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OUR CALENDAR
March
2
Monday
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March
3
Tuesday
March
20
Friday
March
23
Monday
March
24
Tuesday
April
1
Wednesday
April
4
Saturday
April
8
Wednesday
April
8
Wednesday
April
16
Thursday
April
18
Saturday
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April
20
Monday
Houndmouth
That first November 2011 night, when it all fell together at the Green House, was nothing more complicated than four friends playing music, armed with something to drink and a curiosity about what might happen. They were the generation who has come of age in the new economy, already adept at shuffling jobs and get-bys, firmly acclimated to the diminished expectations that come with growing up somewhere the rest of the world assumes is nowhere. Which, in this case, is New Albany, Indiana.
Houndmouth, then, knew each other from…around. Matt Myers and Zak Appleby had played in cover bands together for years, schooled in blues and classic rock and Motown, toughened by indifferent audiences and the clatter of empty bottles. Matt and Katie Toupin had worked as an acoustic duo for three years, when she wasn’t on the road tending to a straight job. Katie and Shane Cody had gone to high school together, before Shane disappeared off to Chicago and New York to study audio engineering. In the beginning it was Shane and Matt who’d started knocking around at first, just drums and guitar, once Shane got home and free of a brief bluegrass flirtation.
The rest happened in a tumble, Zak and Katie switching from guitars to bass and keyboards, respectively. Four months later, their homemade EP in hand, Houndmouth made the pilgrimage to South By Southwest. Their booking agent convinced Rough Trade’s Geoff Travis to come have a listen. Of such things are dreams made. Months of conversation and a proper studio later, their debut album, From the Hills Below the City, will be released by Rough Trade.
“We lucked out,” Matt says. “We knew we were making good music. We knew we had something. But we didn’t know it would escalate so quickly. Always the element of luck.”
Before and after that bit of luck, Houndmouth have been on the road, building their audience. Working. Opening for the Drive-By Truckers, the Lumineers, the Alabama Shakes, Lucero, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Headlining on their own. Turning heads.
“You know good art when you see it,” says Newport Folk Festival booker Jay Sweet, an early adopter, “and you know good food when you taste it. Well, you also know good music when you hear it, and when I first heard Houndmouth it was like freshest tasting art I had heard in many moons. A true musical omnivore’s delight.”
“I’m going down where nobody knows me,” they sing during the jaunty chorus of “On the Road.” The opening track to From the Hills Below the City, which is more or less the relationship New Albany has to Louisville, across the river: “I had a job had to leave behind me…I had to move to another city.” A two and a half minute slightly bent pop confection, conscious of all kinds of music which went before. Self-conscious about nothing, not even the neo-rap cutting contest that snaps across one break. A blues for now, then.
The older heads are noticing, the ones who are hardest to convince. “Houndmouth is a great young band,” testifies Patterson Hood of the Truckers. “They toured with us last month and brought it each and every night. They were extremely popular with our fanbase and our band. I look forward to hearing what they do next.”
Rolling Stone’s David Fricke joined the chorus of praise after seeing Houndmouth during SXSW ’13: “They are all singers, leading with individual character and harmonizing in saloon-choir empathy. The music is earthy melancholy with a rude garage-rock streak.”
Houndmouth’s songs emerge with a loose-limbed swing, anchored by a sturdy rhythm and a cagey melodic sensibility. “Penitentiary,” revived from Matt and Katie’s acoustic days, is all dressed up as a rock anthem. It’s dark, yet fun, with all those voices singing, “come on down to the Penitentiary/oh mama, the law came crashing down on me.”
Matt sketches the origins of his song, which became their song. “I met a guy in Reno on a road trip before we started the band, and he was super down on his luck,” he says. “We met him at a gas station, bumming money. He told me a few details that are probably in the song, but I made most of it up. I changed the setting to Texas, because it sounded authentic.” And then he mentions that he was listening to Jimmie Rodgers at the time.
Hard-luck songs, to be sure, betraying a certain criminal bent. Not their stories, Katie is careful to note, but the world they’ve watched walk on by. “We grew up in Southern Indiana,” she says. “It’s not always the classiest place. So all that is not unfamiliar even if we haven’t personally been through the darkest parts of it.”
And yet, as she also says, “No matter how much anyone wants to write a completely fictional or narrative song, there’s ALWAYS part of you in it. I think that it is important, even when writing narrative songs, that there is something real about them. That there is part of yourself in them.” Houndmouth’s truths, then, are emotional. For the most part.
“The dealers and the bootleggers/Got me hooked on freebasing/And I can’t trust my government/So I looked into the other dimension,” Katie sings, tough and innocent. “And now they got me doing bad things.” “The song is a story,” Katie says. “I didn’t get hooked on freebasing. Yet there is part of me in it…It’s also maybe about me wanting to escape, loosen my morals, not opening my heart to people.”
So are the songs. Deeply emotional, that weird, powerful, essential thing the blues does that makes you feel better through the tears. Especially the songs which are deeply personal, like “Halfway to Hardinsburg” or “Palmyra.” Or the sad, slurring loss of “Long as You’re Home,” on which they sing, “Who am I supposed to be?”
Themselves, of course.
Four musicians from New Albany, Indiana, across the river from Louisville. Where Will Oldham, Jim James, and Freakwater’s Catherine Irwin live. A fecund place, and place
matters. Not a sound, not a scene, but a place. A real place. “There is a familiar element about My Morning Jacket that I can’t really pinpoint,” Katie says. “It’s kinda like what I can’t pinpoint about what Houndmouth is that we all sort of get. It just makes us feel at home.”
