Dusty Dybvig - drums, percussion, theremin Andy Anderson Furgeson - guitar, vocals, harmonica, violin, banjo, pedal steel Brian Garvey - mandolin, keyboard, synth, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, percussion, vocals Peter Valois - bass, vibraphone, vocals, glockenspiel, penny whistle, percussion
Influences
National Geographic 1957-67 (under the editorship of Melville Bell Grosvenor); Alexander Graham Bell and the spirit of invention; Harry Smith’s ’Anthology of American Folk Music’; ’The Basement Tapes’; ’Beggars Banquet’; the U.S.A.; the bands we’ve been listening to and playing with lately
Sounds Like
"Ridiculously catchy folk songs that could create a whole new entry in the music-snob dictionary: science rock.” -Willamette Week
"Their music has the heart and spirit of a gospel choir but—just the same—throws down the shuddery, haunted folk with class and authentic-feeling sincerity." -Portland Mercury
"If ants and snails could make music like this; so bursting with desperation, fear, anger, vengence, and sorrow, more people might realize that we’ll be sad when they’re gone." -Three Benson
Bark Hide and Horn is a four-man folk-rock orchestra hailing from Portland, Oregon. With their dynamic, passionate live shows and lush recordings, they are shimmying out on a distinctive limb of the indie-folk family tree. When singer-songwriter Andy Furgeson isn’t crooning soft, twangy melodies, he’s howling like a fanatical preacher. While he picks or pounds his guitar, Dusty Dybvig lets loose on the drums. If the song calls for it, Dusty will quiet down with brushes or mallets, but left to his own devices he’s an explosive beat machine. Peter Valois locks in on the bass with at once melodic and rhythmic lines, or conjures a soft and eerie air with the vibraphone, glockenspiel, or penny whistle. His vocal harmonies add a tinge of ’60s pop to the mix. Finally, Brian Garvey gives each song a unique treatment with a combination of bombastic trumpet, gritty mandolin, throbbing church organ, delicate electric piano, ephemeral synth, or junkyard percussion. With so many sonic options, the band can shift from plaintive folk to propulsive blues-rock in a heartbeat.
’National Road,’ the band’s first full-length, shows the full range of sounds BH&H is capable of creating. Digging deep into a basement closet full of stringed instruments, horns, odd percussion, and old electronic noise-makers, the boys flesh out their live sound with rich orchestrations, choral arrangements, and sonic experiments. Originally inspired by Andy’s collection of old National Geographic magazines, the record tells a tale about Melville Bell Grosvenor, editor of the magazine from 1957-’67. The grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, Melville was an innovator and (in Andy’s imagination) a madman. Possessed by the spirit of his grandfather, Melville takes a mystical journey through the perspectives of the silenced voices in National Geographic articles--an enslaved honey ant, a lovelorn treesnail, the disgruntled wife of a staff writer, even Ham, the first chimpanzee in outer space. With its wide variety of voices and sounds, ’National Road’ swells up like our bloated nation, bursting forth as the singular vision of an up-and-coming band.
Thanks again for your help with the Silver Darling show. You guys are too rad and we'll see you in Davis in a month-a show that was 2 years in the making!
i saw two of you at the gas station. i was getting gas. you weren't you're touring in california? dustin dosn't tell me anything. he's fired animal is your new drummer
You folks know how to rock! Did you ever wonder what it sounds like when a wizard gives birth to a magical unicorn while riding high and wild on the slippery back of a fully loaded teenage fire dragon in heat? Well come and listen,.........we have a new set of material that is heavy like a chevy with more hooks than a f*cking pirate convention. Hope you and your friends can make the show.
Truly enjoyed your music last friday at Dante's....should have introduced myself, Looking forward to seeing you rock the house at Sam Bonds Garage in August!
Man, every time I see yall play, I fall in love again, and again. In a good place you are. Thank you soooooo much for comeing out and makeing it a kick ass night. - Rev. BD Winfield
</
