amsterdam. Despite the slowed success, the members of the group didn't regret any of their creative decisions, and their aim remained true. "It makes me feel proud that we're one of these song-oriented guitar bands," Scalzo told Richard Skanse in Rolling Stone. "I think there's a couple of bands that are still putting out real good quality guitar rock songs, and I think we're one of them."
In June of 2004, Fastball released their fourth album, Keep Your Wig On, on a new record label, Rykodisc. Keep Your Wig On was home to singles "Airstream," "Drifting Away," and "Lou-ee, Lou-ee," with the last being released as a single in Europe only.
Tony Scalzo
Bass/Guitar/Vocals
Miles Zuniga
Guitar/Vocals
Joey Shuffield
Drums/Percussion
OUR LINKS
5/29
Open Mic
18 & Over | 8 pm
Open Mic
Every* Monday, Nicholas St. James and The Bottleneck host Open Mic! Sign-up at 9:00, music at 9:30.
TWO stages - Main stage and the Bluegrass stage
FULL band (any genre)
Singer-songwriter
Acoustic
Electric
Comedian
JAMS - just show-up with an instrument!
FREE entry
$1.50 pints
45 minute slots available
Amongst the best sound systems in town
Try-out for playing Bottleneck shows
Big venue experience
Pool tables
Contact us with any questions at:
bottleneckopenmic@gmail.com
Instruments must be provided by the musician at this time.
*no open mic will be held if there is a show scheduled.
You MAY NOT sign up any sooner than 2 weeks of the date you wish to play. You may not sign up for two consecutive weeks.
OUR LINKS
Roots of Creation
"From addictive reggae pop songs to consciously charged roots rhythms and berzerk electronic improvisations, the grace and precision with which Roots of Creation execute their bass-heavy works is overwhelming. Their roots are tinged with rock, their rock brushed with electronica, and they’re as likely to dash off into a 10-minute guitar-led groove as they are to perform righteous vocal songs that resonate like the roots-rock classics of old.” — Homegrown Music Network
Whether on the festival circuit, performing at jam favorites like Gathering of The Vibes, Wakarusa, Camp Bisco, and Closer to the Sun, or sharing the stage at sold out shows with some of their diverse influences including Slightly Stoopid, The Wailers, Fishbone, and Michael Franti, reggae/rock/dubtronica band Roots of Creation (RoC) offer up a high-energy, infectious experience. Recognized as a Top 20 artist on the Relix/Jamband radio chart, a festival staple, and an internationally touring powerhouse, RoC have been awarded “Favorite Jam Band” by Cider Magazine and “Best Band In New Hampshire” by the New England Music Awards. RoC mix their jam-reggae hybrid sound with homegrown roots, guitar-heavy rock, and lead singer/guitarist Brett Wilson’s introspective and conscious laden lyrics.
Named after a Sublime song on the B-Side of the Badfish CD single, Roots of Creation is made up of founding members, guitarist/lead singer Brett Wilson, keyboardist Tal Pearson, and drummer Mike Chadinha. The trio came together at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire where they embraced the state motto, "Live Free or Die," in their music and message. Today the original trio is joined by newest members Billy Kottage (Reel Big Fish) on trombone, rhythm guitar, keys and harmony vocals, Andrew Riordan on saxophone, synth and harmony vocals, and Nick Minicucci on bass guitar.
In 2012, RoC won the Cider Magazine Award for “Favorite Jam Band,” and in 2013, won the New England Music Award for “Best Band In New Hampshire.” In 2014, the band released “Summer in the 603” with The SSP (Super Secret Project), a parody video of NH. The video went viral, hitting major news outlets and surpassing 75K views. The band’s intent is to deliver a true rock show cleverly disguised as a reggae dance bash with psychedelic and energizing lights. Since hitting the top 20 on the Relix/Jamband radio charts, RoC has toured internationally playing over 1,000 shows coast to coast, encouraging audience taping of shows amassing nearly a quarter of a million downloads of their live performances on music archive site, archive.org, and building a loyal and engaged fanbase, one by one. Relix Magazine describes their live show as one “that erupts on stage, severing artist-audience barriers while summoning fans to join them in an awakening.” It’s no surprise then that the band has released three live albums and one live DVD, in addition to two studio albums.
On April 22nd, 2016, Roots of Creation will release Livin Free, a project that frontman Brett Wilson calls their “biggest ever.” Releasing via the band’s own label, Bombshelter Records, and distributed by ILS/Caroline/Universal Music Group, Livin Free is a nod to the New Hampshire state motto. It marks the band’s third studio release, but it’s so much more than an 18-track LP. In addition to digital and retail CDs of the LP, Livin Free will be available as a 3-disc deluxe collection with both dub/remix and acoustic versions of 14 of the LP’s tracks in digital and CD formats. The CD formats as well as limited edition, hand-numbered (1/500), splatter/colored, double 12” vinyl, will be available via Amazon and select retail stores on May 6th. The iTunes pre-order for both the standard LP and deluxe collection will begin on March 18th and include instant downloads of tracks “Struggle,” “Row Jimmy” (Grateful Dead), and “3x A Lady.”
Livin Free features guest performances by Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), Marshall “Ras MG” Goodman (Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars), the Rubblebucket horn section, Billy Kottage (Reel Big Fish), Bill Carbone (Zach Deputy, Max Creek), Grammy-nominated Pato Banton (Sting, UB40), and Mighty Mystic. Additionally, the album welcomes guest production by Yeti Beats (Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid) on “3x a Lady,” and Ras MG on “Struggle (Ras MG Remix).” Livin Free was produced by Brett Wilson, and co-produced by Pete Peloquin and Roots of Creation. The album was executive produced by Omen8 Production and the “RoC Pledgers,” fans who supported the band’s recent PledgeMusic campaign which surpassed the goal by 36% (and climbing). All songs on the LP were engineered and mixed by Pete “Boardz” Peloquin (Gov’t Mule, OAR), except a handful by Craig “Dubfader” Welsch (G. Love, John Brown’s Body), Yeti Beats, and Roger Lima (Less Than Jake). The album was mastered by Grammy winner and 8-time Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Jay Frigoletto (Alice In Chains, Black Eyed Peas).
Prior to the LP’s release, a maxi-single/EP of the album’s first single, “Struggle,” will be released on March 4th. This includes four unique versions of the song, one featuring Melvin Seals and Marshall “Ras MG” Goodman, another featuring only Melvin Seals, one remixed by Ras MG, and finally a solo acoustic version by Brett Wilson. “I never imagined that after listening to legendary artists like Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars religiously in my youth, that I would ever be collaborating with Ras MG,” says Brett Wilson. "He is a true musician. He pushed me to the max and inspired me to keep my ears open to new sounds and ideas.”
Roots of Creation is now on tour, and this spring will perform select dates on the “Spring Blackout 2016 Tour” with The Expendables, Passafire, and Tunnel Vision. They’ll also perform select dates with Organically Good Trio (ft. Paul W. of Slightly Stoopid), Mighty Mystic, and Spiritual Rez.
OUR LINKS
5/31
JC & the Nuns
You Bred Raptors?
The Phillistines
Stonegrower
18 & Over | 8 pm
JC & the Nuns
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
You Bred Raptors?
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Phillistines
With a barrage of spaced-out, razor-sharp guitars, a grooving rhythmic onslaught, and melodic keyboard tapestries, The Philistines take vintage ideas and form them into modern psychedelic sonic movements.
The six-piece group has made a name for itself with forceful, engaging live shows that match its provocative, bombastic rock sound. Since The Philistines' inception in late 2013, they have become one of Kansas City’s most recognized bands, supporting prominent touring acts, playing prestigious music festivals (including Middle of the Map Fest, Crossroads Music Fest, and Alejandro Escovedo’s SXSW Day Party), and receiving a healthy amount of accolades in the local media.