OUR LINKS
- Houndmouth Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Youtube
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On SoundCloud
- On Twitter
Twin Limb
"I'll be real: I have no idea what Twin Limb sounds like. I can tell you based on the above picture that they will feature ladies, probably of the singing variety, and an accordion, but I can't tell you anything beyond that. So I'll make it up. Hailing from an alternate reality where accordions are the universal language, Twin Limb are the heroes of their dimension. Originally high school do-nothings, the two were met by a lovable, time traveling so-and-so who via a series of misadventures involving the duo themselves time traveling, taught the pair to "be excellent to each other." This wisdom was imparted on the world after the great Battle of the Bands that Twin Limb won, at which time hover boards and jet packs were widely distributed to the citizens of Earth that everyone may be equally radical. Twin Limb were stranded on our plane of existence shortly after they defeated the quantum bear invasion of 2028, and hope that through their gift of excellence to the planet that they can find a way home." -Never Nervous, 11/5/13
Lacey Guthrie - Accordion, keys, vocals.
Maryliz Guillemi - Drums, guitar, vocals.
Kevin 'Twinderella' Ratterman - Miscellaneous sonic sorcery, magical buttons and pedals, guitar.
Sara Pitt - Everything you see.
Maizy the Dog - Encouragement and unconditional love.
OUR LINKS
Electric Six
2014 was another stellar year for Electric Six. Electric Six began the year by delivering the "Absolute Treasure" live DVD to the Crazies who so generously supported that project, thus making good on the promise to provide the Crazies with a devastating document of the band LIVE IN THE FLESH. Electric Six played shows all over the world, from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Holyhead, Wales to St. Petersburg, Russia and many points in between. Electric Six recorded and released a new record, "Human Zoo." Electric Six went sailing on a sailboat. Electric Six said goodbye to Van. Electric Six welcomed New Van and after a rocky start to the relationship, seems to be settling in just fine. Electric Six initiated a new project involving a 2 disc set of covers and rarities, entitled "Mimicry And Memories," and has worked to record those songs throughtout the latter half of 2014. As is normally the case, Electric Six got a lot done in its 12 months. Electric Six expects that 2015 will be similarly active. Electric Six will finish up the "Mimicry And Memories" project and deliver it unto the Crazies (still holding to March, 2015 at the moment for delivery). Electric Six will embark on its typically active touring schedule once again. Electric Six will commence work on a new record shortly. Electric Six has other plans, dreams and schemes which it hopes to reveal shortly to all the Crazies. It'll be another wild ride, Crazy...get on board.
OUR LINKS
- Electric Six Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On Twitter
- On MySpace
Avan Lava
Being engaged, always being present – it’s about maintaining a certain kind of energy. It’s all inclusive – there’s room for everybody,” describes multi-instrumentalist Ian Pai of the intraband state AVAN LAVA constantly aspires to. In many ways, AVAN LAVA is bigger than their parts and their sum – central to the band is the communing with their fans. “Our whole thing is the audience. It doesn’t happen without them.”
It was this realization that first drew the core members of AVAN LAVA – Pai, producer-musician Le Chev and lead singer TC Hennes – into each other’s paths. The three had spent years orbiting each other in the New York music scene, with Le Chev even auditioning for Pai, who was with performative electroclashers Fischerspooner at the time. (“It’s still the only audition I’ve ever done,” says Le Chev.) When he eventually joined that outfit, Pai and he discovered their shared adoration of Daft Punk was only the beginning, and the two began collaborating on an undetermined project. While Pai and Le Chev found the music came easily, Pai was haunted by the voice he imagined singing over their tracks. “It’s a certain kind of tone that cuts through everything, because of where it sits in the frequency range,” Pai says of what he kept envisioning. Around that time, Pai saw Hennes perform in The Last Goodbye, a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set to the music of Jeff Buckley. “As soon as I heard him sing, I knew that was it,” recalls Pai.
Within days, Hennes came in to sing on a few tracks, and the final piece of AVAN LAVA snapped into cosmic alignment. With Pai amidst the tidal pace of touring, departing and returning for stretches of time, Le Chev and Hennes put together Vapors, AVAN LAVA’s first EP. On the strength of that offering, the group began lighting up audiences and garnering critical attention (prompting The Village Voice to call the band “lush, sparkling”). With 2012’s Flex Fantasy EP, the band built on their unique alchemy of soulful vocals laced through dime-stop beats, launching them on a trajectory that hasn’t stopped. The band embarked on a year-long string of sold-out shows in New York and a US-wide tour with Little Boots, all while managing to spread the AVAN LAVA gospel globally, as when the Seoul Institute of the Arts commissioned the band to put up a full-scale staging of their live show with 100 students. Their reputation as a transportive, over-the-top live act grew, with Noisey raving in a show review "You need these guys in your life!"
OUR LINKS
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
Flock of Dimes
Flock of Dimes is the solo project of Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner.
OUR LINKS
Consider the Source
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Born Cages
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Dreamers
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
The Kickback
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Dopapod
Dopapod is not so much a jam band as they are a band that improvises. They are an electronic band without computers. They are a metal band with groove and soul. They are a funk band that’s not afraid to get intricate. With no regard towards toward stylistic boundaries, the sound that emerges from the quartet both live and in the studio is as varied and diverse as the many influences that they adapt from. Their approach to complementing a distinct genre bending sound to top-notch musicianship is what has kept the quartet committed to evolving their unique brand. This progressive song writing leaves room for boundless improvisational exploration and has been the root of why more and more music lovers are steadily growing in numbers eagerly returning for more.
In the past three years, Dopapod has been tirelessly planting its seed in ears throughout the entire East Coast and into the Midwest with their infectious and sensory live performances. Covering all this ground has seen the young, yet seasoned group make appearances at numerous festivals including Camp Bisco, Mountain Jam, Gathering Of the Vibes, Bonnaroo, Burning Man, Catskill Chill, Bear Creek, The Big Up, Rootwire, and more. Their electric live showcase has been cultivating a fast growing, loyal fan base, and seen them share bills with artists such as Moe, Lotus, EOTO, Papadosio, Zach Deputy, Sam Kininger (Lettuce, Soulive), and Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake, & Palmer).
Redivider is Dopapod’s third studio effort. Having been recorded and released less than a year after the band’s last record Drawn Onward came out, recording was done at Tyrone Farm, a scenic and completely solar powered farm in the small town of Pomfret, CT. Opting to take a different route than recording in a studio, the band brought their own to the barn of the farm and produced it by themselves. Redivider displays a drastic evolution in the band’s songwriting skills as well as marking the first time ever that the band has added vocals into songs. The added texture serves as yet another dimension in what allows the band to look in multiple directions at one time while remaining focused on a cohesive blend of sound.
