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OUR CALENDAR
April
26
Thursday
April
27
Friday
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May
1
Tuesday
May
2
Wednesday
May
5
Saturday
May
9
Wednesday
May
11
Friday
May
12
Saturday
May
18
Friday
J Roddy Walston & the Business
J. RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESSDestroyers of the Soft LifeFall 2017 Heading intoDestroyers of the Soft Life, the fourth LP by J. Roddy Walston and The Businessset to be releasedSeptember 29 via ATO Records, JRWATBpursued a brighter, more nuanced sound that teased out the band’s latent pop sensibilities without skimping on energy or attitude. As you press play on the opening track “You Know Me Better”, anthemic guitars scream out of buoyant, hooky lyricsas Walston’s chugging piano supplies a persistent heartbeat. The “bar band” sound of the past has been replaced by an aspirational, booming cacophony that could fill stadiums. Instead of the raucous bombast JRWATB manifested on their breakout hit album Essential Tremors, the band’s leader had certain rules he was determined to followon Destroyers of the Soft Life. Onewas:“Speak/sing clearly, no hiding behind mumbles.” Another was,“D.I.Y. but hi-fi —record ourselves as much as possible but have it sound amazing and full.”The final, most important, rule was, “Nostalgia is a cancer —acknowledge that you are in the present.” “We had never been a band where we pretended that it’s 1965,” Walston says. “But we ended up in situations with our records where those rules were imposed on us.”On Essential Tremors, JRWATBinspired pangs of joy in music fans that yearn for the days of Bob Seger and early Bruce Springsteen. But when Walston returned homefrom touring in 2015and began contemplating his next move, he no longer felt the same connection to that classic-rock sound.“Loud rock and roll music has become less relevant because it’s just been on a loop,” he says. “If there was any rule on this record, it was, let’s be a part of music right now. I want to be part of living music in this moment.”Helping the band realize a new vision for its music was veteran producer Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Father John Misty, Fleet Foxes), who came in to apply some finishing touches after JRWATBcompleted most of the record in Virginia. “The thing with Phil is he is a servant of the song and that is my vibe as well,” Walston says. “Ego has no place in songwriting or the studio and we hit it off in that respect right away.”“Is there any point to making a record that has real instruments (guitars, drums, piano etc.) right now?” he continues. “Is there anything left to be said by writing this way? Do albums matter anymore? Can I make something that I care about right now because it’s a manifestation of the fear/love/excitement/ I am feeling right now, not because is tickles some easy to reach nostalgic pleasure center.”
OUR LINKS
Dan Luke and the Raid
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
4/27
2018 Air Guitar Championships
Lawsuit Models
All Ages | 8 pm
2018 Air Guitar Championships
2018 Air Guitar Championships
sponsored by KJHK and Torn Label Brewing
with special guests
Lawsuit Models
OUR LINKS
Lawsuit Models
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Riff Raff
Buy Tickets here: http://pipelineticketing.frontgatesolutions.com/choose.php?a=1&lid=70782&eid=80048
OUR LINKS
The Ghost Wolves
THE GHOST WOLVES·THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017
Guitarist Carley Wolf grew up with a pack of majestic white wolf-hybrid dogs on her family's Texas hill country ranch. When she and drummer Jonny Wolf started making music together in 2011, they named their band The Ghost Wolves as a way of memorializing their beloved animals who had passed on.
Blurring the lines between modern & classic rock, blues, old school rock n' roll, noise, punk and early American music, this Austin based duo has earned an international reputation as a must-see live act, with nearly 1000 shows between them in 23+ countries spanning most of western Europe, the USA, Scandinavia, the U.K., and Japan. Major festival appearances include Ireland’s Electric Picnic, Austin Psych Fest, SXSW, and a summer 2018 spot at Germany’s Fusion Festival. They have opened lengthy tours for Nashville psych-stoners All Them Witches, Texas songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, Finnish goths The 69 Eyes, and in spring 2018 will tour the USA as support for one man rocker Lincoln Durham.
