30 November 2005

Crooked Still tour in Ireland, 22 Sept.-1 Oct.

Thanks to Brian O'Donovan for the following welcome news:

Crooked Still, a young, dynamic quartet of musicians from the north-east US, play traditional-influenced, distinctly American-based music comprised of an extensive bluegrass, Appalachian, and blues repertoire. Their extensive tour of Ireland in spring of last year was a major success thrilling audiences in ten venues around the country, playing live on national radio, and garnering praise from several of the country's top music writers.

The band has just released their second CD, Shaken by a low sound, on the Signature Sounds label. (You can hear full songs from the CD on their MySpace site.) They are looking forward to a return to Ireland this September for a week of concerts north and south.

Fri. 22nd: 9.00 p.m. Dolans, Limerick. Tel: 061-314-483

Sat. 23rd: Doors at 8.00 p.m. Glor, Ennis, Co. Clare. Tel: 065 684 3103

Sun. 24th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., the Crane Bar, Galway. Tel: 091 587419

Mon. 25th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., De Barra's, Clonakilty, Co. Cork. Tel: 023 33381

Tues. 26th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., Kilworth Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork. Tel: 025-24858

Wed. 27th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., Whelan's, Dublin. Tel: 01 478 0766

Thurs. 28th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., the Glen Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim. Tel: 071 98 55833

Fri. 29th: Doors at 8.00 p.m., the Stables, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Tel: 044 9340251

Sat. 30th: with Beoga, 2.00 p.m., the Black Box (part of Open House Festival, Belfast)

Sun. Oct. 1st: with Flook, 8.00 p.m., the Black Box (Grand Finale of Open House Festival, Belfast)

'[Crooked Still] may be the most important folk group to emerge from Boston... state-of-the-art musical chops with a deep understanding of American traditional music's raw melodic grace.' - BOSTON GLOBE

'They take legacy material and, concisely and smartly, play the hell out of it in their own image. You can’t beat that.' - ALL MUSIC GUIDE

If you’re a fan of traditional American music of just about any sort, you have heard at least a few of the songs on Shaken by a low sound, the debut album by Crooked Still for the Signature Sounds label. There's a Bob Dylan song (a revved-up version of 'Oxford Town'), classic Robert Johnson (a gender-bending 'Come on my kitchen') and a Bill Monroe number (a foot-stomping 'Can’t you hear me callin’')... plus a bunch of traditional songs - some fairly well known, some obscure to even the deepest miners of such music. But no matter how familiar you may be with some of these songs, you have never heard them played this way. Crooked Still take melodic songs with fertile histories, strip them down, and rebuild them in a spirited, fun and twisted way all their own.

'We usually look for a song that’s simple and classic and that we can put a good beat to', says cellist Rushad Eggleston. 'We stay away from long, boring ballads. After a while, we as a band know when a song has this unspoken vibe. We have a sound and we look for songs that will benefit from that sound.'

Calling that sound, that vibe, unique may be the understatement of the year. Take the band's haunting version of Robert Johnson's 'Come on my kitchen'. It starts with Eggleston's deep cello bowing that classic blues-guitar riff. In comes double-bass from Corey DiMario, providing an even deeper bottom for the tune. These instruments are balanced by the higher-register, four-finger banjo parts of Gregory Liszt and the breathtakingly beautiful vocals of Aoife O'Donovan.

This is traditional acoustic blues set in a whole new light. Robert Johnson songs without a guitar? Rocking out with no percussion instruments? And above all, a cello in an American roots band? Most definitely, say the members of Crooked Still. 'The cello is like a big, low fiddle that always should have been there: tenor fiddle', says Eggleston, who studied classical music before being wooed by the charms of his first bluegrass festival. 'It provides a range and texture much acoustic music is missing. It can be like an electric guitar. All the cool rock guitar riffs are on the low strings – and that's cello territory!'

As ferociously as Eggleston's cello parts growl, O'Donovan's breathy vocals soar in a more subdued – but equally attention-grabbing – fashion while Liszt trades off between straight-ahead rhythmic picking and wildly fast, four-fingered lead banjo riffs and solos. Liszt's virtuoso and versatile style of playing got the attention of none other than Bruce Springsteen, who positioned the banjo player right next to him on the center of the stage during his Pete-Seeger-inspired 'Seeger Sessions Band' tour that hit the road in April.

Crooked Still's history goes back to 2001, when O'Donovan and DiMario were classmates at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Eggleston, who attended nearby Berklee College of Music and Liszt, who has earned a doctorate in biology from MIT, soon joined up. The quartet quickly built a loyal following in Boston-area clubs, grabbing rave reviews from local newspapers and magazines. It wasn't long before they found their way to the festival circuit, drawing invitations to play huge events like the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and the historic Newport Folk Festival. The band's reputation as a raucous live band grew and their performances across the country have cemented them as crowd favorites wherever they play.

'It seems our audience is extremely diverse', says DiMario. 'I think we appeal both to people that are steeped in traditional music as well as people who are perhaps just being introduced to it. People are always struck by the fact that we have such a unique instrumentation and approach to these very old songs. We sound complete in spite of our limited instrumentation. We sound fresh and progressive while also fitting clearly and organically in the string band tradition.'

And the band was adamant about capturing that rollicking live sound in the studio on Shaken by a low sound. 'On a general level, I like the raw energy and feel of this album', DiMario says. 'To me, it sounds like a band playing live together and not some sterilised studio version. More specifically, my favorite moments are the quiet ones. It's the times in "Lone pilgrim" or "Ecstacy", when you can hear Aoife's voice as if she were singing to you alone, or in "Come on my kitchen" where you can hear us all really listening to each other and reacting in the moment to the ebb and flow of the song. They are the kind of special moments that don't always get captured in a studio recording.'

Crooked Still are:
Aoife O'Donovan: vocals
Rushad Eggleston: cello
Gregory Liszt: banjo
Corey DiMario: double bass

Publicity requests: Flora Reed; +1 413.665.4036

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