OUR LINKS
Shovels and Rope
Necessity is the mother of invention. Less is more. Make it work with what you've got. 2 Guitars, a junkyard drum kit (harvested from an actual garbage heap- adorned with tamborines, flowers and kitchen rags), a handful of harmonicas, voices, and above all.. songs. Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent prefer to keep it simple. They have cleverly managed to take 3 separate recording projects and combine them into 1 cohesive, folk rock, sloppy tonk, harmonized, loose but tight, streamlined audience killing machine.
Michael Trent (Texas/Colorado) has just released his second solo album entitled "The Winner", and Cary Ann Hearst (Mississippi/Tennessee) is about to release her second record "Lions & Lambs". Together hey have one duo release "Shovels & Rope" which was came out in 2008 and are currently working on the follow up "Shovels & Rope V.2" in their house, van, and backyard. At the shows, expect to hear a little something from any or all of these releases - while the duo switch instruments and share lead vocal duties. Also prepare to rethink your definition of a live rock band.
OUR LINKS
Yonder Mountain String Band
Yonder Mountain String Band has always played music by its own set of rules. Bending bluegrass, rock and countless other influences that the band cites, Yonder has pioneered a sound of their own. With their traditional lineup of instruments, the band may look like a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they’ve created their own music that transcends any genre. Dave Johnston points out “What could be more pure than making your own music.” Yonder’s sound cannot be classified purely as “bluegrass” or “string music” but rather it’s an original sound created from “looking at music from [their] own experiences and doing the best job possible.” The band continues to play by their own rules on their new record The Show.
The Colorado-based foursome has crisscrossed the country over the past eleven years playing such varied settings as festivals, rock clubs, Red Rocks Amphitheater in the band’s home state, and recently the Democratic National Convention in Denver at Mile High Stadium opening for Barack Obama. Their loyal fanbase has been built from this diverse setting of music venues as fans latched on to their genre-defying original sound.
In between tours the band spent time this last year working on its fifth studio album. Set for a September 1 release on the band’s own label, The Show is the second album with rock producer Tom Rothrock (Beck, Elliott Smith, Foo Fighters). While some might scratch their heads as to why a string band would want a rock producer, this decision was a natural choice for the band. “We don’t have a lot of nostalgia for the past,” says banjo player Dave Johnston. “You shouldn’t try to recreate the 1940s. I like to think of us as informed by the past and all the great performers before us. But we also want to look forward rather than give people something that has already been perfected.”
The Show has the similar acoustic instrumentation (Adam Aijala on guitar, Johnston on banjo, Jeff Austin on mandolin and Ben Kaufman on bass with all four singing) as many of its classic bluegrass forefathers. Though once again drums are present (as with the self-titled fourth album) with the great Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello’s bands adding a rhythmic backdrop to Yonder’s still-acoustic sound on six of the tracks. The record consists of thirteen songs all written by Yonder.
The band has long cited such varied influences as the bluegrass of Del McCoury, Johnson Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Osborne Brothers as well as the punk rock of Bad Religion, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys. Somewhere in between these two tent poles are early 20th Century composers and alternative rock bands like Grandaddy and Postal Service. It’s all funneled through the band’s unique chemistry, honed since they first met at an informal club performance in 1998. With band members writing individually, in different pairings and as a collective, the album proves that this group is a collection of creative peers and you can hear it in the rich tapestry of music that makes up The Show.
Here Yonder offers such traditional bluegrass sounding fare as “Out Of The Blue” and “Casualty.” The band has explored its country roots in the past and does so again this time on “Steep Grade, Sharp Curves,” a song that describes the roads around its home base in Nederland as well as a particularly dangerous femme fatale. A little further from the roots is the impressionistic “Isolate” with its simple but ominous bass line and minimal arrangement. There is also a bevy of rockers like “Complicated,” “Fingerprints” and “Belle Parker,” a gem of a song about a hard-hearted woman. The band even finds some excellent middle ground between bluegrass and rock on “Fine Excuses” thanks in part to a scorching guitar solo from Adam Aijala. There is also the extended “Honestly” -- at eight-minutes, the longest song on the album, with a middle section that is an excellent platform for lengthier live excursions that are as improvisatory as any electric band on the live music circuit.
The band is a regular at bluegrass festivals like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the band's own Northwest String Summit as well as massive multi-stage events like Austin City Limits Festival, Bonnaroo and Rothbury. Fans are no doubt drawn to Yonder’s anything goes attitude, its humor and passion about music, and the band’s ability to stretch out live. “We love that people come to see us,” Johnston points out. “Everyone appreciates good music. Some people want to go to a recital and some people want to party.”
But as its fans know, Yonder Mountain String Band does something a little different, more than just a musical party. The Show is the band’s most varied and versatile album to date, and the summation of the journey that these guys are on together. It’s bluegrass for the masses, acoustic tunes filled with dazzling chops, and it’s fun to boot. The humble Johnston sounds as surprised as anyone by the band’s success, but knows that it all boiled down to chemistry, which has never changed. “Somewhere down there we all kind of recognized that we had something unique,” he explains. “But there is no way I could have imagined the amount of success that the band has had.”
OUR LINKS
Ben Sollee
Kentucky-born cellist and composer Ben Sollee likes to keep moving. He kicked off 2014 with the release of his score for the documentary film Maidentrip. In March, he performed at Carnegie Hall as part of a tribute to Paul Simon. And you may have caught Sollee on the road supporting song-writer William Fitzsimmons throughout April and May. If you’ve seen him perform, you know it’s not to missed.
For listeners just discovering Ben’s music, you’ll find that there’s a lot more to it than songs. Over the 6 years following the release of his debut record, Learning to Bend, Sollee has told an unconventional story with his rugged cello playing. Seeking a deeper connection to communities on the road, Ben first packed his touring life onto his bicycle in 2009. Since then he has ridden over 4,000 miles from show to show. He has been invited to perform and speak on sustainability at a number of festivals including South by Southwest Music (2011) and TEDx San Diego (2012).