Their recorded music has been featured in film and TV by Netflix, Alamo Drafthouse, HBO, Showtime, and other major networks, and they currently have a line of apparel in 40+ stores throughout Asia via a collaboration with Japanese fashion label Hysteric Glamour. Their second full length album, TEXA$ PLATINUM, was released in 2017 by Berlin based Hound Gawd! Records.
They are currently recording a new LP with producer Rob Fraboni (The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Last Waltz).
OUR LINKS
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin "AMERICAN KID"
American Kid, Patty Griffin’s seventh album, is her first album of mainly new material since Children Running Through in 2007. In between, she made the Grammy Award-winning Downtown Church (2010), her version of classic gospel (though it featured three original songs). She also became a member of Band of Joy, the group in which leader Robert Plant and his cohorts meld British and American folk, rock and spiritual music.
American Kid, much of which Griffin says “was written to honor my father,” returns to typical Patty Griffin territory, which is to say that it features a group of remarkably powerful, personal and unpredictable songs arranged and performed in a style that doesn’t entirely repeat anything she’s done on her previous albums while drawing on all of them. Yet Griffin’s catalog is among the most unified in modern popular music, because her singing is as unmistakable and inimitable as her songwriting.
OUR LINKS
5/3
Count Bass D
All Ages | 8 pm
Trout Steak Revival
Ever since winning the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Trout Steak Revival has quickly become a quintessential Colorado band. The band won an Emmy Award for a soundtrack they contributed to a Rocky Mountain PBS. They’ve collaborated with school children in mentoring programs in Denver and Steamboat Springs. Their music is featured on Bank of Colorado’s radio and television advertisements. Most recently, Westword named them Denver’s Best Bluegrass Band, and they were nominated as a Momentum Band of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
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Julian Davis
Julian Davis is a walking contradiction. At only 15 years old he walks, looks, talks and sings like a soul who lived thru the 40's and 50's. His tone is of a golden era and his picking makes seasoned professionals want to step up their game. From humble upbringings, he has become an accomplished singer, songwriter and and a multi instrumentalist.
His yet to be released debut album on Little Class Records would astound the average music listener who is unaware of his age. Full of originals and the occasional standard Bluegrass number, "Who Walks in When I Walk Out?" is sure to be an instant classic.
Watch out for Julian as he takes the regions music community by storm before he can even legally vote.
OUR LINKS
5/10
The Last Gang
All Ages | 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
Gekko
Formed in January of 2013 in KCMO, Gekko is a tight group with an unusually strong chemistry. With musical influences ranging from funk and soul to heavy metal and every thing in between, Gekko is a melting pot of different sounds. Dedicated to their craft, they strive for an intense live show.
Gekko's first studio album: "A Gecko Named Terrance" (2014), marks humble beginnings for the band and a search for their sound (and name). Funky bridges with intricate melodies, followed by sweeping chorus' makes for an incredible music experience. The transition of sounds between funk, to rock, to jazz, to postmodern, tied together by a fat bass, a soothing guitar, and a high rainfall of pitter-patter drums, give this album a thick airiness. Provoked by confidence edged with self-doubt, and fueled by angst, Gekkos's first " ...record has the ultimate way of convincing you to just relax.".
With a unique music style that is a mashup of many different genres. Their live performances are a combination of structured composition and free formed improvisation. Proficient with their instruments, Gekko introduces new concepts and melodies in their improvs with ease. Drifting in and out of thought-out melodic tunes and face-melting psycidellic improvisation, this band will keep you on your toes. Gekko is constantly bringing new songs into their ever growing grab bag of music, each performance is guaranteed to be one of a kind. Preforming on stages and for events such as the Wakarusa Music Festival, Paola Roots Festival, the Granada Theater, and many more, they are an experienced breed of musicians. Bringing the crowd into their world, there concerts are an experience that is not easily forgotten.