Engineered and produced by Paul Malinowski (Shiner), The Philistines released their debut album "The Backbone of Night" on The Record Machine in mid-2016. The full-length has been met with critical acclaim, described by The Obelisk as "a foundation of psych, garage and desert-style rock that they can shape as they please, and the control they demonstrate over that process bodes remarkably well." The album is available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.
OUR LINKS
Stonegrower
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/1
Dragondeer
Westerners
18 & Over | 8 pm
Dragondeer
Dragondeer is a psych-blues band from Denver, Colorado whose singular, reverb drenched take on old school blues and soul coupled with inspired improvisation has the band making fans in roots circles as well as indie clubs across Colorado and beyond.
Dragondeer recently recorded with producer Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Anders Osborne) in California's storied Topanga Canyon and will be releasing music from those sessions throughout 2017.
Dragondeer has shared the stage with Shakey Graves, Drive By Truckers, Futurebirds, The Entrance Band, The Bright Light Social Hour, Hot Buttered Rum, Murder City Devils, Anders Osborne, Jerry Joseph, Sonny Landreth, J Roddy Walston, Linda Perhacs, Jarekus Singleton, Leon Russell, Steel Pulse, and Wovenhand +
The band has performed all over the United States and abroad with performance slots at festivals including: Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, Nacarubi Music Festival in Big Sur, California, Tour De Fat, South Park Music Festival, SXSW 2014-2015, The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase (The UMS), Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival, T-Bois Blues Festival in Louisiana, Arise Music Festival, The 24th Annual Grolsch Blues Festival in Schöppingen, Germany, and an appearance at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater.
OUR LINKS
Westerners
Cast from London and several cities up and down the east coast into Kansas City/Lawrence area, the 4 members of indie garage rock outfit Westerners may seem more like an accident than a form of perseverance paid off. Beginning with an arbitrary move to a farmhouse in nowhere, Kansas, and an almost decade long friendship, the band's songs and interests were slowly formed over a year of pleasurable purgatory out in the wilderness. Lots of whiskey. Lots of smoke. Lots of good times. Lots of distractions. Emerging from the haze around August of 2013 and enlisting friend and local band director who was then recently discharged from the coast guard to fill out the sound, they swarmed onto the local scene with a constant slew of high energy performances. Recent release of the ep "Westerners" is drawing midwest attention and praise, displaying a group who are paving a street to somewhere, brick by brick.
Recent release, Westerners EP, is a 4 song, get-straight-to-the-point record that introduces the bands unique blend of garage rock and pop. Recorded and produced at Element Recordings (kc) by Joel Nanos, the ep captures the bands intense , live energy that is displayed at every event.
OUR LINKS
6/3
Jason Boland & The Stragglers
Shooter Jennings
Porter Union
Mountain Deer Revival
$76.50 | All Ages | 5 pm
BUY TICKETS!Jason Boland & The Stragglers
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Shooter Jennings
Don't let Shooter Jennings fool you. Sure, he rocks. He's lean and wiry, with tattoos snaking up his arms - his mother's name on one, a gun on the other - and a crimson stud gleaming in one ear. He's played sold-out shows at the Viper Room and the Roxy. He's subbed for Axl Rose onstage - twice - with Guns N' Roses. But look a little closer. Underneath that gun are the letters CBCS, for "country boy can survive." That earring turns out to be an eagle silhouette spread-winged into the letter "W" - an icon known by anyone who has listened to and loved the original outlaw, Waylon Jennings. That same icon is etched onto Shooter's stomach, but the one in his ear is even more special. "My dad got his ear pierced when he was - I swear to God - sixty, because he wanted to be like me," the younger Jennings explains. "This was the earring he wore - and I'm wearing it now." If that's not enough to make it clear that bloodlines run deep from father to son, then check out Shooter's debut album, Put the 'O' Back in Country. From the passion on "Southern Comfort," scraped raw from the walls of some backwoods church, to the guitars on "Daddy's Farm," stacked, harmonized and slathered in deep-fried soul, Shooter makes country music the way it ought to be - alive with blood and thunder, spit and spirit, and of course, Southern soul.
OUR LINKS
Porter Union
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Mountain Deer Revival
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/3
Le Grand
Via Luna
Mess
18 & Over | 8 pm
Le Grand
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Via Luna
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Mess
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Face to Face
In 1996, we did a tour of very small clubs that we called ‘Econo Live.’ Twenty years later, we’re back to do it all over again… Tickets + VIP Packages for all shows are on sale right now at facetofacemusic.com/tourdates.
OUR LINKS
Counterpunch
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Saint Paul & the Broken Bones
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
JD McPherson
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Flobots
Flobots are an alternative hip-hop band from Denver dedicated to creating, performing, and finding anthems for a better world. Since forming in 2005, they have released 3 full length albums, toured theUS and Europe, and appeared on late night programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They are internationally known for their 2008 platinum single “Handlebars” and widely recognized for using their music and career as vessels for social change.
OUR LINKS
6/9
Fort Defiance
Arkansauce
18 & Over | 8 pm
Fort Defiance
Fort Defiance is a Nashville based, husband and wife duo, known for their crowd-oriented stage show, timeless harmonies, and honest songwriting.
Playing over 250 shows this year, the two have garnered heavy attention for their live performance, being hailed as "breathtakingly seductive!" (That Music Mag), and "The best live show you'll see all year" (Tempest Music Group).
OUR LINKS
Arkansauce
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Upchurch the Redneck
My name is Ryan Upchurch, AKA: Upchurch The Redneck. I am a comedian from Nashville Tennessee. I was raised on the outskirts of town where the asphalt turns to dirt. I'm just a regular southern guy from middle Tennessee, with a talent I didn't know I had. Now that I see that, my passion is sharing it with the world! Feel free to share comments and share videos, enjoy life, live laugh and love! Don't forget to "Raise hell and Eat Cornbread'.
OUR LINKS
Mountain Deer Revival
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/13
The Last Revel
Young Manchego
18 & Over | 8 pm
The Last Revel
From the budding music scene of the Upper Midwest comes the cutting edge Front Porch Americana soundscapes of The Last Revel. This powerfully talented trio of multi-instrumentalists from Minneapolis, Minnesota so naturally blends the genres of Folk, Rockabilly, Old Time String-Band and Rock to create a sound that is as equally original as it is timeless. The Last Revel trio utilizes their multi-instrumental abilities to bring the acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, 5-string banjo, harmonica, kick drum and three-part vocal harmonies together to consistently deliver “Bombastic live performances,” as well as delicate and haunting folk ballads.
With their second, self titled, album released in May of 2015, The Last Revel further demonstrates their ability to create rich and delicately textured recorded material with a modern “tip of the hat” to the storied history of American folk music.
OUR LINKS
Young Manchego
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/15
Metasota
Greg Grease
The Lioness
18 & Over | 8 pm
Metasota
Music of the hip hop kind.
OUR LINKS
Greg Grease
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Lioness
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/16
The M80s
All Ages | 8 pm
The M80s
The M80s is Kansas City's hottest 80's tribute band that covers all top eighties dance music from pop, rock and new wave. The M80s band delivers a 80s music explosion in a true rewind event in a fun, high-octane show.
OUR LINKS
6/17
Black & Blue-Grass Ball
Split Lip Rayfield
Jeff Austin Band
Mountain Sprout
Feast Ov Fools
Useful Jenkins
Loaded Goat
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 5 pm
BUY TICKETS!Black & Blue-Grass Ball
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Split Lip Rayfield
The fire rages on for the powerhouse trio from Kansas, Split Lip Rayfield (SLR), as they celebrate the release of their new record, "I’ll Be Around." The new album showcases the songwriting talents of mandolin player Wayne Gottstine and banjo player Eric Mardis, tied together by the harmony and deep-bass licks of Jeff Eaton. Such songs as "Aces High," "Heart of Darkness," and "The High Price of Necromancy" will take listeners on a journey of love, loss, change, and dark powers, as they discover what lies in the mysterious minds of SLR. The song for which the album is named, "I’ll Be Around," serves as a tribute to the band’s fallen teammate Kirk Rundstrom, whose influence on the band and its path was great. Rundstrom’s legacy continues to live on in the new album and also the band itself as every live show is dedicated to his memory. Split Lip Rayfield has carved out their own genre of music with their unique sound and instrumentation. Often described as a mix of bluegrass and country with an accent of metal, no other band delivers the experience of the homemade gas-tank bass played by Jeff Eaton, sets the mandolin strings on fire like Wayne Gottstine, or makes the banjo sing like Eric Mardis. Together, they burn up speakers and stages alike providing an unforgettable experience.