Closer to home, Ben has devoted a tremendous amount of energy to raising awareness about the practice of mountaintop removal mining in Central Appalachia. His 2010 collaborative album Dear Companion (Sub Pop) brought together fellow Kentucky artist Daniel Martin Moore with producer Jim James (My Morning Jacket) to shed light on the issue. In teaming up with international organizations such as Patagonia Clothing and Oxfam America, Ben has come to be known as a thoughtful activist who mobilizes his audiences to take environmental actions through the power of live music.
Like his contemporaries Chris Thile and Abigail Washburn, Sollee’s music is difficult to pin down. Following a performance at the Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series, the New York Times remarked how Sollee’s “…meticulous, fluent arrangements continually morphed from one thing to another. Appalachian mountain music gave way to the blues, and one song was appended with a fragment from a Bach cello suite, beautifully played.” It’s Ben’s quality of narrative and presence on stage that unifies his musical influences.
However, always on the move, Sollee’s musical career has expanded beyond the stage into film and TV. Shows like ABC’s Parenthood and HBO’s Weeds have placed featured Ben’s songs. In 2013, he was invited by director Mark Steven Johnson to write a song for the film Killing Season starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro. Ben has also has written music for ballet, most recently performing with the North Carolina Dance Theater in the world premiere of Dangerous Liaisons, and is currently at work on scores for several pieces of theatre. He continues touring, including headlining dates throughout the United States in the fall of 2014, and has recently returned from his first solo tour of Europe, which took him to three countries to play eleven shows in two weeks.
OUR LINKS
Dr. Dog
On January 13th DR. DOG will release Live at a Flamingo Hotel, the first ever bottling of the band’s legendary live performance. While studio releases have seen high critical acclaim, it’s the band’s live show that has truly cemented it as one of America’s best and brightest acts, a rock n roll juggernaut that has won its large and ever-growing fan base by exceeding expectations.
“That’s always what we’ve wanted to do,” says bassist/vocalist Toby Leaman. “We’re one thing on a record and a different thing live. Somebody goes to a DR. DOG show and they come back again and they bring more people with them. Our live show is vital to how we view ourselves as a band.”
With Live at a Flamingo Hotel, the band has captured the essence of a DR. DOG show; no matter the venue or town, the medium is the message. That tiny article is important: It’s “A” flamingo hotel, not “The,” which lends itself to that idea of transient perfection, a band that gives its all to each and every audience, every night, all the time. “That’s the point of a DR. DOG show, transporting you in some way,” says Leaman. “Whether it’s a shit basement in Texas or an amphitheater in Philadelphia, it doesn’t matter, this is the place; this is what we do, no matter what.”
OUR LINKS
Mewithoutyou
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Reptar
There are four boys who make up Reptar. They have offered twice as many (if not more) explanations for why they chose to name their band after a Rugrats character. Â But these days, the Athens, GA based group is sticking to this one: “I first tried to name the band Invisible Boyfriend,” giggles singer-guitarist Graham Ulicny. “And everybody goes, ‘that is the stupidest name I have ever heard in my life.” So why Reptar? “It is the second stupidest band name we have ever heard.”
Indeed, there is no pretense behind Reptar, which also includes Andrew McFarland (drums), Ryan Engelberger (Bass), and William Kennedy (analog keyboards). Â Still, the ability to amuse and arouse their fans is just as important to them as indulging their musical curiosities. Â This sonic wanderlust extends from African Music to post-punk to psych-pop and converges joyously in songs such as “Blastoff” and “Rainbounce,” and it’s won them high fives from NPR and NME alike.
Their aesthetic percolates even more vibrantly through their debut LP, Body Faucet, out May 1, 2012 on Vagrant Records. Â A set of shimmering sing-along anthems produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Washed Out), Body Faucet is propelled by jerky guitars and persistent beats. Â “The record feels like a big dream with different chapters,” says Ryan. “Ghost Bike” captures the space between witnessing a friend’s death and surviving it. In “Sebastian” (named after a saint who became a gay icon), it’s experiencing, then remembering, a sexual awakening with a close friend. Â Lyrics and music flow in a liquid form from real places, each song oozing with a different color and substance. Â “We wanted to capture the thoughts we project on our surroundings and the ideas that flow in and out of us each day,” says Graham. Â Indeed, much of the record deals with exploring and interacting with one’s surroundings in new, occasionally frustrating, ways. Â The album builds with songs such as “New House,” expressing a future of possibilities. Â A centerpiece of sorts, notes Andrew, “it’s the most driving song on the record, and it’s really empowering live.”
If Reptar had a superpower, it’d be the knack for warming up every space they inhabit. Â “Our music is very physical,” says Ryan. Â “We always try to get people moving.” This is wired into the DNA of the band, which honed its chops on house shows and continues to keep them a central part of its life. Â These shows began three years ago when they moved into a teetering, buttercup yellow abode together. Â “It was slanted at a 20-degree angle,” Ryan explains, “and we’d have shows in the front room.” Â Word spread, and soon they were popping up around at other houses, then clubs.
Reptar even rounded out their stint at last year’s SXSW by playing in a friend’s backyard. Â Impressed by this commitment to connect, NME later rhapsodized about that bouncy set performed on a flatbed truck, anointing Reptar one of the “biggest buzzes” at the festival. Â “Little kids were running around selling cupcakes to drunk people for exorbitant amounts of money,” marvels Graham. Â Reptar, of course, played for free.
OUR LINKS
Drive-By Truckers
English Oceans, the 12th release by Athens, Georgia's Drive-By Truckers, is an elegantly balanced and deeply engaged new effort that finds the group refreshed and firing on all cylinders.
All but one of the collection's 13 new songs, written by singer-guitarists and co-founding members Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, were recorded during 13 days of sessions in August 2013 with longtime producer David Barbe.
Six of the songs were the result of a burst of writing activity by Cooley.