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Handmade Moments
"Experiencing a Handmade Moments show is kind of like enjoying a spoonful of political discourse wrapped in local organic bacon and deep fried in hemp oil — and it’s all silky." - Nick Brothers, Free Weekly
OUR LINKS
The Center State
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Bronco
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5to OLEA
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DJ Skandaloso
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Samantha Fish
Whether one leans towards the blues, opts for Americana or ignites some special fervor by playing with a garage band, there’s a common bond that suggests a reverence for the roots. Looking back towards an earlier template — no matter what the genre — proves the point that appreciating what came before can be a stepping stone for what comes next.
Samantha Fish knows that all too well, and it’s been evidenced in the music she’s made her entire career. While she’s well known as a purveyor of blues, having been lauded by such legends as Buddy Guy, the Royal Southern Brotherhood and Luther Dickinson, her real love is simply raw, scrappy rock and roll. “I grew up on it,” she insists. “Working with Luther on my last album further instilled that spirit in me. It made me realize just how much that basic, unfettered sound means to me, and how well it ties into soul music, R&B, country and so many other forms of music that are essential even today.”
It’s little wonder then that when it came time to record her new album, Chills & Fever (released March 17, 2017), Fish ventured off in another new direction, one she was exploring for the first time in her career. She traveled to Detroit and joined forces with members of the Detroit Cobras, a band whose insurgent ethic has made them darlings of the Midwest punk/blues scene. The two entities — which included Joe Mazzola on guitar, Steve Nawara on bass, and Kenny Tudrick along with Bob Mervak on keys, and the New Orleans horn section featuring Mark Levron and Travis Blotsky on trumpet and saxophone — bonded over a common love of classic soul and rollicking rhythms, so much so that the results testify to a seemingly timeless template. Covering songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s — indelible melodies from the pens of legends like Jackie DeShannon, Jerry Ragavoy, Bert Berns and Allen Toussaint — and revisiting some earlier demos she cut along with producer Bobby Harlow, Fish and the Cobras created an album that’s best described as a pure slab of rocking rhythm n’ blues.
“I listened to a lot of soul music, and I dug deep into people like Otis Redding and Ray Charles,” Fish recalls. “I was also influenced by people like R.L. Burnside and North Mississippi’s Junior Kimbrough. It’s a lot less restrained style of music than the sound people may be used to hearing from me, but it’s definitely a different facet of my personality. It’s far more straight forward.”
The fact is, Fish has never been bound by any expectations whatsoever. Growing up in Kansas City, she switched from drums to guitar at the tender age of 15. She spent much of her time in local watering holes listening to visiting blues bands. Samantha caught the attention of Ruf Records. The label subsequently released her album, Girls with Guitars, which found her co-billed with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde. That led to her forming her own trio and recording three more albums, Runaway (2011), Black Wind Howlin’ (2013) and Wild Heart (2015), as reaping an awards for Best Artist Debut at the 2012 Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Along the way she found herself working with other artists as well — Jimmy Hall, Devon Allman, and Reese Wynans, among them.
Still, nothing she’s done before can prepare her faithful fans and followers to the seminal sounds of Chills & Fever.
I don’t think I ever enjoyed making a record quite as much as I enjoyed making this one,” Fish insists. “I love the sound of the brass and the edgier intensity. One thing’s for sure. Nothing ever felt so authentic.”
OUR LINKS
5/24
Spoonfed Tribe
All Ages | 8 pm
Spoonfed Tribe
Formed in the Fort Worth area in 1999, Spoonfed Tribe is a musical/visual group known for mesmerizing live shows combining hypnotic walls of percussion, psychedelic sonics and mind-expanding visuals. Since their debut, the Tribe has remained on the road, building a sizeable fan base inspired by appearances at music fests including Lollapalooza, Joshua Tree, Voodoo Music Experience and Wakarusa, sharing bills with acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Flaming Lips, Nine Inch Nails, Blues Traveler, Galactic and many more.