OUR LINKS
- Split Lip Rayfield Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Youtube
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On Twitter
Jeff Austin Band
Mandolinist Jeff Austin is unstoppable. He is celebrated for his fleet fingers and penchant for improvisation on stage, but those qualities also speak volumes about how he chooses to live. Austin has cultivated his natural musical abilities and allowed himself to be driven by his boldest instincts. In this way, he has been able to build positive, exciting momentum around his life’s greatest passion.
In 1998, while working at a bar called the Verve in Nederland, Colorado, Austin met Adam Aijala and Ben Kaufmann, with whom he and Dave Johnston would form the Yonder Mountain String Band.
“My time with Yonder has taught me what is possible,” Austin says. “It has shown me that if you work hard at it and you believe in it and there’s a part of you that’s meant to do it, it will happen. It’s clichéd, but it’s true.”
It is with this history at his back that Jeff Austin will step out into the spotlight as a solo act. “My ideal sound is between Phish, My Morning Jacket, and Zac Brown Band.” Austin plans to continue songwriting for his solo project but might be weaving in a bit of mainstream, in the style of his John Scott Sherrill/Shawn Camp co-write “Fiddlin’ Around,” featured on Dierks Bentley’s 2010 bluegrass album Up on the Ridge. “I love writing a three-minute song with a hook that would grab a five-hundred-pound marlin as much as I like writing something that goes, ‘okay, after the bridge, it’s going to open up and just go wide.’”
Indeed, “wide” is what Jeff Austin is all about. He wants new and different, complex and interesting. He wants everything the music world has to offer, and he’s willing to work hard to get it.
OUR LINKS
Mountain Sprout
Mountain Sprout is a highly energetic hillbilly music machine, spitting original tunes and blowing minds with original whitty lyrics and face melting musicianship. The Sprouts are a full time working band and play shows all year round for anyone who will listen. Whether it be Grayson VanSickle playing his machine gun banjo, singing out the novel of our lives or guitarist Adam Waggs, who yanks up the melody up by the ear and keeps you kickin'. With a smile on his face, Daniel Redmond pulls out cannon fire notes pounding the stand-up, dog house bass, and Blayne Thiebaux gives the crowd a spectacular show, burnin' rosin and bendin' air, exploding the fiddle while bursting into flames. Together, they are MOUNTAIN SPROUT.
Playing around 250 shows a year, including music festivals, concert halls and backwood hole in the walls. They have performed in venues large and small. From opening up for national icons Willie Nelson and Leonn Russel to performing with jam band titans such as Yonder Mountain String Band and Wide Spread Panic. You can find them hanging out with home grown legends like Split Lip Rayfield, Randy Crouch and countless other amazing musicians. Always opening up another beer or a sheltered mind at the local and not-so-local bars, MOUNTAIN SPROUT is always truly a crowd favorite.
After forming several renditions, the band made a final pact in ‘06. Since then MOUNTAIN SPROUT has released multiple recordings preceded by the infamous “Pornobilly”(2005) that earned a place in everyones heart. Then officially releasing their original debut album "One More for the Ditch"(2007), followed by a collection of traditional tunes entitled "Fambilly Hour"(2008), and tapped from source with another CD of original songs called "Into the Sun"(2009). With there latest smash hit album for the collection “Habits to Feed”(2010).
Now with much more to come from the Mudstomp Records family and the Pipeline Productions power house, Mountain Sprout is here to push the limits! Just make contact with plenty of advance notice so that you too can enjoy the live supernatural performance of the Mountain Sprout and if you all just want to party, well thats we do best, so let us set the mood for an amazing experience anytime; every time.
OUR LINKS
Feast Ov Fools
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Useful Jenkins
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Loaded Goat
Loaded Goat is a mad mash of bluegrass, old-time, honky-tonk music. To activate: Flick a little moonshine in it's face and get ready for some banjo for your ear-holes. Playing a predominantly original catalog of heartbreak and headache, Loaded Goat will occasionally surprise with the surprising cover song. Loaded Goat is great for bars, campfire jams, weddings, cowboy saloon shootouts, Rural Grit Happy Hour, and more, more, more.
OUR LINKS
Airpark
Airpark makes deconstructed pop music. Inspired by minimalism, melody and groove-heavy percussion, bandmates Michael Ford, Jr. and Ben Ford launched the group in 2016, one year after their previous project, The Apache Relay, quietly called it quits. The Apache Relay had been a large band, staffed with six members and armed with a thick, wall-of-sound approach. With Airpark, the Ford brothers sharpen their focus and scale back their arrangements, focusing on songs that pack a punch with bold, basic ingre-dients. Raised in New Orleans, the Fords grew up surrounded by music, from the Crescent City's jazz to the soul of Irma Thomas and Allen Touissant. Later while living in Nashville, the two rekindled the music connection they'd kick-started back home, finding popularity — first in Tennessee, then across the country - as The Apache Relay performed alongside the likes of Jenny Lewis, Mumford & Sons and more. It was a whirlwind period that found the brothers constantly touring, forever moving and steadily swelling their sound to new heights. Michael and Ben move at a deliberately different speed with Airpark, thus finding new musical territory to explore. Taking their cues from a wide set of influences — the rhythmic world music of Tinariwen and Lijadu Sisters; the production of Air, Damon Albarn, and Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel; the ten-or vocal range of Big Star's Alex Chilton and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, with the occasional pop crooner delivery of Harry Nilsson — the two unveil their new direction with Air-park's debut EP, Early Works, Volume 1. On opening track "All The Time," Michael spins the autobiographical story of a musician who's starting over and swinging for the fences, finally coming to terms with his own ambition. "Now I know I need ittobe ocean-sized," he sings, backed by propulsive percussion, syncopated electric guitar and his brother's harmonies. Else-where, the two ride an abstract, atmospheric groove on "Even If," get nostalgic with "Black Light Blue," and reset the clock during the New Year's Eve breakup anthem "Plenty to Pine For." It's a sound that targets the feet and the head. It's pop music for thinkers. It's dance music for wallflowers. And with the brothers pulling triple-duty as songwriters, multi-instrumentalists and co-producers, Early Works, Volume 1 — whose March 3, 2017 release arrives courtesy of the Fords' own label, Eugenia Hall Records — is their most forward-thinking project to date, pairing the band's growing ambition with musical chops to match.
OUR LINKS
La Guerre
"On “Sapphires,” Conroy has rendered a collection of intimate songs in a voice all her own, one that lives up to its luminous title."
-KCStar
FEMALE SINGER/SONGWRITER
2013 PITCH MUSIC AWARDS
OUR LINKS
Toughies
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/23
Tornado Rose
Fireside Collective
Cow Skin Creek
18 & Over | 8 pm
Tornado Rose
Tornado Rose is a roots band playing soulful original goodness. They offer fresh homage to the evolutionary nature of music at every turn and transform a wide spectrum of inspiration into pure musical fusion. Tornado Rose released their debut EP ‘Dust in my Shadow’ in 2013 and followed up with the release of their single, ‘Fireball Run.' Tornado Rose won the 2014 Walnut Valley Festival New Song Showcase and they are the only full band to ever win the New Song Showcase.
