Alt-Bluegrass Show

“We never wanted any of them ladies to get killed. But they kept on bleeding and Willie kept on stabbing, so, well, I reckon we HAD to write a song about it.” This is how the members of The Pine Box Boys explain their continued harassment of those lonely ladies of the American Murder Ballad. Buried in unmarked graves, their ghosts have been called out to in song for more than two centuries. No face, no form, only lonely names—Polly, Sally, Maggie, Eleanor. With no regard for decency, The Pine Box Boyshave raised these poor haints again through new songs of unforgivable deeds, guilt, and loathing. She is repeatedly shot, stabbed, cut, and ground into powder by a nefarious collection of bad men. The Pine Box Boys have been hollering these unsettling and provocative songs at audiences on four European tours and repeated tours all across these here United States. The Pine Box Boys are Lester T. Raww (guitar, vocals) Alex “Possum” Carvidi (banjo, vocals), Col. Timothy Leather (bass), and S. “Your Uncle” Dodds (drums).

“Not an old man at all, but rather a young, unsigned, nine-member group working in such homespun instruments as kazoo, train whistle, autoharp, and washboard — alongside more traditional pickin’ ‘n’ grinnin’ with banjos, fiddles, bass and drums. It’s a hoedown and a throwdown and it’ll keep ya from feelin’ lowdown.” —TheKnitLA on LastFM.com. Old Man Markleyfeatures Ryan (washboard), Johnny (guitar, vocals), Nick (banjo, vocals), Alex (mandolin), Joey (bass, vocals), Blake (drums), Annie ( autoharp, cowbell, train whistle, kazoo, nose flute), Todd (harmonica) and Katie (fiddle).

Kemo Sabe  A wild acoustic trio that play what they call “modern-day campfire songs” with the bare-wire energy of punk rock. There’s mandolin, a beat-to-shit upright bass, acoustic guitar, and calamity. At times fast and furious, at other times soft and sweet, they kick around a variety of genres from bluegrass to klezmer, to rock n’ roll. Playing such diverse venues as street corners, Taco Bell, musical saw festivals, and punk rock clubs, they’ve developed a reputation for zany stage antics and solid picking and slapping.

The best Americana songs all have one thing in common: someone has to get shot. Hang Jones front-man, Stephen Grillos took this to heart when writing the songs for their debut album, “The Ballad of Carlsbad County.” What began as a collection of bluegrass inspired country-rock songs evolved into a Western Outlaw-themed story album complete with hangings, gunfights, love, sex, and revenge.