The band has released six albums, including 2010's Live from DFW and is in the process of recording the follow-up to 2007's Public Service Announcement, due in 2012.
"To describe a Spoonfed Tribe gathering would take too many words, talking too small to measure what is gained by the actual experience of it all. So, to do our best, imagine a show that captures all senses, presents all musical styles, glows with a fluorescent fury, and creates space to be different and unique, all while making you dance like an idiot!"
Josh Hogan - My Denton Music
OUR LINKS
5/25
Annie Up Band
All Ages | 7 pm
Annie Up Band
About
Annie Up is a high energy cover band. They travel all over the Midwest and have appeared in Las Vegas on three occasions.
OUR LINKS
The Melvins
The Melvins return with the new album Pinkus Abortion
Technician (April 20, Ipecac Recordings), featuring both ongoing Melvins’ bass player Steven
McDonald (Redd Kross, OFF!) and Butthole Surfers’, and occasional Melvins’, bottom ender Jeff
Pinkus on bass.
“With our upcoming release, we double your bass player with Steven McDonald AND Jeff
Pinkus holding down the bottom,” explains Dale Crover. It’s an experiment in the low end of the
aural spectrum where we asked ourselves, ‘would it work?’ ‘could it work??’ ‘should it work???’
The answers were yes, yes and YES!”
“We’ve never had two bass players. We’ve had two drummers and two guitar players so it
makes total sense to now have two bass players, adds Buzz Osborne. “We’ll be taking this two-
prong bass attack on the road as well which should prove to be interesting. Pinkus Abortion
Technician is a radically great record and was a stone groove to record. We drank a lot of coffee and enjoyed each other’s company. I like Steven and Jeff a great deal. I admire their bass playing and singing and both of them can grill a mean steak.”
Pinkus Abortion Technician tracklist:
1. Stop Moving To Florida
2. Embrace The Rub
3. Don’t Forget To Breathe
4. Flamboyant Duck
5. Break Bread
6. I Want To Hold Your Hand
7. Prenup Butter
8. Graveyard
“Stop Moving To Florida” is a medley of the James Gang’s “Stop” and Butthole Surfers’ “Moving
To Florida,” the band also covers the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and Butthole Surfers’
“Graveyard” on the eight-song release. Pre-orders will be announced soon.
The Melvins have also simultaneously announced a 10-week North American tour, kicking off
on April 26 at the Casbah in San Diego. The tour will feature the Melvins as a four-piece with
both Pinkus and McDonald joining Osborne and Crover.
OUR LINKS
- The Melvins Homepage
- On Facebook
- On Youtube
- On Spotify (Will launch Spotify Application)
- On Twitter
- On MySpace
All Souls
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34
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Left on Northwood Reunion
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Crunk Witch
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Electric Lungs
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Day Lit Vol.1 w/
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Donell Jones
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Case
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Levell
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Asa Barnes
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Froggy Fresh (formerly Krispy Kreme)
Froggy Fresh. Tyler Stephen Cassidy, better known as Froggy Fresh (formerly known as Krispy Kreme), is an American rapper who became known after uploading "The Baddest", a rap music video on YouTube whose original upload earned over 11 million views.
OUR LINKS
Pears
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
High
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Red Kate
Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Red Kate has been pounding the pavement in the name of high octane rock and roll since 2007. Formed out of the remnants of such regional and national acts as Truck Stop Love, Wayback Machine, Squadcar, and the River City Revelators, Red Kate released its first LP, When the Troubles Come, on Replay Records in 2013 and a split 7" with The Bad Ideas on Mills Record Company in 2014. Sonically, the band tips a cap to the beer soaked barroom floors of the short lived early 70’s British Pub-Rock scene and the modern blues-punk sounds that have since taken root in the Midwest’s dive bars and basements. Hard working both on and off the stage, the band’s locale has lent its perspective in sound, lyric, and work ethic. Straight off the factory line, Red Kate hearkens back to a time when musicians played hard, stayed up late, and carried a union card.