OUR LINKS
Fireside Collective
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Cow Skin Creek
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/24
Crossroads Jammin` Reggae Fest
The Wailing Souls
The Itals
Sister Carol
Jon Wayne & the Pain
The Elovaters
77 Jefferson
Ras Neville & the Kingstonians
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 4 pm
BUY TICKETS!Crossroads Jammin` Reggae Fest
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Wailing Souls
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Itals
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Sister Carol
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Jon Wayne & the Pain
If Lee Scratch Perry and Deadmau5 died, went to heaven, and recorded an album with Bradley Nowell and Jerry Garcia, they’d end up with something like Jon Wayne and The Pain’s new full length album “Surrender”. In addition to the Minneapolis trio’s signature sound of roots infused Reggae Rock, their latest release adds a bold fusion of Jam and EDM into the fold.
The trio’s previous album “Follow Through” for the most part only teases with a few subtle, dark electronic elements but stays true to the roots infused Reggae Rock sound that could be described as an ideal poolside soundtrack. Until the release of “Surrender”, their sometimes sinister combination of organic drums and guitar with electronic bass and synths could only be heard if fans could catch the band’s live act in clubs and festivals around the U.S. or sift through bootleg uploads on Youtube. Their third full length album is full of electronic instrumentals that build from entrasic dub loops (wait for the drop) then explode into high energy party anthems with intense vocals and powerful acoustic drums.
Pushing boundaries further, Jon Wayne and The Pain inject Roots, Jam, and Ska into the mix with sounds that band members Jon, Chuckie, and Teeto have grown to love while playing alongside some of the most influential musicians in the festival scene. Complete with a sanctioned Grateful Dead cover and a festie-fan shout out track “Festival Friends”, JWP pays tribute to the Jam scene in a big way. Keeping in tune with the sound that made fans rush to see Jon Wayne and The Pain since the band’s early days, heartfelt Reggae-Rock tunes are still a staple in the diverse collection of songs that make up “Surrender”
OUR LINKS
The Elovaters
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
77 Jefferson
Joel Castillo, Miles Brown, Mike Dunn, Mark Baltzell and Richard Faught are musicians who go by the name 77 Jefferson. They have been touring for the last 3 years boasting over 300 shows in over 100 cities and 25 states throughout the midwest and on both coasts. 77 Jefferson writes, records and promotes their music with a grass roots do-it-yourself mentality. They have played many festivals and 77 Jefferson has had the privelege to share the stage with legendary national artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, SOJA, Luciano, Sugar Minott, Junior Reed, Tomorrow's Bad Seeds, Josh Fischell, Jah Roots, Gramps Morgan of Morgan Heritage, Part One Tribe, Ossie Dellimore, Cas Haley, Steve Ewing, Whild Peach and many more. Their debut album, "Sledgehammer," is available on Itunes, Cdbaby.com., and Rhapsody, as well as "Rarities," a collection of acoustic, beats, and rare out-takes. 77 is currently finishing up their next full length album,"In the Right Mood," to be released August 3rd also on I-tunes, Cdbaby.com and Rhapsody, folllowed by a southern and west coast tour in August.
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Ras Neville & the Kingstonians
Ras Neville and the Kingstonians have deep roots in the Lawrence music scene. The band is essentially a revised version of Common Ground, the local reggae act that formed in 1981. A mix of roots reggae and dancehall party with a heavy emphasis on original material, Common Ground scored three Klammies awards for best worldbeat/reggae band in the 1990s before splitting up. Most of the lineup is back in this 10-piece expansion of the act.
OUR LINKS
6/24
Hotel Coffee Band
18 & Over | 8 pm
Katy Guillen and The Girls
Katy Guillen and The Girls, out of Kansas City, MO, formed in September of 2012. The blues influenced roots rock trio is made up of Katy Guillen (guitar, vocals), Claire Adams (bass, vocals), and Stephanie Williams (drums). The group’s sound is characterized by Guillen’s searing, lively guitar licks; Williams’ heavy, driving drums; and Adams’ rock solid bass lines. Guillen’s soulful vocals backed by Adams’ intense harmonies add a fierce punch to Guillen’s songwriting. KG&G draw influences everywhere from rock and roll contemporaries like Heartless Bastards and the timeless guitar god Jimi Hendrix to sweet songstress Patty Griffin. They’ve been known to pack a blues and BB-Q roadhouse, just as easily as they will fill up a multi bill rock/alternative venue.
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Eric Tessmer
Eric James Tessmer, actually named after guitar giants Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, is an extraordinary guitarist, musician, singer and songwriter hailing from Austin, TX. He is widely considered one of the most vibrant guitarists to follow in the footsteps of blues-rock legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and his namesake predecessors. His live shows have captured audiences' attention across the United States as power-packed sessions of wickedly fast and precise licks that can light the house on fire without the need for lighter fluid.
Born and raised outside of the small town of Richland Center, Wisconsin, Tessmer began playing at a young age, inspired by his father and grandmother. In 2000, he moved to Austin at the age of 19 to play gigs with numerous musicians and bands, earning local credibility as he honed his craft of riffing with speed, power and control. He later formed his own power trio, the Eric Tessmer Band, in 2003. Through a battered '59 Fender Stratocaster producing vintage-correct tones, Eric kickstarts the engine left idling by guitar players of the past.
Known as one of the hardest working musicians in the area, Tessmer continues to travel the U.S., Canada and Europe. Creating his own brand of ‘blues-rock soul-chedelic’ sound, he has electrified festivals such as Montreal Jazz Fest, Summerfest, and MusikFest with dialed-in precision and delivered polished performances at clubs, pubs and venues across the land. Sharing the stage with notable musicians such as Dick Dale, Anders Osborne, Tab Benoit, Monte Montgomery, Gary Clark Jr. and Chris Duarte; Tessmer has created a buzz among the blues-rock community that is quickly swarming with devoted disciples.
-G. Lemen
OUR LINKS
7/1
Tree Machines
Vigil & Thieves
18 & Over | 8 pm
Tree Machines
Nature vs. Man = Tree Machines
“We latched on to the idea of creating an album that was a mix of the digital and analog worlds,” says Douglas Wooldridge of the Lawrence, Kansas-based duo. Bandmate Patrick Aubry and Woolridge are set to release their debut self-titled EP as Tree Machines on March 31st, 2015. The EP is preceded by the provocatively titled single “Fucking Off Today”.
The new EP opens with this giant-sounding single, running without the bother of learning to crawl, and lyrically capturing the idea of not caring in a way no artist has before. “With open mouths to feed, we’re fucking off today,” Woolridge sings with ultimate conviction, adding an ironic touch that gives the song even more potency.
Why haven’t we heard a song about apathy delivered in such blunt terms until now? It’d have to be a tune with a melody and hook as strong as these to be believable, especially for a debut single with “fucking” in the title. Tree Machines pulls it off.
The anthemic side to this message, borne of Woolridge and Aubry’s observations of the on-off, blissed-out-but-strung-out club kids they’d see during their gigs as lighting designers, actually has a much more personal side for the guys themselves.
“We weren’t clicking as a group. We’d lost touch of why we made music together in the first place.”
Woodridge is referring to the fact that just a year ago, before they formed Tree Machines as a duo, he and Aubry were deep into the pre-production of an aborted full-length album as a foursome under the name Sobriquet. It was a situation that ultimately became an expensive misfire with dangerous consequences.
“There are still flakes of blood splattered on the wall of the living room,” Woodridge explains of the night that he had it out with his former drummer, resulting in a lacerated finger that kept him from playing guitar for two months. There, with only two weeks until the first day of tracking for the album, Woolridge came to the realization that his band was falling apart.
“Ego and resilience is a tough combo to go up against though,” he says of his reticent willingness to continue into the studio despite his growing awareness of the project’s downward spiral (and despite the previously mentioned violence.) “Patrick and I started talking about the future and the possibility of moving on,” he explains, detailing the back-up plan that he felt he needed to come up with.
Regardless, recording of the album as Sobriquet commenced. And, as expected (or predicted), it didn’t go so well. Drug use, equipment failure, unusable takes, and wasted days left Woodridge feeling that the album was doomed. By July of 2014, the record was finished, and so was the band.