"I had time to write," Cooley says. "After we came off the road last time, we decided we were going to let it rest for a while. So I had time to really focus. I kind of had to re-learn how to write, because I didn't write as many songs as I'd wanted on the last couple of records. I was happy with these songs, and thrilled to go in and record so many that I felt real strongly about."
Hood notes, "I don't think we've ever had a record where Cooley was as deeply involved in every aspect of the making of it as he was this time. With Cooley's writing, there's almost no precedent for it in our catalog. He came in with this stunning bunch of songs, full of this beautiful imagery."
Writing independently, Cooley and Hood penned songs that dovetailed brilliantly with each other. Hood says, "Every song on this record connects with another song. I noticed Cooley's got a line in 'Primer Coat' about 'apron strings,' and I have the exact same image in one of my songs, 'Hanging On.' It goes on and on and on like that on this record, and that's a pretty good sign for things, particularly given how different our temperaments are and our styles of writing are."
Cooley and Hood's brace of character-based songs depict a neatly interlocking gallery of relationships, often in dissolution and discord. The last song written and recorded for the album, Hood's rave-up "Pauline Hawkins," was based on a new novel by Willy Vlautin and penned after another of his compositions was scrapped.
Hood says, "There was such a balance between Cooley's songs and my songs that taking a song off the record would upset the balance a little bit. I liked the back-and-forth flow, like our shows tend to do. I got an advance copy of Willy's latest book, The Free. I've been a fan of his writing for a while. I read it in about three days. I finished it on Saturday, I wrote the song on Sunday, and then we cut it on Thursday and mastered the record on the following Monday. It sure makes it a better record."
DBT's ever-keen political edge can be seen in two songs on the release. Cooley's "Made Up English Oceans" derives from his interest in the career of Lee Atwater, the Republican operative who was active in the Reagan and Bush campaigns of the '80s. "He was the guy that Karl Rove and all of the modern dirty tricksters looked to – he was one of the granddaddies of it all. That song is from his point of view, fictionally of course. It's him making his pitch, telling what he understands about young, Southern men."
Hood says "The Part of Him" was inspired by the procession of scandals that plague the political world year after year. "It's about political assholery -- there's someone new playing that role every few months," he says. "As soon as we get rid of one of them, someone comes up and starts playing that part again."
Reflecting the renewed high level of collaboration between the band's two principals, English Oceans marks an unprecedented event: the recording of a Hood song, "Til He's Dead or Rises," with Cooley assuming the lead vocal.
Cooley says, "I remember Patterson was getting frustrated trying to sing it. He was doing fine, but it seemed like there was something he wanted to do that wasn't coming. I was in the control room thinking, 'I could probably sing this' -- though it wasn't like I was saying, 'Oh, I can sing this a lot better than that.' I was thinking, 'This sounds like something I could sing.' Right after that, he walks into the control room and says, 'You want to trying singing this? It sounds more like you than me.' I said, 'Yeah, I was just thinking that.'"
"Grand Canyon," the final song on the album, is an emotionally overwhelming elegy for Craig Lieske, a longtime member of DBT's touring family. The former manager of Athens' 40 Watt Club and a key player in the city's experimental music scene, Lieske died suddenly of a heart attack in January 2013 following the first night of the band's three-night homecoming stand in Athens. English Oceans is dedicated to him.
"I probably wrote it in 15 minutes," Hood says. "It wasn't any kind of a conscious thing. It's the most important song of mine on the record. I wrote new songs to go with it. It recalibrated something. It became a totally different record for me than the record I thought we were going to make."
The album was recorded with a compact, retooled lineup. Jay Gonzalez, who joined the band in 2008 as keyboardist, stepped into an expanded role by adding guitar to his duties, while bassist Matt Patton was drafted from the Tuscaloosa group The Dexateens. The unit was road-tested during dates in 2013.
Cooley says, "This lineup is so direct. It can go from this chainsaw rock 'n' roll to very delicate, pretty-sounding stuff. We wrote a lot of those kinds of songs, and this lineup got all of that well."
Hood agrees: "We recorded with a stripped-down lineup that gave things a more primal and immediate feel. It's a more turn-on-a-dime kind of thing, which suits these songs, and us as a band. It's a very tasteful group, and when it needs to be it can be a very big, powerful, over-the-top band, too, and it can go from one to the other seamlessly."
Looking at the accomplishments of English Oceans from the perspective of DBT's nearly three-decade history, both Cooley and Hood decline to hedge their bets on the quality of their latest work.
"You're always hesitant to say, 'Oh, this is the best record we've ever made,'" Cooley says, "because you always want to. And sometimes you say it, and sometimes you're right, and sometimes you think, 'Well, maybe I jumped the gun on that a little bit, I got excited.' But I think this just might be the best record we've ever made."
Hood concurs enthusiastically: "It's my favorite thing that we've ever done. I'm proud of our catalog – we always try to make as good a record as we can make. Sometimes things just work. This time, we made kind of a magical record. I've always felt that Decoration Day was our best record, and this is the first one that I think is a better record than that was. Every piece of the puzzle fit."
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Passafire
Calling Savannah, GA home, Passafire was formed in 2003 by students attending Savannah College of
Art and Design. After performing on a stage outside Atlanta’s Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre in 2006 where
the hybrid rock band, Pepper, was opening for 311, a member of Passafire slipped to Pepper a copy of
the band’s self-titled debut album, Passafire. Pepper had just founded the independent LAW Records
with plans to selectively recruit and nurture bands they actually experienced and were impressed by while
out on the road - as opposed to sitting in some distant office and combing through piles of demos. “We’re
out there every day, meeting and playing with new bands,” says Pepper bassist/singer, Bret Bollinger.
“It’s not a guessing game. We get to meet them, watch them live...”