OUR LINKS
Hipshot Killer
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
6/1
Gnarly Davidson
Psychic Heat
All Ages | 7 pm
Gnarly Davidson
Come say farewell to this LFK premier band!
OUR LINKS
Psychic Heat
Steve/Evan Herd - Guitar/Vox
Tanner Spreer - Guitar
Sam Boatright - Bass
Joel Coon - Drums/Keyboards/Guitar/BackingVox/Production
OUR LINKS
John Butler Trio
In June this year, John Butler proudly announced the new line up of the ever evolving John Butler Trio. Prominent Melbourne musician Nicky Bomba (drums and percussion) of ‘Bomba’ fame and principal drummer on ‘Sunrise Over Sea’ joined the band and bass player Byron Luiters from Sydney outfit Ray Mann Three completed the new line up. Having spent the past few months bunkered down in his Fremantle studio with his new band mates putting down tracks for their forthcoming fifth studio album entitled ‘APRIL UPRISING’, John Butler is pleased to announce fans will get their long awaited live JBT hit when the band perform throughout the world early in 2010.
The new album title April Uprising came from an incredible journey John undertook for the ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ TV series. He traces the Butler name through generations of hardship to a matriarch who sang for her survival and follows his Bulgarian ancestry to a forebear caught up in a violent revolt called the April Uprising.
The recording process for the new album (the first release from the JBT in 3 years) has been shared with avid JBT followers via a special studio sessions page on the band’s website: www.johnbutlertrio.com John Butler describes the first new track, One Way Road; “One Way Road is the combination of pretty much most of my musical influences; dancehall, roots & rock. Some how we found a way to bring all these feels in a way that sounds natural and not too contrived or cerebral. I’m really happy with how we captured the vibe of his song”.
With sold out performances over the past two years, not only on home turf but also worldwide, on the back of their highly acclaimed and 3 x platinum accredited ‘Grand National’ album, the John Butler Trio have reaffirmed their status as one of Australia’s leading artists. ‘APRIL UPRISING’, scheduled for release early in 2010, will unveil a whole new journey for the band.
John Butler comments on the forthcoming new album, “The whole rehearsal and recording process so far has been a lot of fun and very gratifying. I feel the sounds and general spirit and energy of this album are best summed up in the words – free, melodic, funky, phat and rocking. There’s definitely a certain attitude that comes across on the album. Perhaps there’s a conviction, in a song writing and production sense, that I haven’t tapped into so much on earlier works that seems to be more prevalent on April Uprising. There’s chemistry and language that Nicky, Byron and I have found that really compliments these songs in all their different facets”.
OUR LINKS
Mama Kin Spender
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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
Alex G
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The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake deliver an album with the freshness and energy of a new band, and the ease and musicianship that can only come with experience. Runner began as the companion piece to 2011's The Moonlight Butterfly, and using that album's sonic experimentations as a starting point for a new process of writing and recording, became something completely new. Songs that began as synthesizer experiments in Sam Prekop's home studio were reimagined by the other members, and eventually recorded and mixed by John McEntire at Chicago’s Soma Studios. The result is an album that feels like a private travelogue. Start listening at one place, and end up some place else. Cherish the unexpected mysteries around every corner.
OUR LINKS
LA Takedown
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Bone Thugs -n- Harmony
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TWISTA
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Crossroads Beer Fest
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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
River Whyless
For many bands, and especially those who’ve been together for several years, recognizing
maturation, progress or palpable evolution is a daunting task. Is it continued creative
accomplishment that signals progression? Or perhaps it’s profitable commercial endeavors? The
answer is often quite unclear. Six years, two albums and countless gigs after first forming as a
band, River Whyless, the North Carolina-bred folk-rock outfit has discovered their evolution is a
subtler albeit monumentally important one. Deep in the throes of writing and recording their bold
new album, Kindness, A Rebel , the four musicians reached a necessary and collective
understanding. Namely: this band is their lifeblood, their family and their love. To that end, with
unspoken acceptance, the members of River Whyless, each songwriters in their own right,
collectively put aside their respective egos, coalesced around each other’s creative vision, and
fully embraced the beauty of their enduring partnership.