“But, Patrick was a solid as rock and the songs were sounding great,” says Woolridge optimistically. “So we pushed on.”
No strangers to unique solutions to difficult situations, Woolridge rented a 9,000 square foot warehouse space (at Lawrence, Kansas prices, folks!) and moved all of their gear in. Though it had no running water, it did have what amounted to a giant echo chamber of concrete. The guys immediately took on the task of recording additional soundscapes, guitars, and percussion to make the finished Sobriquet album into the debut Tree Machines EP.
“Why not expand on what was really Pat’s and my baby all along?,” Woolridge asks. So, as the summer of 2014 was winding down, just two months after the demise of their band, Woolridge and Aubry had reinvented the record as all their own, and had re-named themselves Tree Machines.
In addition to the idea of Nature vs. Man, the new name has deeper roots (a tree pun!) in the notion of duality. “Life and Death. Black and White. Analog and Digital. Both Patrick and I have a fascination with duality,” Woolridge explains.
Capturing these confusing feelings of youth, and longing for something so much bigger than what they refer to as “this Midwest lifestyle,” is in the band’s DNA. It’s an ideology that represents their passionate and urgent devotion to discovery, and for new ways of doing things in life, and in music.
The debut EP by Tree Machines arrives on March 31st. The debut single “Fucking Off Today” is streaming now
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Vigil & Thieves
Vigil and Thieves is a Kansas City indie alternative quartet formed in early 2014. Previously described as “grandiose” with a “heartbreaking heaviness,” the band has honed in on dynamic and lyrically-driven song structures that have been compared to live poetry. Their debut album, ‘[defective] book one,’ was released in September 2014, followed by an east coast tour in support, and has since received high praise from publications including Liberty Press, CAMP Kansas City Magazine, and I Heart Local Music.
They are currently in the studio tracking their next album that holds true to their optimistically tragic aesthetic while demonstrating a dark, robust and refined sound. Stay tuned for upcoming tour dates in Winter/Spring 2016.
OUR LINKS
Dirty Heads
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SOJA
SOJA
Jacob Hemphill (lead vocals & guitar) met Bobby Lee (bass) in the first grade in Virginia, shortly after Jacob returned from living in Africa with his family. The two instantly became best friends, and in middle school found a common love for hip hop, rock and reggae music. Throughout middle and high school, they met Ryan Berty (drums), Patrick O'Shea (keyboards) and Kenneth Brownell (percussion). Together they formed SOJA. In the formative years the band gigged locally in the DC area while a couple of the guys finished school. All the while making plans to hit the road after graduation...
In 2005 the band hit the road... and they hit the road hard. Often dubbed "road warriors", SOJA has brought their unique sound and stage show to nearly every city in North America, as well as many cities throughout Europe, South America, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean. While touring in Puerto Rico the band linked up with sax player Hellman Escorcia & trumpet player Rafael Rodriguez. These two exceptional musicians earned their position as SOJA's mainstay horn section by helping further develop the band's eclectic sound.
With no signs of slowing down. SOJA is planning a world tour for 2011/2012 in support of their upcoming album release. It's all about the message in the music for this band. "People think we write music about the earth for the earth's sake, but its not really like that. If we harm the earth, it will reject us. For all we know, its happened one hundred times before. This place gets too hot, that's it. Reset button. That's why I sing what I sing - to pull us all in the same direction, the same future. Without that, were finished (Jacob Hemphill)."
There is no doubt about it. This band is on the forefront of a Revolution with hopes to bring about positive change: environmentally, politically and socially. "Maybe we need to WANT to fix it. Maybe stop talking, maybe start listening. Maybe we need to look at this world less like a square and more like a circle. Maybe just maybe God's not unfair, maybe we're all his kids and he's up there. Maybe he loves us for all our races, maybe he hates us when we're all so racist. Maybe he sees us, when we dont care, that its heaven right here, but its hell over there. Then maybe the meek will inherit this earth, cause it was written before... so..." Everything Changes - SOJA.
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The Green
The Green’s latest album, Hawai‘i ’13, opens with a chant.
“From the times of ancient Hawai‘i and even up to present day, chanting has been a part of our culture,” says JP Kennedy, guitarist, vocalist, and one of the band’s five songwriters. “It’s a way to start something important. When we chant, we ask for blessings, knowledge, and guidance so that we can be ‘pono’ or righteous in whatever we do.”
The chant of “He Mele No Ku‘u Hawai‘i” prepares the album’s listener as much as the band. Hawai‘i ’13 dances through roots reggae, soul, and R&B. The album charts a journey through Hawaiian life and music in 2013, reflecting The Green’s musical upbringing as much as their vision for the future of Hawai‘i and its musical output. Following The Green’s usual modus operandi, the album was written by the group’s five separate songwriters (Kennedy, guitarist-vocalist Zion Thompson, vocalist Caleb Keolanui, keyboardist-vocalist Ikaika Antone, and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Brad Watanabe); the band’s four singers (Kennedy, Thompson, Keolanui and Antone) take turns on lead vocals, sometimes trading off with each other within a song. Once you listen to this record, there is little doubt that the chant served its purpose, as the results show the band has been righteous in their hard work.
The Green formed on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, in 2009. The group began as a vehicle for six different members of Hawai‘i’s tight-knit music scene to record a few songs and have a bit of fun along the way. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2010, earned both critical and commercial acclaim, and was awarded iTunes Best Reggae Album of the Year.
Afterwards, the band jumped on a plane to the mainland and started a heavy touring cycle. On the strength of their debut album, The Green struck a record deal with ground-breaking independent reggae label Easy Star Records to record their sophomore album, Ways & Means. Ways & Means hit #1 on the iTunes and Billboard Reggae charts and the band embarked on more intense touring; supporting acts like Rebelution, Iration, SOJA and Damian Marley. They also played at acclaimed festivals including Vans Warped Tour, Wakarusa, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival and California Roots Festival.
Despite all the time spent away from home, Hawai‘i never left the band’s day-to-day life on the road. In almost every state, the band met Hawaiian ex-pats, driven away from their home state for reasons both economic and social. The Green’s concerts became a place where Hawaiian natives could gather and for one night, share a bit of Aloha spirit from the Pacific islands they call home.
“Hawaiians living on the mainland will come to our shows and say ‘I haven’t been home in years! You remind me so much of home,’” says multi-instrumentalist-songwriter Brad “BW” Watanabe. “I feel like that’s our service in some way.”
In early 2013, The Green retreated to Hurley Studios in Costa Mesa, CA, to record their third album with Danny Kalb (Ben Harper, Beck, Jack Johnson), the band’s first outside producer/engineer, at the helm. In addition, the group brought in Joe Tomino, drummer from Dub Trio (who also double as Matisyahu’s backing band), to handle the drums for the sessions.
“We were worried about it because we always recorded everything ourselves,” Kennedy admits. “But when we added Danny Kalb to the mix, and Joe on the drums, they just brought so much to the sound of the songs.”
The addition of an outside ear helped sharpen the band’s direction, and the 13 tracks on Hawai‘i ’13 sound focused and pointed, despite the group’s many different songwriters. “All of us contribute to the creation of a song,” says guitarist-vocalist Zion Thompson, “whether it’s lyrics or music, it’s always collaborative.”
“Everyone respects each other’s opinions,” Thompson continues. “Everyone has their place and everyone makes room for it to work.”
The album’s songs span soulful lover’s rock (“Striking Up A Love,” “Take Me On”), heavy roots workouts (“Good One,” “Forgive Me”), smooth R&B ballads (“Chocolates & Roses”), roots reggae-pop hybrids (“Power in the Words,” “Good Vibe Killah”), and herb anthems (“Hold Me Tight”).
The Green hit all the right notes with their first two albums, but the band members are still coming to grips with the personal toll of success. Bands from the mainland may be used to touring from state to state, but that’s no small step for a group from a small island in the South Pacific. “While I face a dozen spotlights, you’re crying at home,” goes “Something About It,” one of the lead singles from Hawai‘i ’13. “Sit by the phone. You think I’m alone, wishing I could be there. But the music’s got me traveling on.”
