Fred McDowell (the Buddha of the Blues), Junior Kimbrough (the Buddha's Right-Hand Man), R.L. Burnside (the Buddha's Left-Hand Man), T-Model Ford (the Buddha's Bouncer), AC/DC, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Black Sabbath, etc etc...
GravelRoad Live at Easy Street Records from strieck on Vimeo.
Sounds Like
"Take a little bit of the blues, add in a dash of the nastiest rock you can find and a heaping spoonful of raunchy punk and you get GravelRoad. It's like sneaking a ride in your old-man's '57, barreling down the highway at midnight while your lady gives you that "come to butthead" look from the back seat. You know you're busted and maybe a little afraid, but who gives a f*@k!?!?! Yeah... It's just like that!" - David @ the Independent Anthem
CURRENT NEWS:
WE HAVE FINISHED OUR SECOND ALBUM: "SHOT THE DEVIL."
"Shot the Devil" will be released on August 5, 2008 on Uncle Larry's Records (Indie - Wichita, KS). "Shot the Devil" has US distribution via Indie leader Burnside Distribution Co.
The music we are making has evolved into some of the deepest, darkest blues out there.
Spring 2008 has seen GRAVELROAD on tour throughout the US. Highlights included a March tour spanning all US time zones, marked by dynamic live shows, sparkled with numerous other alt-blues bands in our contemporary musical community.
The momentum continues this summer as GRAVELROAD undertakes a July 2008 tour with legendary Mississippi alt-bluesman, T-MODEL FORD, to and from the DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL in LAKE ELMO, MN.
The Deep Blues Festival will celebrate the finest musical influences and peers in our genre ... or, lack of genre. GRAVELROAD's part of a community of music that defies simple categorization.
To have the opportunity to support and be the backing band for Alt-Blues legend T-MODEL FORD is an honor for these relatively young men. T-Model's the only octogenarian on the circuit. He's out-lived all of his contemporaries. RIP: RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. He's the last one left. GRAVELROAD's honored to be touring with "Uncle T." We hope he doesn't bring the knife on the road with him.
Anyone can learn to play music. Reading notes are easy. Feel is harder. Range of feel, dynamics, vulnerability, sincerity ... these are the greater challenges. Musically and personally. We are ok with this struggles. They speak to life. They are the truth.
We are chameleon-like. We are hard to pigeon-hole. We like it this way.
We look forward to having Uncle T for even more color on the road. Look for us in middle America this year ... and GRAVELROAD in Europe early in 2009.
HISTORY:
GRAVELROAD emerged from its hidden-in-plain-site womb ‘round 2005. The music that had begun under the influence of modern Dark Blues masters Jr. Kimbrough, RL Burnside, T-Model Ford, and Fred McDowell was just our hobby. But what began in “The House” that we shared in Seattle, WA in 1999 has evolved to where we are at today: writing our own music, playing with everything we’ve got for our live shows, and delivering something DIFFERENT musically - - something that is unlike anything else you’ve ever heard, even if you’ve followed us so far with the references we’ve made.
We know that “We had to play,” because all we heard in our heads was music day and night. We are obsessed with pounding drums giving some ass to one dirty guitar made to sound like three. We practiced. We struggled mightily sometimes. We pushed, and were pushed, forward.
We took our show into basements, studios, food joints, parties, into dive bars, and you name it. We played and played and played. As a two-piece, the guitar player suffered along with the drummer learning the music and the drummer suffered the guitar player’s stringed-brilliance and vocal-awkwardness. This started to change in 2003-2004. What didn’t change was the dedication - - back to the woodsheds - - practice, record it, listen to it, practice, record it, listen back, practice … and so on and so on.
Kirby was playing bass in another band in ‘03 and ‘04 with the two-piece. His natural rhythm and melodic sense gelled with us naturally, and his sensibility and background connected - a kindred spirit for lack of a stronger term. We had unbelievable times in that band and many, many stories still are with us. However, over time, as bands often do, there was flux and change and evolution and as it happened (destiny?) the dust that settled into our teeth and under our nails was the 3 of us as GravelRoad.
Now we have our voice. The energy within the Vocals, Guitars, and Bass combined with Words that are deep and raw and hypnotic, spinning tales of sex, murder, death, love, redemption, and madness ring together as true as we can make it. We believe our music – where it comes from, where it is at right now, as where it is going – is without limits.
Our website: www.gravelroadblues.com and our MySpace page: www.myspace.com/gravelroad give information on how to purchase our debut full-length CD from 2004.
Thanks for checking us out.
Absolutely! You guys rip it up and we would love to share some shows! Whether you come out here next, we go to the Northwest, or if we meet half way...lets fire up the tube amps and let debauchery begin! - Jim
Hey there guys. I saw you posted to the Ten Foot Pole Cats page that you might be out this way -- New England -- one day. We'd sure love that in these parts.
We'd love to do another show with you guys soon. I hope you can make it out to see this show;
The Tiger Lounge is the new hip place. Located in Georgetown right near the Seattle Design Center on S. Orcas just off of 4th Ave S.
Bra's for the Cause (with Howlin' Houndog & Joey "The Saint" & the A-Men) 17 Oct 2009, 09:00 PM - The Tiger Lounge 412 S Orcas St Seattle, Washington 98108
OK so we have been nice and pretty so far, but now it is time to get "down & dirty"! Howlin' Houndog & The Infamous Loosers will be playing with our sax player's band Joey "The Saint" and the A-Men at Tiger Lounge down in Georgetown here in Seattle on Saturday Oct 17th.
Joey "The Saint" and the A-men will be serving up the nastiest (but tasteful) "Dirty Blues" and warming up the crowd for the "Bras for the Cause" charity auction to support the fight against Breast Cancer. Then Joey will play with Howlin' Houndog in the Infamous Loosers (along with their full Horn Section!) Shakin' it down all night!
Come give us (and "Bras for the Cause") your support!
Introducing THE SINISTER SURGEONS featuring members of; The Screaming Trees, Big High, and Mctuff (barrett, ari, van, and joe) at the Seamonster this Saturday October 10th no cover! 21+ 9:30 till close
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