OUR LINKS
Jalen N''''Gonda
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Chromeo
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The Glitch Mob
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Elohim
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Slightly Stoopid
Illustrating the perfect underground success story, Slightly Stoopid's dual front-men Miles Doughty (Guitar, Bass, Vocals) and Kyle McDonald (Guitar, Bass, Vocals), created their own label, Stoopid Records, in the early 2000's to avoid signing a record deal and keep their DIY work ethic and freedom. West coast DUB/Rock pioneers later added musicians Ryan 'RyMo' Moran (Drums) and Oguer 'OG' Ocon (Congas, Percussion, Harp, Vocals) from the B Side Players, as well as C-Money (Trumpet, Keyboard) and Dela (Saxophone) from John Browns Body; solidifying their on stage line up. Slightly Stoopid has built a large n' loyal fan base, and has soared to one of the most successful independent artists of this decade. The buzz surrounding the group continues to increase with each successive release; their album catalog sales have topped the 700,000 mark and the group continues to fill the most prestigious concert venues around the world.
The Slightly Stoopid story can be traced to Ocean Beach, California, when childhood chums Miles and Kyle formed the group in 1995, mixing reggae and punk sounds into one smooth stylistic cocktail. Soon after, late/great Sublime frontman Brad Nowell caught wind of the group, and signed them to his Skunk Records label – while the band members were still in high school. A pair of releases soon followed for Skunk - 1996's punk-tinged SLIGHTLY STOOPID (featuring a guest appearance by Nowell on the song "Prophet" – later covered by Sublime and released on their box set, EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN) and 1998's surf-inspired cult classic THE LONGEST BARREL RIDE.
The group self-released 2001's ACOUSTIC ROOTS: LIVE AND DIRECT (a 40-minute acoustic set, captured live at San Diego 's Rock 105.3 radio station) – the first for their own label, Stoopid Records, before issuing 2003's EVERYTHING YOU NEED on Surfdog (a musical departure for the band, that sold more than 130,000 copies). The band's talent for mixing styles was never more apparent than on 2005's CLOSER TO THE SUN (on Stoopid Records / Caliplates / Reincarnate), which featured collaborations with such renowned reggae names as Barrington Levy and Scientist. A year later, Slightly Stoopid issued their first-ever electric live album, WINTER TOUR '05-'06, as well as their first-ever DVD, 'Live in San Diego,' while 2007 saw the release of the group's fifth studio effort, CHRONCHITIS, which debuted at #55 on the Billboard 200, and #2 on the indie charts.
And through it all, Slightly Stoopid has logged some serious road miles – in addition to their incessant criss-crossing of the U.S., which includes appearances at prestigious festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and New Orleans Jazz Fest, among others, the group has played sold-out shows in Australia, Japan, Guam, Amsterdam, Portugal and Denmark, the U.K., Germany, Holland, and the Dominican Republic. "Without [the fans], we'd just be playing at the bar," admits Kyle. "They make it worth our while – when we go out and people are having that good of a time, the energy goes back and forth. Just a good time – we rely on each other's energy." And all you have to do is look at the list of artists that Slightly Stoopid has played with, to get a feel for how much of a large and diverse audience they appeal to - the Dave Matthews Band, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and the Marley Brothers, Sublime, the Roots, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ozomatli, Toots and the Maytals, and Pennywise, among others, as well as their first-ever sole headlining tour of amphitheatres in 2008, joined by their friends Pepper and Sly & Robbie.