The Green struck the reggae community hard with their debut in 2010. Their sophomore LP Ways & Means solidified their status as a force in reggae music. With Hawai‘i ’13, the band aims higher. The album collects 13 stellar tracks by a group with an insatiable urge to push their music onto the global stage. Some songs punch and some songs sway, but ultimately they all blend to form a new shade of Green.
OUR LINKS
RDGLDGRN
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Henry and the Invisibles
Henry + The Invisibles (Henry Roland) is a live-looping, multi-instrumentalist aka “The One Man Funk Band" that loops and layers vocal harmonies, funk guitar, grooving bass, soulful keyboards and powerful percussion to create original high energy dance music that sounds like a solid 5 piece funk ensemble!
OUR LINKS
7/8
Future Fields
Le Youth
Quixotic
Heppa
Buk Maro
Caso McCombs
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 7 pm
BUY TICKETS!Future Fields
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Le Youth
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Quixotic
For the past five years. Kansas City based group Quixotic has created a full spectrum of music with sounds rich in electronic tones that soar and twist from emotive rich classical string progressions to driving tribal dance music.
Composer Anthony Magliano, along with an award winning band including violinist Shane Borth, keyboardist/vocalist Laura Scarborough, drummer Brandon Draper and Rick Willoughby on Bass, create music with instrumental foundations and diversity that is meant to inspire movement within the group’s other half; dancers, multi media designers, and aerialists.
Quixotic’s use of effects, synths and laptops harness technology in a unique way that’s never been seen, or heard before. The innovative musical technology is combined with the fierce and organic rhythm section to create a marriage between two musical worlds within the five-piece band.
OUR LINKS
Heppa
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Buk Maro
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Caso McCombs
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7/21
Rock The 80`s Tour
The Romantics
The Smithereens
Bow Wow Wow
$11.50 + F&T | All Ages | 7 pm
BUY TICKETS!Rock The 80`s Tour
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The Romantics
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The Smithereens
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Bow Wow Wow
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7/21
Prophets and Outlaws
18 & Over | 8 pm
Prophets and Outlaws
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Prophets and Outlaws were exposed to a wide range of music, from Neo-Soul to old school rock and roll. Mix that with the heart felt, inspiring lyrics of “The Outlaws,” 5-part harmonies, and you’ve got the sound of PAO: Texas Soul.
OUR LINKS
7/22
Metorana
18 & Over | 8 pm
Metorana
Three guys from Queens with an edge. METORANA was formed by childhood friends since kindergarten, by Ian Keller (Vocals, Guitar, Synth), Sam Allen (Bass, Vocals), and Alex Hernandez (Drums). Growing up listening to 90's-early 2000's rock bands like The Offspring, Metallica, RATM, RHCP, and Nirvana, the trio began writing songs, performing throughout their teens. They released their debut album, Sick Sad World, on March 1, 2016.
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DigiTour: Good Times
What is DIGITOUR? Your favorite GoodTimes stars from Instagram, Musically, YouTube, SnapChat, and more! DigiTour is a safe, All-Ages, family friendly concert event where young fans can meet their faves and make friends with other fans their age!
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The Melvins
The Melvins formed in Aberdeen/Montesano, WA in 1983 the founding members were Buzz, Mike Dillard (drums), and ex-Mudhoney bassist Matt Lukin. Buzz, Mike, and Matt all went to high school in Montesano. The name Melvins came from a grocery clerk at the Thriftway in Montesano where King Buzzo served as clerk and vandal. Melvin was the most hated fellow employee and they felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name.
When Mike couldn't cut it, as rumor has it because the songs were getting too mathematically complex, Dale was recruited out of the Iron Maiden cover band he played in at the age of 15. Matt was replaced by Lori Black (Lorax) (Shirley Temple's daughter) when they left Aberdeen for San Francisco.
The Melvins have had quite a few bass player changes during their tenure. Check out the bassist morgue to learn more. The Melvins live in Hollywood, CA right now.
The Melvins Discography is an exhaustive resource of their many releases. They were on a major label Atlantic Records for three albums, although most would agree they're not the type of band that would appeal to a major label. They knew this while they were being signed and just took advantage of the drunken blitz the record companies were on in signing any band connected to a supposed Seattle "grunge" sound.
Dale filled in for Nirvana when they were between drummers and he appears on Incesticide and Bleach as a result of those sessions. Buzz has a side project called Fantômas with Mike Patton (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle) who is also owner of Ipecac Recordings the label the melvins are currently releasing material through. He also plays guitar in the hardcore/grind "supergroup" Venomous Concept, featuring members/former members of Napalm Death and Brutal Truth (also released through Ipecac). Melvins have also released music on Boner Records, Alchemy Records, Amphetamine Reptile Records, Alternative Tentacles Records, and numerous others in the manner of 7"s and whatnot.
Dale has a side project called Altamont. Kevin Rutmanis (bassist, 1998 - early 2005) used to be in the band Cows, he also is in another Mike Patton project along with Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard called Tomahawk. I would completely recommend anything a Melvins member has released. Melvins have toured with KISS, White Zombie, NIN, L7, Primus, Tool, and Rush, among others and were also on the Ozzfest tour in 98. They toured with a second guitarist at one point David Scott Stone (a great noisician). If you ever get the chance to see them live be sure to give them gifts, they prefer Cracker Barrel gift certificates.
Purchase tickets at: http://pipelineticketing.frontgatesolutions.com/
OUR LINKS
- The Melvins Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Youtube
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On Twitter
- On MySpace
Spotlights
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Moonshine Bandits
Backwoods bravado, patriot’s pride, country soul, keg-thumping beats — these are the qualities that Moonshine Bandits have championed since they began burning up the California club circuit back in 2003.
Their message spread as they rolled from there through the heartland, the dirty South and beyond on their tour bus. No matter whether color their collar is or even if they wore a collar at all, people heard something of their story in their music — and popped back a cold one to celebrate that connection.
Plenty of their trademark sound and message resonates through Baptized In Bourbon, their new album — reverence for God and country on “Red, White & Blue Collar” (“We answered to the call when Uncle Sam cried/You know we always stand for what is right”), a celebration of backwater saloons and Saturday nights on “Stomp Like Hell” (“Before the bar doors close, I’m a-get to stepping/I’m gonna stomp like Hell just to get to Heaven”), a promise to stand firm for freedom on “Raised Up” (“If you ain’t proud of where you’re from, get the hell out of town”).
But there’s more — a new depth that encourages reflection, even hints of doubt. None of this compromises the defiant pride that’s always threaded through the songs of Bird and Tex, aka Moonshine Bandits. Still, something has changed since they released Blacked Out in 2015.
Tex knows why. “This year has been a whirlwind of touring,” he explains. “We’ll play at a bike rally in Oregon one day and then fly to Alaska. That’s had a lot of input on this album, especially on our songwriting. We’ve always been entertainers first, songwriters second. Now I feel like our songwriting has caught up to the entertainment part of who we are.”
In these past couple of years, he and his fellow bandit Bird have been in transition personally as well as artistically. They’ve gone from bus tours to jetting out for extended weekend jaunts. While playing for their die-hard, “blu-core” fans, vestiges of wilder days do appear, sometimes bringing old ways into conflict with new responsibilities.
Tex lays out the question candidly. “When we’re away from our family, is the way we’re living acceptable to God, with all the partying and crazy shit we do on the road?”
This dilemma was somewhere in whatever dream Tex was having late one night when he woke up suddenly. “Three words came to me: baptized in bourbon,” he remembers. “I texted Bird and my manager and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know what this means but it could be some pretty heavy stuff.’ The whole album started with that title.”
The Bandits and producers, Burn County, withdrew to a cabin/studio deep in a forest in the state of Washington. They talked about things they’d experienced, lessons they’d learn and questions that remained. Conversations evolved into lyrics; feelings took on musical shape; tape rolled. And after two weeks they emerged with Baptized In Bourbon, a project unlike anything they’d ever cut before.
