Bernie King - songwriter, vocals, guitar
Matt Smith - bass Tim Anderson - washboard
Influences
Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, jukeboxes, Hank Williams, Tom Waits, Waylon Jennings, Jim Smart (one hell of good man), Green on Red, Crazy Horse, Billy Joe Shaver, the prospect of heaven or hell, Howlin' Wolf, Link Wray's Beans and Fatback, Muddy Waters, farm living, Rusty Tweed, Steve Earle, John Lee Hooker, and my life...
KING is the first release by Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter Bernie Gibbs King (AKA Bernie King) and has been described as the unholy love child of Steve Earle and Bob Dylan. Not sure that there could be a holy love child of Steve Earle and Bob Dylan, but you get the point.
Kicking things off is the timeless imagery and ghostly instrumentation of off-kilter banjo and haunting pedal steel that swing gently through the opening track Dirt and Dust. Then the door gets kicked down by the rock beast that is North Rim. And once the door is open, the journey continues to destinations all over the Americana, rock, and alt-country map, with a final stop at the sweet and gentle beauty of Every Little Diamond, a heart-melting duet with Eliza Blue.
Lots of artists like to say, “I’ll let the music do the talking for me”, and the music on KING has plenty to say. The focus up to this point has been on pre-release direct distribution to radio stations. Additionally, based on fervent myspace buzz, KING has been sought by radio stations, many of whose shows feature Americana/alt-country formats. Tracks from KING are already in rotation throughout Europe, such as the House of Mercy in the U.K., France’s Americana Music Club, and Holland’s Roots Time. Domestically, KING gets spins on Radio Free Americana in Virginia and Free Wheelin’, right in Bernie’s back yard of Minneapolis. A West Coast roll-out is currently underway.
So, who the heck is Bernie Gibbs King? Born in Roswell, New Mexico on Halloween, he’s spent his time mining the lessons of great performers and producing songs that are buffed to a fine sparkle and shine. He’s gathered up Jeff Waldeland on pedal steel, Mike Senkovich on electric guitar, mix- master Ben Durrant (of Roma di Luna) on piano, banjo, & guitar, Matt Smith on bass, and Grant Thelen on drums & trumpet to craft an amazing first effort.
“After hearing KING, even a godless heathen like me wants to go ‘Drinking with the Lord’. Cinematic, evocative, timeless, and a fine traveling companion, KING is king!” Johnny Russia
“Certainly a name that we should keep an eye on, Bernie King makes this "King" for his own royal entrance as a singer songwriter.” Freddy Celis, Rootstime
We'll be featuring a different 2009 festival band each day right up through the July events. Today is BERNIE KING.
A new performer in the Deep Blues Festival. AutopsyIV of the Ninebullets.net blog wrote, While trying to think of what I should write about Minneapolis' Bernie King I stumbled on a quote by the man himself which encompasses everything better than a man of my limited vocabulary ever could so I'll let him describe himself:
"I am first and foremost a music fan. The music I write and perform is the sincerest form of flattery. I was raised on the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams. Later Tom Waits became a huge influence as did Howling Wolf and local artists like Mike Gunther and Ben Weaver. If you dig those artists as I do, you'll dig what I do." - Bernie King
Brutal songwriter bash, and a chance for fans to lay down their support for live broadcasting of indies in the cities. Monday, March 2. Kitty Cat. Hope you make it big.
The budget of the festival and the number of bands will be based on these presales. Please support the festival and help us bring in as many bands as possible.
We're featuring bands we like on our player each day. At least we're trying. The myspace player isn't always cooperating. Try selecting the alternate playlists. We can at least give you links to the bands myspace pages or websites.
These are bands that we hope to get involved with our festival. There's a lot of them. Check them out and add them as your friends. Send us a message and tell us how you like them and who we should be sure to bring in for the festival.
TODAY'S FEATURED POTENTIAL DBF BANDS Bernie King - Minneapolis MN Blues Preachers - Sydney Australia Bottleneck John - Ostersund Sweden Bourbones - St Paul MN Bourland - Austin TX Chili Cold Blood - Austin TX Chooglin' - Minneapolis MN Cincinnati Suds - Cincinnati OH Collard Greens and Gravy - Melbourne Australia Cut In The Hill Gang - Covington KY
Thank you so much for driving all the way to little Marshalltown, IA and rockin for a great cause. You guys put on a great show, and we raised a lot of money and awareness for Kids Against Hunger and built some excellent new friendships and memories. Thank you for your kindness, flexibility, and talent. Much respect and gratitude, sarah
Hey there. How's life? I'm putting on a second Unity Unplugged event in Marshalltown, IA at a place called Memories on Lincoln Way March 29th from 6-midnight to raise money, school supplies, and awareness for two schools in Tanzania, Africa and Sao Paulo, Brazil. We would really love to have you come and play. We'll put ya up in a cool historical hotel about the Treemont Itallian Grille downtown. The event costs $3 and there's live music all night, darts, foosball, contests, a book sale, silent auction, raffle, golf putting, a bar, food...Please mark your calendar and help spread the word. Peace and solidarity, safe travels and much respect, sarah
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