 |
 |
OUTLAW FAMILY BAND
http://www.outlawfamilyband.com/
[BIOGRAPHY]
[PHOTOS]
[PRESS]
[TOUR DATES]
[AUDIO]
|
 |
|
BIOGRAPHY
On their debut album, Chicago's Outlaw Family Band draws from the sources that move them most, such as early 20th century narrative ballads, bluegrass instrumentation, and the raw, instinctive guitar leads of Neil Young to create the unique murder ballads and lovers' laments of our new century. Rocking at one moment and meshing four part harmonies with fiddle and banjo at the next, the record moves from style to style without losing what is at the core of the band -a dedication to stories well told through powerful lyrics and bent strings.
For years the Family followed a familiar Midwestern trajectory, honing their craft with regular gigs at home during long winters and touring during summers. But the Family differs from other bands in that their struggles of youth, borne of a dogged determination and a little luck, has resulted in a record that accurately documents their footsteps in the paths of muses like Neil Young, Woody Guthrie, and Willie Nelson. These men gave the Family courage to make music that is honest, personal and true to their history. Years in front of audiences taught this band that their greatest asset wasn't an intricate solo or perfect time, but was instead the mood generated by *these* six people playing at *this* moment: an ineffable thing, a certain liveness, the elusive "feel".
Preparation for recording included much thought and practice, but as soon as Jay Bennett and Dan Dietrich placed the microphones, the band played together as they had so many times before -live and in the moment. More rigid methods of recording likely would have precluded even putting a song like The Drifter to tape. The band had only played it twice before and never with their new drummer. But there was a little time left at the studio, so why not give it a whirl? After a couple of practice takes, a happy Family had their closing track. You can hear their amazement in the audio as the record ends. The freshness of the track captures the essence of the narrator, a man who's realized that he's been at the end of his rope for far too long and it's time to start pulling some cord in. Sure, the Family takes great pride in its musicianship, but their heroes would never trade the right feel for "studio perfection", and they aren't about to do so either.
The Family applied the same organic process to their artwork. Out of the many artists under consideration, they believed the multi-talented Jon Langford would have the most to say about their songs. But when it came time to provide him with guidance, they simply handed Langford a few rough tracks, told him the record was about some dead folks and grievous loss, and let him paint. His simultaneously silly and dead-serious Vegas cowboys strike the balance of humor, old New World dread, and fascination with American inertia that only the Outlaw Family Band can capture.
OUTLAW FAMILY BAND:
James Weigel - guitars, vocals
Daniel Padgett - bass, vocals
Justin Gillam - guitars, vocals
Ryan Hinshaw - fiddle, harmonica, vocals
Ben Wright - banjo, vocals
Mark Corsolini - drums, vocals
|
|
PHOTOS
Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):
|
|
TOUR DATES
Coming Soon...
|
|
PRESS
CHICAGO'S OUTLAW FAMILY BAND COMPOSES MUSIC FOR AND APPEARS IN TODAY SHOW PRODUCER MIKE LEONARD'S DVD "THE RIDE OF OUR LIVES"
OUTLAW FAMILY BAND JOINS AUTHOR MIKE LEONARD FOR STOPS ALONG HIS BOOK TOUR IN OHIO, MISSOURI, WISCONSIN AND MICHIGAN
Brooklyn, NY - April 2006 - The Outlaw Family Band joins Today Show producer and author Mike Leonard for stops along his book tour to promote "The Ride of Our Lives," (Random House) a book and DVD about a cross-country RV trip Leonard took with his elderly parents and his grown children. The DVD contains Outlaw Family Band music as well as footage of the band in the studio.
Giving banjo lessons isn't one of the generally circulated ways for a band to get a break in today's music industry, but for The Chicago-based band, that created an unimaginable opportunity. Ben Wright, the Outlaw Family Band banjo player, had been giving Leonard banjo lessons when the author realized the band's music was aligned with the message of the book he was writing, "The Ride of Our Lives". Leonard asked the band to compose music for the segments that first aired on the Today Show and are now on the DVD that accompanies the book. The collaboration worked so well that he invited them to ride along in his RV and perform with him on his book tour.
Much in the vein of lyceums of the past, the book tour will include a performance from Outlaw Family Band followed by a reading from Mike Leonard. The mood and energy generated by the six-piece band in a crowded bookstore will certainly make for a memorable evening.
Outlaw Family band has been proclaimed, "(one) of Chicago's best roots rock bands" by the Chicago Sun-Times. "Chicago's Outlaw Family Band are a wiry six-piece band whose sound is a merger of old-timey instrumentation, twangy lo-fi Southern rock and loose, back porch folk, all graced with Young-ian (read Neil) philosophies" describes Miles of Music and their self-titled debut album has been praised by the Lincoln Star Journal, "...the nine-song disc delivers...with balladry, instrumentals and some serious rock'n'roll attitude underlying everything." Outlaw Family Band will be releasing an acoustic album of songs from the "Ride of Our Lives" DVD that will be available at stops on the book tour.
Look for Outlaw Family Band and Mike Leonard at the following bookstores:
May 4, 2006 Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cleveland, OH (Outlaw Family Band will also be performing at Wilberts later)
May 5, 2006 Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
May 6, 2006 Books & Co, Dayton, OH
May 8, 2006 St Louis County Library, St Louis, MO (Outlaw Family Band will also be performing at Way Out Club at 9:30pm)
May 9, 2006 Rainy Day Books Kansas City, MO (Outlaw Family Band will also be performing at Record Bar later)
May 10, 2006 Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, Milwaukee, WI (Outlaw Family Band will also be performing at Shank Hall at 9pm)
May 13, 2006 Borders, Ann Arbor, MI
|
|
AUDIO
Click on an audio track below to download a mp3:
Outlaw Family Band - Self-Titled [2005]
Ravenswood Getaway (Part 1) [mp3] - 2.43 mb
Queen Of Desire [mp3] - 4.86 mb
|
|
|
|