“We didn’t sit down and say, ‘Hey, let’s do a themed album,’” Bird insists. “But the themes we were thinking of seemed to carry over song after song. It was like a circle. It wasn’t all heavy. There’s a lot of fun songs on the album too. But basically, Baptized In Bourbon isn’t just about bonfires and keg parties. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
“The Sermon” starts mournfully, with strings and a quiet acoustic guitar. Then a preacher breaks in, a beat kicks off and from the pulpit we hear the query that underlies all of Baptized In Bourbon: “In light of knowing that God is with us, and in light of knowing that He sees us always, how are we going to respond with our lives?”
The answer appears to be that you celebrate, you rock hard, you love without hesitation and fight without fear when you have to. And, if you’re Moonshine Bandits, you drive this story home with help from a gang of gifted guest artists: Crucifix on the slamming “I’m A Hellrazor,” Bubba Sparxxx on “51Fifty,” The Lacs on “Cards I Was Dealt,” Uncle Kracker on “Baptized In Bourbon,” Colt Ford and Outlaw on “Dad’s Pontoon,” Matt Borden on “Shook Me Up,” Jelly Roll on “Wild Ones” …
… and maybe most memorably, the legendary David Allan Coe. David Allan Coe has done some shows with the Bandits to rowdy audiences. Apparently he liked what he saw when Tex and Bird sent him their arrangement of his classic anthem “Take This Job And Shove It.” He volunteered to join with them in the studio and later on stage. Coe also personally called both Tex and Bird to thank them as well as tell them he enjoyed their energy-filled live show.
“I’ve always said there are three guys I wanted to work with before I quit music,” Tex says. “Two of them are dead; the third is David Allan Coe. We decided to shoot a video together at Shawshank. The night before we met in his hotel room. It was like we were old friends, listening to him talk about songwriting. The next day we went to the prison, where he had done three or four years of his life. We were kind of skeptical about what might happen because there’s a lot of emotion involved. Hell, I threw up after going into some of the cells. But he had a great time. Then that night, when we played a show in Bucyrus, Ohio, he did the song with us so we could have the footage.”
Bird smiles at the memory. “Then when we stopped the show to do it again, he gets on the microphone and starts rocking Kid Rock’s ‘Sitting Here Wasting Time.’ It was incredible to see a 77-year-old guy rap to a slow drum beat. The crowd went bonkers. I’ll never forget that. We were so proud to earn his respect.”
Baptized In Bourbon doesn’t stop there. The guys spin parallel stories on successive tracks, featuring male and female archetypes that their blu-core followers can recognize. “‘Renegade Rides Again’ says that you don’t know when the life we’re living is going to catch up with us. Then you go to ‘Hell On Heels,’ which is about some of the girls we’ve met,” Tex says, with a knowing laugh. “It’s pretty much all a true story. We don’t even embellish it. But that’s what happens when you run in this type of circle.”
This is the music that Moonshine Bandits will take on the road later this year, most likely on a bus tour this time. Maybe it’s a bit of a risk to mix the sacred and profane, the rowdy and the introspective, on record and then onstage. But the payoff here is twofold: Their music demands attention from first note to last. And because they enjoy a strong mutual trust with their fans, honesty is essential to that bond.
“I’m away from my wife and kids,” Tex sums up. “My partner has lost numerous fiancees because of this ride. Yeah, we’re out partying — not too crazy to where we’re out of control. And Bird’s dad is a preacher. So sometimes we do wonder if this lifestyle is acceptable. But this isn’t just about our lives. It’s a universal thing.”
At heart, we’re all blu-core. We all hear some of our truth in what Moonshine Bandits are throwing down. Maybe it’s time for us all to be Baptized In Bourbon.
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Father John Misty
Joshua Tillman, a trip from the north west to the west coast in a van with plant spirits (shrooms) and a need for humor, mischief, and sexuality to flow freely through the melodies. This became a reality with the recording of “Fear Fun” produced by Jonathan Wilson and Josh Tillman , released on Sub Pop. FJM are touring non stop and ripping a hole in the fabric of your party dress
OUR LINKS
Tennis
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Dead Man Winter
Playing a bull-bodied, emotionally resonant brand of Americana-infused indie rock, Dead Man Winter is a group led by Dave Simonett, best known as one of the founding members of the progressive bluegrass group Trampled by Turtles.
Furnace marks a whole lot of firsts for the accomplished songwriter. It’s his first time putting his long-running, popular string band, Trampled by Turtles, on hiatus to focus all of his efforts on a more personal project. It’s his first time speaking so plainly and literally about something happening in his private life. And it’s his first time dedicating an entire record to a single topic — a topic so significant and intimate that he questioned whether or not he should even release it into the world.
“I'm not even that big of a fan of breakup records, myself,” he says. “I mean, there's some I really love. Like Blood on the Tracks, fuck, I love it. But it was just kind of a necessary — that's the only way I know how to let it out. It would have been pretty hard to write about anything else at the time.”
There is palpable sadness and moments of poignant reflection, to be sure, but Furnace also propels Simonett forward with an undeniable sense of newfound freedom. At some points, like on the upbeat third track, “Red Wing Blue Wing,” you could describe the music as downright rollicking.
Like many of his contemporary songwriting peers, Simonett turned to his art to process the feelings that were swirling inside of him. “Right when we split up I went on this huge creative tear, and wrote a bunch,” he remembers. “And then as everything kind of settled in and the process started moving, life got really complicated, and it shut down for a long time. So I did something I've never done before: I went on a writing retreat. In the middle of winter, last winter, I went to this cabin in Finland, Minnesota, just like me in this little cabin for the week, with snow up to the windows and 20 below the whole time, and just wrote. And when I got to that place, I couldn't stop it.”
Ultimately, Simonett found the relief he was hoping for when it came time to make the record. Unsatisfied with the piecemeal approach that he used to cobble together the first draft of the album, Simonett rounded up his longtime friends from the Minneapolis roots rock scene — drummer JT Bates, guitarist Erik Koskinen, bassist Tim Saxhaug (also of Trampled by Turtles), and pianist Bryan Nichols — to record the album live to tape. The five of them holed up in the historic Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minn., a ski chalet-like studio nestled deep in the woods where legendary albums like Nirvana’s In Utero were recorded.
“Making the album was this one great week — we just shut ourselves off in Pachyderm. We lived down there for the time. I don’t think I checked my email for like five days, it was awesome,” he says. “The vibe was just to make it feel like we’re playing in a room together. That can be a really joyful way to record. And then I had to go back to my lawyer’s office, you know? So I really treasure that.”
OUR LINKS
8/31
freakabout
The Dear Misses
Vigil & Thieves
18 & Over | 8 pm
freakabout
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Dear Misses
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Vigil & Thieves
Vigil and Thieves is a Kansas City indie alternative quartet formed in early 2014. Previously described as “grandiose” with a “heartbreaking heaviness,” the band has honed in on dynamic and lyrically-driven song structures that have been compared to live poetry. Their debut album, ‘[defective] book one,’ was released in September 2014, followed by an east coast tour in support, and has since received high praise from publications including Liberty Press, CAMP Kansas City Magazine, and I Heart Local Music.
They are currently in the studio tracking their next album that holds true to their optimistically tragic aesthetic while demonstrating a dark, robust and refined sound. Stay tuned for upcoming tour dates in Winter/Spring 2016.
OUR LINKS
Indigenous
Born and raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Indigenous front man Mato Nanji (Ma-TOE NON-gee) dedicates his latest release Time Is Coming (on Blues Bureau International) to the indigenous youth and all young people on the indigenous reservations.