“And spot their work ethic,” Singer/guitarist, Kaleo Wassman interjects with emphasis,
Passafire developed their sizable fanbase by logging miles all over the US (particularly, in the southeast),
which attracted the established booking agent, Monterey International who has taken the band to the
next level of touring. Passafire has performed with a variety of major acts including The Wailers, Van
Halen, Israel Vibrations, 311, Toots and the Maytals, Los Lonely Boys, Bares Hammond, John
Brown’s Body, Matisyahu, the Aggrolites and Dub Trio. The band lives on the road, playing live
throughout the year. Singer, Ted Bowne doesn’t mind the grueling schedule and adds, “Touring is the
best way to keep the buzz about the band going. What keeps it fun and exciting is the people we meet
and places we get to see. We are in a new city every day so there's always something to go see or do. If
we didn't tour constantly, we wouldn't be doing as well as we are. That's a fact.”
Buy Tickets Here: http://pipelineticketing.frontgatesolutions.com/choose.php?a=1&lid=72575&eid=82010
OUR LINKS
Stranger
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Infamous Stringdusters
Dismiss labels. Forget trying to fit into a scene. Be true and play your songs.
That encompasses the prevailing spirit of Let It Go, the fifth studio album from Grammy-nominated bluegrass expansionists The Infamous Stringdusters. The new effort, released April 1 on the band’s own High Country Recordings, finds the band on firm footing, at ease with an evolving sound that defies categorization. It’s acoustic music, sure, but not the kind you’ll hear from any other band. Roots can be traced but boundaries don’t exist.
The Infamous Stringdusters have proven they can both mine the past and look forward to the unknown, and their new album is a touchstone for a group of tightly bonded musicians completely comfortable with each other and their collective identity.
Perhaps the sentiment is best summarized through five joined voices in the mountaintop gospel-hued title track: “If it’s worry you’ve been feeling over things you can’t control, it’s time to let it go.”
The Evolution
When The Infamous Stringdusters first emerged eight years ago, the band was immediately branded fast-picking Nashville wunderkinds, a new-generation super group built to revive the high lonesome sound. Then came immediate accolades—IBMA awards, a chart-topping self-titled album for Sugar Hill Records and a Grammy nomination for “Best Country Instrumental” (for “Magic No. 9″ from the 2010 album Things That Fly). Incendiary chops, complete with undeniable instrumental virtuosity and heartfelt harmonies, immediately positioned the band to be longstanding bluegrass torchbearers.
But for the five members of The Stringdusters—Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle) and Travis Book (upright bass)—reverence for traditionalism has always been only part of the equation. The group has always remained intent on fostering something bigger, more original. It’s this desire—and the combined efforts of uniquely creative minds—that has brought the quintet to its current place as multi-dimensional string explorers, mixing tight song craft from a variety of musical styles with a flare for improvisation. Armed with an exhilarating, often-unpredictable live show, the open-minded approach has certainly resonated and allowed the band to easily fit on a diverse set of stages—from Telluride and Grey Fox to Bonnaroo and High Sierra—building crowds along the way that fill some of the country’s best rock clubs.
The Lifestyle Experience
The past year was particularly transformative, as the band members realized there was no need to go through the formulaic motions in a shaky music industry. Bolstered by the support of a loyal and dedicated grassroots fan base, The Infamous Stringdusters are constantly looking for opportunities to create new experiences. Oftentimes it happens on stage, like the recent sit-ins from Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh or jazz guitar legend John Scofield. Other times it’s through accompanying adventures, like the band’s August 2013 trip on the Middle Fork of Idaho’s Salmon River.
Following the group’s 2013 summer American Rivers Tour, which doubled as an awareness campaign for water sustainability issues in partnership with prominent outdoor industry companies including Patagonia, Klean Kanteen and Osprey Packs, the band members and select fans and friends embarked on a six-day float trip through an unspoiled wilderness area. With instruments in tow, the band played music daily, standing on the banks of the river or sitting together in campsite circles. The inspiration of natural surroundings yielded fresh songs that landed on the new album. “Middlefork” is a newgrass instrumental that conveys the mood of being free in pristine open spaces. “Where The Rivers Run Cold” features a fast progression and introspective lyrics that peak with a bold chorus about enjoying the beauty that surrounds.
In The Studio
When it was time to record Let It Go, the band came together in the fall at White Star Sound, a secluded studio with rustic, close-knit accommodations and state-of-the-art equipment, located on a vast, historic farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s a quiet place, accessed by a dirt road, where chickens wander freely and long pastoral views can be enjoyed in every direction. With no distractions, it was the perfect place to distill an overflowing well of ideas that had been filling since the band’s last release, 2012’s Silver Sky.
The result is easily the band’s most cohesive musical statement to date. It’s a record that respects the studio process. Dynamic picking is delivered with restrained grace, in service to song. There’s stylistic range within the context of a unified vision, as melodic reflective tunes wander between nuanced expansive folk (“I’ll Get Away”), anthemic country jams (“Colorado”), freewheelin’ acoustic rock (“Peace of Mind” and “Light & Love”) and dusty balladry (“Rainbows”).
The members of The Infamous Stringdusters now all reside in different locations. Hall and Pandolfi recently felt the calling of the mountains and both moved to Colorado. Guitar ace Falco returned to his roots in Long Island to be near family, while Garrett remains in Nashville, where he’s known as a prolific songwriter. Book dwells quietly in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, near the site of the band’s annual October festival The Festy Experience.
Occasional separation has proven to be a good thing. It’s important to remember these are five musicians with unique individual talents, but they all realize they have an undeniably special chemistry when they come together. That was apparent from day one. But now after years of growth—both personal and professional—the band has cast off labels and found an existence where music is about a greater connection. Through friendship, democracy, skill, passion and open minds, it’s a broader lifestyle filled with community and plenty of celebration.
OUR LINKS
4/25
TOUR DE COMPADRES featuring NEEDTOBREATHE
Ben Rector
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
Colony House
| All Ages | 6 pm
BUY TICKETS!TOUR DE COMPADRES featuring NEEDTOBREATHE
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Ben Rector
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Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors
Some artists are able to articulate a vision at the very beginning of their career, while others hone their craft over time, growing into their vision as they mature.