"I think consistently touring is important," explains Miles. "Most people take the route of trying to be successful without even getting out there for people to hear what your band is about. The most important thing is you can be playing in front of zero people or 20,000 people, and you've still got to rock the show. When we were first starting out, literally, we played in front of nobody. We'd show up at the club, and it would be bartenders and security guards, and 'Yo, play your hour set – here you go!' But after you play that show, they tell some of their friends and their friends tell some friends. I think the Internet has helped us a lot too, because people were able to spread the word about the music easier. The most important part is being out there 200 days a year. You're going back to towns twice a year, so people get to come out, and that gave us a real loyal following. Wherever we go, you have these Stoopidheads going crazy. For us, it's pretty much the greatest job in the world."
2008 saw the band issuing their first-ever 'odds and ends' collection, SLIGHTLY NOT STONED ENOUGH TO EAT BREAKFAST YET STOOPID – the group's newest release for their growing label, Stoopid Records (which will also feature releases by other groups, including the label's first signees, Santa Cruz's The Expendables). Included on SLIGHTLY NOT STONED ENOUGH are outtakes from both the CLOSER TO THE SUN (including tracks that were previously issued as a limited edition bonus CD) and CHRONCHITIS sessions, as well as bevy of new material recorded at Miami's famed Circle House Studios, and such cover tunes as UB40's "I Would Do For You" and the traditional "I Know You Rider" (most notably covered by the Grateful Dead). Also making their first appearance on a Slightly Stoopid studio album are newly recorded renditions of such long-time live standards "False Rhythms" and "Sensimilla."
Seemingly always on the move, there appears to be no slowing down in sight for Slightly Stoopid, and according to Miles, that's precisely what fuels the group's creativity. "For us, the most important thing in the future, we just want to stay busy and always playing music – whether creating, touring, or just sitting on your couch and jamming. I think we'll always be recording. And just have fun – without the fun part, it ain't worth it."
OUR LINKS
Stick Figure
MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Pepper
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St. Paul & the Broken Bones
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Hiss Golden Messenger
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8/3
Tearing at the Seams Tour | 2018
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
| All Ages | 7 pm
BUY TICKETS!Tearing at the Seams Tour | 2018
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Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
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CrossroadsKC Food Truck Fest
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PetRocks
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Annie Up
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8/24
Lou Dog ( Sublime Tribute)
All Ages | 8 pm
8/25
Redneck Throwdown feat:
Upchurch
Moonshine Bandits
BIG SMO
Struggle Jennings
Redneck Souljers
| All Ages | 5 pm
BUY TICKETS!Redneck Throwdown feat:
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Upchurch
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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.
OUR LINKS
BIG SMO
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Struggle Jennings
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Redneck Souljers
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Dispatch
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Nahko & Medicine for the People
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Steve n Seagulls
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Restless String Band
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Eric Schwartz
Eric Schwartz is a comedian, actor, voiceover artist, musician and content creator. In addition to television appearances on Showtime, the Tonight Show, Comics Unleashed, BET and his one-hour special, “Surrender to the Blender,” on Hulu, Eric is know for his popular digital stand-up clips, sketches and parody videos. He has been going viral long before social media existed and continues to deliver hit after hit to his growing and engaged online fanbase.
This multi-dimensional showman’s stand up, sketches, songs and characters have led to content collaborations with Grammy-winner Jason Mraz, Craig Robinson, Anjelah Johnson, Tiffany Haddish, Disney, Yahoo, HLN, Machinima, Maker Studios, MiTu Networks and more.
On stage, Eric is one of the most creative and original comedians working today, earning the description, “everything there is to love about entertainment” (First Order Historians). GQ India names him one of “5 International Comics You Must Catch.” “E! News Daily” host Ryan Seacrest said Schwartz is “rocking the web” with “video that’s got everyone Googling” and Forbes.com applauds him for having “a minor industry in pop music parodies.”