Mato Nanji’s father, the late Greg Zephier, Sr., was a well-known and highly respected spiritual advisor and spokesperson for the International Indian Treaty Council. In addition to this leadership role, he was an accomplished musician and a member of the musical group, The Vanishing Americans. Formed by Greg and his brothers in the ‘60’s, The Vanishing Americans toured nationally and shared bills with such legends as Bonnie Raitt. Besides being heavily influenced by the music his father and uncles were making, Mato was exposed to Greg’s vast collection of blues records by legendary artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. Consequently, Mato embraced and began utilizing his own musical talent at a young age. With the experience, love and wisdom of their father to guide them, Mato, his brother, sister and cousin formed the band Indigenous while in their late teens.
After much time invested in practicing and building a following, they began touring extensively across the country. In 1998, they released their award winning debut album Things We Do. The title track’s video, directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals), won the American Indian Film Festival Award and was shown at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Indigenous’ music caught the attention of blues icon B.B. King and the young band was invited to play on his annual B.B. King’s Blues Tour in 1999. Sadly, Mr. Zephier would pass away before seeing his children receive this great honor.
With momentum gaining, Indigenous’ 2000 sophomore release, Circle, was produced and arranged by Stevie Ray Vaughan’s longtime friend and collaborator, the late Doyle Bramhall, Sr. Three more cds; Fistful of Dirt (2002), Indigenous (2003) and Long Way Home (2005) would follow before the 2006 decision by the siblings to ‘disband’ and pursue their own musical paths but Mato carried on with the Indigenous band name. “Playing with my family for 10 years was a lot of fun, but it was time to grow and keep moving forward.”
Mato continued touring and in 2006 released Chasing The Sun. Two of the cd’s songs, “Come On Home” and “Leaving”, were featured on the hit Discovery Channel show The Deadliest Catch. “Come on Home” was also featured on FX’s Sons of Anarchy.
On 2008’s Broken Lands, an intensely personal record, Mato and Leah, his lyricist and wife, pay tribute to his Native heritage. The album decries the poverty, isolation and reality of life on the reservation with “Place I Know.” The album gains its title from the line, “all is lost in these broken lands.”
Of The Acoustic Sessions (released in 2010), Mato commented, “It’s a collection of some of my favorite songs that celebrate 10 years of releasing albums. Every song that I have ever written began with the acoustic guitar, so it only felt natural to create an acoustic album.”
Indigenous featuring Mato Nanji (2012) would mark Nanji’s debut on the Blues Bureau International label and the beginning of his collaboration with noted producer, Mike Varney. Joining Mato on the disc’s opening track “Free Yourself, Free Your Mind” is the soulful Jonny Lang. On it, the two guitar-masters trade vocals and guitar solos. It’s truly a blues lover’s ‘match made in heaven’.
In addition to his Indigenous ‘day job’, Mato Nanji has been a member of the critically acclaimed Experience Hendrix Tour since 2002. Playing alongside original Jimi Hendrix band members Billy Cox and the late Mitch Mitchell, the tour roster includes some of today’s blues greats including Buddy Guy, Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (Double Trouble), Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, and Robert Randolph.
Once the 2012 Experience Hendrix Tour concluded, Mato and fellow EHT tour mates David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) and Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) would collaborate and release the hard-driving, psychedelic blues-infused 3 Skulls and the Truth (Blues Bureau International) disc. The album’s no-holds barred setting is the ideal foundation for the three veteran axemen to simply ‘let it fly’.
February 2013 would bring the Mato Nanji-inspired release from trance-blues artist Otis Taylor, My World Is Gone (Telarc). Mato and Otis explore the plight of the American Indian people in a lightning bolt of musical creativity and social commentary. "Mato inspired the entire direction of this album," says Taylor. "We were talking about history backstage at a Jimi Hendrix tribute concert he had just played, and, in reference to his people, the Native American Nakota Nation, he said 'My world is gone.' The simplicity and honesty of those four words was so heavy, I know what I had to write about."
"My dad was my favorite musician so he really influenced me a lot with everything. I just felt it was time to pay tribute to him and his band," says Nanji. That tribute, Vanishing Americans, was released on May 21, 2013 and promptly found its place on iTunes Top 10 Blues Chart. Blues Rock Review (6/5/13) said: “each song is brought together with heavy and powerful guitar riffs akin to those of Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix, while bellowing, raspy vocals turn a talented guitarist’s vision into a relatable song for many, just as any praiseworthy blues album should.”
“Mato continues to refine his guitar and vocal vocabularies with each new release and is also expanding his songwriting skills with his wife Leah,” said producer Mike Varney of Time Is Coming (May 2014). From the infectious opening track of “Grey Skies”; the Soundgarden/Rage Against the Machine influenced “Won’t Be Around No More”; and the gut-wrenching blues of “Don’t Know What To Do”, and at all points in between, Mato Nanji “tears at his guitar strings, bending and shaking them to within an inch of their life, it is clear that he is no mere copyist. He is a genuine virtuoso…” (Rhys Williams, bluesblastmagazine.com 5/14).
Ultimately, Mato dedicates Time Is Coming, to the Indigenous youth and all young people on the Indigenous reservations. Of the song says Nanji; “still to this day, the struggle continues to just live in peace. Growing up here on the reservation I’ve seen a lot of broken families…broken homes. I feel our families’ “Tiospaye” are the core of what makes us who we are. Now family and its meaning is not as strong as it used to be for our people…almost non-existent. So I send my heart and soul out to the indigenous children having a tough time in their lives and in their homes. This record is inspired by them and made in their honor. I hope for the best for all. Tomorrow is another day.”
The Plateros, a three piece award winning family band from the Navajo Nation in Tohajiilee, New Mexico consider Mato Nanji and Indigenous one of their greatest musical influences.
Levi and The Plateros played their first show, a festival in Bird Springs, AZ in December 2004, and by April 2005, they would find themselves onstage performing at the largest PowWow in the world, The Gathering of Nations. Lead guitarist Levi, with his natural born talent, slid across the stage with power chords and screaming blues that amazed the packed crowd. He was just 13 years old.
In the years to follow, Levi, along with his cousins Douglas Platero on drums and Bronson Begay on bass would receive numerous nominations for native music and video awards, and their cd Hang On would take home a win for Best Blues Album at the 2009 New Mexico Music Awards.
In 2012, they joined Indigenous for The Kinship Tour, with The Plateros opening the double bill. They would join Mato for blistering encores that would bring the proverbial house down.
Touring in support of Time Is Coming in the summer of 2014, Mato Nanji would once again call on Levi, Douglas and Bronson to hit the road with him. This time, though, would be different. They would be onstage as Indigenous' rhythm section; Mato and Levi trading leads and solos while Bronson and Douglas provided the strong, stable rhythmic foundation that allowed the two guitarists to 'tear it up'.
As the band made its way across the east coast, the after show buzz was audible. The incendiary chemistry of Mato Nanji, Levi Platero, Bronson Begay and Douglas Platero innate.
They are Indigenous.
OUR LINKS
Brody Buster One Man Band
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Sylvan Esso
Sylvan Esso was not meant to be a band. Rather, Amelia Meath had written a song called “Play It Right” and sung it with her trio Mountain Man. She’d met Nick Sanborn, an electronic producer working under the name Made of Oak, in passing on a shared bill in a small club somewhere. She asked him to scramble it, to render her work his way. He did the obligatory remix, but he sensed that there was something more important here than a one-time handoff: Of all the songs Sanborn had ever recast, this was the first time he felt he’d added to the raw material without subtracting from it, as though, across the unseen wires of online file exchange, he’d found his new collaborator without even looking.
Meath felt it, too. Schedules aligned. Moves were made. And as 2012 slipped into 2013, Sanborn and Meath reconvened in the unlikely artistic hub of Durham, N.C., a former manufacturing town with cheap rent and good food. Sylvan Esso became a band. A year later, their self-titled debut—a collection of vivid addictions concerning suffering and love, darkness and deliverance—arrives as a necessary pop balm, an album stuffed with songs that don’t suffer the longstanding complications of that term.
OUR LINKS
- Sylvan Esso Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On SoundCloud
- On Twitter
Helando Negro
MORE INFO COMING SOON!