“I am definitely in the latter category,” explains Drew Holcomb, a Tennessee-born, duck hunting, bourbon drinking, 1st edition book collecting, golf playing Eagle Scout with a Masters degree in Divinity from Scotland’s University of St Andrews (he wrote his dissertation on “Springsteen and American Redemptive Imagination”) who has spent the better part of the past decade as a professional musician – recording, writing, and touring with his band Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors.
Since releasing their first album, 2005’s Washed In Blue, Drew & The Neighbors (Ellie Holcomb, Nathan Dugger, Rich Brinsfield) have established themselves as a formidable indie act, selling more than 75,000 records, playing more than 1,500 live dates, selling-out headline shows, and touring alongside such varied acts as The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, NEEDTOBREATHE, Susan Tedeschi, North Mississippi Allstars, Marc Broussard, and more. Their songs have been used in countless television shows and commercials, most notably in TNT’s Emmy Award winning 2011 Christmas Day NBA Forever spot, which paired the song Live Forever with a mesmerizing montage of past and present NBA video footage.
The hard work has paid off with the band’s sixth album Good Light showcasing Drew’s signature brand of singer/songwriter Americana in its finest form yet. Recorded live at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Good Light arrives shortly following Drew’s 30th birthday and the birth of his first child, daughter Emmylou (named for – you guessed it – Emmylou Harris), with wife and band-mate Ellie Holcomb. I think about my daughter every time I sing the title track, how I want to sing it over her when she is old enough to start understanding the world of truth and consequence,” says the Memphis native who now calls Nashville home.
“This album perfectly tells the story for a new stage in my life,” explains Drew “On past albums I was searching for my voice, both literally and figuratively. I co-wrote a lot of songs, peppered the music with too many influences, and let too many other voices in my head.”
With this album, Drew dedicated himself to the process of songwriting, stripping away extra layers, ridding himself of past boundaries and expectations. He wrote more than 40 songs for Good Light, mostly alone on his 1934 Gibson Archtop, eventually whittling the selections down to a final 12 tracks.
Drawing from personal experience to craft songs that speak to all of us, Drew explores the universal need to find meaning and joy in the midst of heartbreak and disappointment throughout Good Light. The last song on the album Tomorrow opens with the lyric, ‘Nothing ever turns out like you thought it would.’ It’s a theme that permeates the album.
“I have been through really difficult things,” Drew continues. “When I was 17, I lost my younger brother, and have lived through the grief of that great absence. On the other hand, I have experienced the joy of being married to the girl I always wanted, and have been loved really well by her…Everyone has all these different ingredients; our geography, our family, our interests, the places we have been and the places we long to see, the loves we have found and the loves we have lost. Each of us has a story, and it’s the only one we can tell. With this album I’m telling my story, in the hope that it helps other people tell theirs.”
OUR LINKS
Colony House
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Cherub
“Melding a club-spawn, skull-shaking low end with a wall of guitars and talkbox pyrotechnics, the duo comprising Cherub also sport the silky smooth pipes to spread their appeal to all four corners of the dance floor.” – Nashville Scene
Cherub is a sexy, avante garde, electro-pop duo that is the dance love-child of 80’s funk, and pop-music from the future. The members of Cherub, Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, share a love for honest original music and vibrant live performance, with a common goal to share a little bit of sex, a little bit of drugs, and a whole lot of love with people across the globe. Cherub’s music is a fresh electrified take on risqué pop music that brings to mind timeless artists like Prince, Zapp and Roger, and more contemporary Justin Timberlake. With a live show that is bouncing with energy, Cherub dances their way into the hearts of audiences from the first falsetto hook, until the very last delay filters out.
After completing studio work for Cherub’s first release, Man of the Hour, singer/songwriter Jordan Kelley joined forces with fellow producer/performer, Jason Huber, to polish Cherub’s live electro act and begin performing throughout the Southeast. Both Jordan and Jason have received recognition as producers and live musicians, previously performing as Schtompa and I.V.Y. League alongside renown acts, such as EOTO, Boombox, Count Bass D, GZA of Wu Tang Clan, Two Fresh, and many more. Since Cherub’s formation in late 2010, the band has shared the stage with highly regarded acts like Pretty Lights, Alex B, Big Gigantic, Bag Raiders, Miami Horror, and many others. The duo is looking forward to a number of high profile live dates throughout the fall of 2011, including dates in Mexico with YACHT and Nortec Collective, and a Halloween show supporting Pretty Lights in the band’s hometown, Nashville, TN.
Since the recording of Man of the Hour, Cherub has returned to the studio as a dynamic electro-pop production duo, to lay down tracks for their second collection of recorded material. This new batch of Cherub songs brings a fresh uptempo electro feel to the familiar pop sensibilities for which fans know and love Cherub. Jordan Kelley’s clever songcraft, slick production, and smooth falsetto, are complimented perfectly by Jason Huber’s on-stage production, tube-driven guitar work, and exciting vocal harmonies.
The Man of the Hour brings a new light to electro-pop music. The catchy hooks, tasteful synthwork, and dance-demanding rhythms work together with honest lyrics delivering a unique twist on accessible pop rock music. The Man of the Hour provides a musical package that keeps listeners bouncing around a club, and singing along the entire ride home. Drawing instant comparisons to contemporary favorites like Chromeo, Bag Raiders, The Dream, and MGMT, Cherub’s Man of the Hour brings new definition to live music and electronic music alike.
Jordan Kelley wants to “focus on making good music that is personally relevant, rather that pay attention to the conventions of any particular genre. That’s what made the Man of the Hour.” Cherub’s live performance of Man of the Hour captivates audiences with swooping vocals, soaring guitars and talkbox, and ethereal harmonies, from the drop of the first beat, until Jordan and Jason dance their way off stage.
The newer unreleased Cherub material brings a funky vintage vibe to a new-school electronic sound, with soulful stacks of falsetto harmonies, and a layered cake of talkbox and vocoders, reminiscent of Prince, or Zapp and Roger. These songs display Cherub’s versatility in songwriting and dance music production, ranging from grooving heartfelt ballads, to risqué club bangers that blur conventional genre barriers. Playful guitar licks and lush synthesizer textures dance around in the mix, as listeners are treated to sing-a-long hook after hook the entire way through the tunes. It’s fun. The Nashville Scene claims Cherub as their “nu favorite nu disco duo.”
