Erik Yates vocals, banjo, flute, guitar, dobro, accordion, clarinet
Influences
Grateful Dead, Stravinsky, Phish, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Earl Scruggs, Bob Dylan, Charlie Parker, Gillian Welch, Jascha Heifetz, Jerry Garcia, Duke Ellington, Darol Anger and Tim O'Brien, David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Chris Thile, Radim Zenkl, Tony Khalife, Old and In the Way, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan and many more!
Sounds Like
Imagine Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, and Stéphane Grappelli sharing drinks at a Tom Petty show.
Hot Buttered Rum Brings Sharp Commentary and Potent Chemistry to Live Acoustic Rock Shows
Hot Buttered Rum, one of the hardest-working and fastest-rising acts in acoustic rock, began in the San Francisco Bay Area with five uniquely talented singer-songwriter/instrumentalists setting out to create a new Northern California sound. The Bay Area claims credit for producing dozens of bands, from Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Old and In the Way, to the Mother Hips, Green Day, Metallica, and beyond. From this fertile ground sprang Hot Buttered Rum’s own infectious blend of American styles—folk, rock, jazz, and newgrass—all informed by the landscape of their home.
Shunning stagnation in any form, Hot Buttered Rum diligently continues to hone their sound through 150+ live performances a year, with each show boasting a unique setlist and feel. Often referred to as a rock band with bluegrass instruments, the band recently has blended drums and electric instruments into their otherwise acoustic folk-rock live performances. This evolution will lead Hot Buttered Rum into the studio in January to further refine their sound.
Like so many great Bay Area bands before them, Hot Buttered Rum makes no separation between their music and their activism. They unapologetically undergird their shows with songs about social equality, environmental responsibility, and political change, and then back it up by touring in a biofueled bus and donating their time to service work at schools, Native American reservations, and political fundraisers.
Hot Buttered Rum is proud to continue that tradition by scheduling appearances at political events such as the September 16, 2008, Oakland Rocks for Change fundraiser for Democratic candidates. Hot Buttered Rum believes that the 2008 presidential election is the most important one in a generation. As part of their commitment to energize like-minded citizens to enact meaningful change, Hot Buttered Rum is offering free downloads of their songs “Reckless Tex” and “Guns or Butter,” which fans can listen to and download from www.hotbutteredrum.net
Embracing an out-on-the-range sound for the sake of parody, guitarist Nat Keefe wrote “Reckless Tex” as a protest piece in advance of the 2004 presidential election, employing metaphor to launch a vitriolic attack on the obvious though never named subject of the song: President George W. Bush. The lyrics persuade the listener to agree with the song’s refrain that “This reckless cowboy swagger's not becoming of a man.” “Guns or Butter” takes a century-old economic concept about military versus domestic spending and makes it swing—and swing hard. “Should we teach our kids to read, or invade Timbuktu?” asks multi-instrumentalist Erik Yates, driving home the idea that while smart-bombs are falling on Iraq, our country’s schools are falling behind.
Hot Buttered Rum’s progressiveness can only be described as organic. The band’s vibrant egalitarian structure, in which all five members contribute equally, results in an energetic exchange and magnetic chemistry seen most clearly in the band’s transfixing live performances. These same democratic underpinnings characterize Hot Buttered Rum’s virtual presence and the band’s relationship with its multigenerational, nationwide fanbase. Multi-night appearances often include organized community get-togethers and kids’ sets in nearby parks, creating a productive “meeting space” for band members and fans to exchange ideas and support. Hot Buttered Rum encourages audience photography and audio recording of their shows, but the band also turns the cameras on their fans, taking “View from the Stage” photos of the audience and posting them on the website for all to see. The website itself is a virtual “meeting space” where the band and fans can stay in touch. Band members use the content-rich site to share blog entries from the road; to host a fan discussion forum; to simulcast their shows to internet listeners (while providing a chat room so internet listeners can enjoy each other’s company during the show); to showcase in a Green section the band's eco-friendly tour bus and enviro-/socio-/political resume; and to provide sundry other regularly rotating media that help ensure a participatory, creative experience for all involved.
Check out www.hotbutteredrum.net for more information about the rising star that is Hot Buttered Rum.
Publicity
Michelle Roche Media Relations
360 University Circle
Athens, GA 30605
(706)353-3244 (ph)
(706) 353-8582 (fax) e-mail: michelle at michelleroche dot com web: www.michelleroche.com
Street Team/Grassroots Marketing
Jon Eisenberg e-mail: jon at hotbutteredrum dot net
Jam Cruise 8 will go down January 3-8, 2010 and will be leaving from Ft. Lauderdale, heading to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and George Town, Cayman Islands aboard the luxurious MSC Poesia, Queen of the MSC fleet. The public on-sale is TOMORROW Thursday June 4 at Noon ET! DON’T DELAY ON BOOKING. We have more pre-books than ever this year! Make sure to sign up on our mailing list and be ready to book June 4 to ensure your spot before we sell out!
STS9 The Word feat John Medeski, North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Randolph Zappa plays Zappa Galactic Karl Denson's Tiny Universe Maceo Parker Dark Star Orchestra JJ Grey & Mofro Railroad Earth Steve Kimock's Crazy Engine Lotus Fantastic 4 feat. Robert Walter, Adam Deitch, Eric Krasno & Cheme Gastelum) Toubab Krewe Eric Krasno & Chapter 2 The Motet plays the Talking Heads Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Hot Buttered Rum John Brown's Body Kyle Hollingsworth & Friends Mike Dillon's Go Go Jungle The Mother Hips Break Science feat. Adam Deitch Dragon Smoke feat. Robert Mecurio, Ivan Neviile, Stanton Moore & Eric Lindell Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes George Porter Jr's Super Jam DJ Logic Pretty Lights Special Guests: Col Bruce Hampton Skerik Will Bernard
So much fun oopening for you at Desert rocks and running the soudn for the Nat's project on the Colorado Stage. Tell bryan to watch out for random golf bags... :) -Christian
Summer is near and so is the Harvest! Get ready for a jammin' good time as the music echoes across these beautiful Ozark Mountains! Tickets are on sale now!
My daughter got to see you guys last night at the Caspar Inn - said you were wonderful. You were at the High Sierra Music Festival the first time she went with me....says you're even better now!!! She's chaperoning the Prom tonight, so she'll miss you, but glad she got to see you last night!
Have a beautiful rest of the week! Love and solidarity, Pam.
Summer is near and so is the Harvest! Get ready for a jammin' good time as the music echoes across these beautiful Ozark Mountains! Tickets are on sale now!
Thank you Hot Buttered Rum for making this the best Hemp Hoe Down yet!!! Come back anytime!! Besides, we still need a rematch on that kickball game! ;)
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