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...
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.
Hey Friends, it's me, Flowmotion & the Meltdown Festival.
Just wanted to remind everyone, the festival is coming up in about three weeks or so and tickets are about to go up in price on July 23rd. Now is the time to get your tickets. 30+ bands on three stages, camping on 40 acres next to the river and epic views of glacier capped Whitehorse Mountain from the stage. It's about 75 minutes north of Seattle in Darrington WA. This is going to be one of the best years yet, so please tell all your friends and spread the word about the tickets going up next week. Visit the official site by clicking on the graphic below to get all the details.
had a blast in C'ville last night. it's midnight and I'm sure all you fellahs are scorching the walls down in Mississippi right now, wish I was there for the throwdown.
OK..... if I can just close my eyes and think of bunnies in clover I can get some shut eye and be bright eyed and bushy tailed to drive to C'ville for your show tomorrow night..... Hellhounds at the Cross Road don't bring the Sandman...it's all yer Damn fault I got Gravelroad playin' in my head.