“Instead of fearing the changes seen in music performance, with technology being so readily incorporated into everyday life, Cherub looks to embrace everything that is fresh and exciting, and we seek to pioneer a new school of music composition, production, and performance… Cheers to the future!” – Jason Huber
OUR LINKS
Mystery Skulls
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ForteBowie
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Bad Manners
Bad Manners, composed of vocalist Buster Bloodvessel (born Douglas Trendle), Louis Cook (guitar), David Farren (bass), Martin Stewart (keyboards), Brian Tuitti (drums), Gus Herman (trumpet), Chris Kane (saxophone), and Andrew Marson (saxophone), were one of the many bands to take their inspiration from the Specials and the ska revival movement in England in the late '70s. They quickly became the novelty favorites of the fad through their bald, enormous-bodied frontman's silly on-stage antics, earning early exposure through 2-Tone Records package tours and an appearance in the live documentary Dance Craze. In the early '80s, they managed several U.K. hits including "Ne-Ne Na-Na Na-Na Nu-Nu," "Lip Up Fatty," "Special Brew," and "Can Can." By the mid-'80s, the ska craze was over and the band retired temporarily after the release of 1985's Mental Notes, only to return in 1989 with Return of the Ugly, remaining a live attraction despite a lack of concurrent hits. By the mid-'90s, a third wave ska revival renewed interest in the band. Eat the Beat was released in 1996 and Uneasy Listening followed in 1997, as well as several collections from the band's peak years.
OUR LINKS
6/13
Missouri Chainsaw Grassacre
Split Lip Rayfield
Mountain Sprout
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Cowgirls Train Set
Loaded Goat
Cutty Rye
The Souveneers
| All Ages | 11 am
BUY TICKETS!Missouri Chainsaw Grassacre
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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.
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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.
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Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
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Cowgirls Train Set
Originally a 2 piece but though out everything has just grown and grown and grown to become this 7 piece of destruction and energy. we have formed here in the great state of Kansas bringing in our experiences from all across the free state. Now we have become a force to be reckoned with using our huge sound and great harmonies and vocal variety. prepare for the end!
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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.
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Cutty Rye
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The Souveneers
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Wilco
Wilco rose from the ashes of the seminal roots rockers Uncle Tupelo, who disbanded in 1994. While Jay Farrar, one of the group's two singer/songwriters, went on to form the band Son Volt, his ex-partner Jeff Tweedy established Wilco along with the remaining members of Tupelo's final incarnation, which included drummer Ken Coomer as well as part-time bandmates John Stirratt (bass) and Max Johnston (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, and lap steel). Guitarist Jay Bennett rounded out the group, which in 1995 issued their debut album, A.M., a collection of spry country-rock tunes that followed the course established in Tweedy's earlier work. Wilco's sophomore effort, 1996's two-disc set Being There, marked a radical transformation in the group's sound; while remaining steeped in the style that earned Tweedy his reputation, the songs took unexpected detours into psychedelia, power pop, and soul, complete with orchestral touches and R&B horn flourishes. Shortly after the release of Being There, which most critics judged to be among the year's best releases, Johnston left the group to play with his sister, singer Michelle Shocked, and was replaced by guitarist Bob Egan of the band Freakwater. At the same time, while remaining full-time members of Wilco, Stirratt, Bennett, and Coomer also began performing together in the pop side project Courtesy Move. In 1998, Wilco collaborated with singer/songwriter Billy Bragg on Mermaid Avenue, a collection of performances based on unreleased material originally written by Woody Guthrie.
Their stunningly lush third album, Summerteeth, followed in 1999 and met with critical acclaim but only average sales, initiating tensions with their label, Warner Bros. 2000 saw the release of Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2, which featured more selections from the band's collaborations with Bragg on Woody Guthrie's unfinished songs. Following this release, longtime drummer Ken Coomer decided to amicably leave the band and was replaced by the Chicago-based Glenn Kotche. The band then focused on recording their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which ultimately led to the departure of guitarist Jay Bennett, and further tensions with their label. Unwilling to change the album to make it more "commercially viable," Wilco bought the finished studio tapes from Warner/Reprise for a reported $50,000 and left the label altogether. Leaked tracks from the album surfaced on the Internet in late 2001, and the stripped-down lineup of Tweedy, Kotche, Stirratt, and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach embarked on a small tour to support -- or drum up support for -- their unreleased album. Nonesuch Records picked up the album and the official release came out in early 2002 to widespread critical acclaim. Meanwhile, an independent film documenting the drama surrounding the album entitled I Am Trying to Break Your Heart followed in the fall of 2002. During the down time after the album was recorded, Tweedy composed and recorded the film score to the Ethan Hawke film Chelsea Walls, which ended up being released around the same time as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Wilco toured extensively following the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and in 2003 began work on their next album, A Ghost Is Born. While sessions went smoothly compared to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, after the album was finished Leroy Bach left the band in a split that was described as mutual and amicable; guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Mike Jorgensen, and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone joined Wilco for their subsequent tour. Shortly before the album's release, Tweedy surprised many fans by announcing he had entered a drug rehabilitation facility to treat a dependency on painkillers, prescribed to treat a long history of migraine headaches aggravated by panic disorder. Tweedy discussed his heath problems in depth, along with the often tangled history of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, in Wilco: Learning How to Die, a biography of the group written by rock journalist Greg Kot, published to coincide with A Ghost Is Born's release in the spring of 2004. The following year, the group released Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, a 23-track collection recorded in the Windy City's Vic Theatre, an album that was later deemed one of the Top 20 best live albums by Q Magazine. In 2007 Wilco's sixth studio album, Sky Blue Sky, hit shelves. ~ Jason Ankeny & Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
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http://thewholelove.com/
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http://wilcoworld.net/#!/almost/
OUR LINKS
Steve Gunn
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Young the Giant
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Wildling
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