Joe Ross - guitar, vocals Sean Wheatley - bass, vocals Ronnie Pierce - saxophone, clarinet Bert Bertram - trombone, vocals C. T. - drums
Frequent flyers: Craig Flory - saxophone John Terpin - trombone Matt O'Toole - mandolin, vocals Jeff Kelly - guitar, vocals
Many musicians have gotten the call. The following have graciously appeared as Bird Watchers: Jerry Muhasky - bass, vocals Beri Pulovski - drums Ed Portnow - drums Kelly VanCamp - drums, vocals, hamonica Bill Shaw- drums Rod Moody - guitar John Thompson - pedal steel
Favorite guests: Gail Hebert - vocals Helen Anne Gately - Elvis vocals Rachelle Write - vocals Tom Bennett - guitar, vocals, drums Erik 4A - guitar, vocals Allecia Clemons - guitar, vocals Billy Joe Huels - trumpet
Influences
Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Louis Prima, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Louis Jordan, Dylan, Byrds, Gram Parsons, etc.
Sounds Like
Bob Dylan singing Johnny Cash songs with dixieland horn breaks; or Hank Williams singing Dylan songs with Louis Jordan on sax.
"Juke-joint jumpin' honky-tonk swing!" since 2007.
The Bird Watchers are a honky-tonk dance band rather lazily led by Joe Ross in between playing gigs with hoe-down favorites, The Haggis Brothers, and his long time duty as bassist with legendary paisley rockers, The Green Pajamas.
With Joe Ross singing and strumming on his Gibson jumbo, a dual horn section comprised of Seattle legends: saxophonist Ronnie Pierce (who actually has played with legends including Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstein, Mills Brothers, Hank Williams) and Dixieland veteran Bert Bertram on trombone, Sean Wheatley (also of Haggis Brothers) on standup bass and Chris Thomas (aka C.T.) of Suicide Jack on drums.
"I like to call our music Honky-Tonk Swing. From Louis Prima to Johnny
Cash, from the country twang of Hank Williams to the country twang of the
Rolling Stones with a tip of the hat to Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan along the
way. Kind of like if Bob Dylan was singing Hank Williams songs with Louis
Jordan on sax, plus some tasty dixieland horn breaks." -Joe Ross
As a drunk in the audience once said, "The Bird Watchers kick ass, woohoo!" And it's true, whether you're tossing back drinks or kicking up your heels on the dance floor these guys are almost always appropriate.
..
Joe Ross & The Bird Watchers's Friend Space (Top 19)
Thanks for subbin' on bass for this show Joe. I should be a Lulu! We got both Terp and Ronnie in the Horn section too. Don't miss it!
Mark your calendars because this will be our only Full Band show in July!
Howlin Houndog & Infamous Loosers
23/07/2009 9:00 PM at Club Motor (Bad Motor Booty night)
1950 1st Ave S., Seattle, Washington
Cost: $10
In association with Burning Hearts Burlesque we will be appearing at
"Bad Motor Booty" night on Thursday July 23rd at Club Motor (1950 1st
Ave S) as part of their regular event there. We go on at 11 p.m. Come
and Shake Your Moneymaker! See you there.
From Vancouver B.C! The Sumner Brothers with Howlin Houndog & Infamous Loosers and Lee Rude (solo)
15/05/2009 9:00 PMatMix 6006 12th Ave S, Seattle, Washington 98108 Cost: $7 We will be playing club Mix in Georgetown on Friday May 15th 2009 again with Vancouver BC’s Sumner Brothers and Seattle’s own Lee Rude! Doors at 8 p.m. and the fun begins at 9 p.m. Come out and support all the bands. We look forward to seeing you there!
Hey buddy! I will be up in Everett tonight w a group of folks. Seems there's a lot going on tonight! Dammit. I'd love to see y'all- just make me a clone and I'm there! ;)
You guys DO kick ass! Have fun and Irish it up and stuff =)
This will be our first local gig on returning from our Texas 2009 SXSW Tour. It will be all us all night long. We will have our fabulous new Horn Section with us that night too! Don’t miss it. Come out and hoof it all night long!
Joe, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your Horns (Ronnie & Terp) and renting your drummer (C.T.) for my upcoming March 2009 SXSW Tour!
I wish you could make the show, but I know you are tied up that weekend (hee-hee!)
Ratfish Bone Howlin' Houndog & The Infamous Loosers and The Sumner Brothers
19 Feb 2009, 09:00 PM - Conor Byrne 5140 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, Washington 98103 US Cost:$5
Come see our last show here in Seattle before we pack up and head South for SXSW in March 2009. We will be playing with Ratfishbone again and Vancouver BC’s Sumner Brothers at Conor Byrne on Thurs Feb 19th. It will be a Bluesy night for sure. Come wish us well on our March 2009 SXSW tour! We may have our new Horn Section in attendance too!
Our next show should be a Blockbuster. It is Friday Oct 3rd (the day before Reverbfest) in Ballard at our favorite stomping ground in Ballard The Conor Byrne Pub. Here are all the details;
Howlin' Houndog & Infamous Loosers
The Femurs (Rob Femur)
Mama Tried
03 Oct 2008, 09:00 PM 5140 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, Washington 98103 Cost : $5
We are returning again to the fabulous Conor Byrne Pub in wonderful Ballard Washington. This time with our friends Mama Tried (the super entertaining all Merle Haggard tribute/worshiping band) and the one-man show of Rob Femur (otherwise known as The Femurs) opening. If you don’t make this show, well you better be In Jail, The Hospital or Dead, because those are the only excuse you will have that work (and In Jail better be a really good one too!) See you there!
We are Headlining this show and we will have special guests sitting in, and it will be worth it to stay up late to see us play.
ATTENTION EVERYONE: Joe Ross will be filling in for our regualr Drummer Robert McNaughty for the show on August 1st at the Shanty Tavern. You'd better be there (or I'm movin' in with ya!) Here are all the details!;
OK so we have 2 August dates and here they are;
01 Aug 2008, 09:00 PM - The Shanty Tavern
9002 Lake City Way NE Seattle, Washington 98115 US Cost: $5 OK so we return to the Shanty Tavern in Lake City (with our pal Joe Ross sitting in on drums again!) with SPF-50 (a killer surf band) and the Invisible Giants for an evening of Surf-Blues & Hot Rod Honky-Tonkin’! We hope to see you there!
Then the following week we do an All Acoustic show
08 Aug 2008, 07:00 PM - Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way N.E. Lake Forrest Park, Washington 98155 US Cost:FREE!! It will be all us for 2 hours at the food court at Thrid Place Books in Lake Forrest Park. This is an All-Ages and Family Friendly event, so mark your calendars and bring your kids!
Our next shows probably won't be until Oct, but stay tuned (you never know)
OK so if you missed us at Folklife or down at Slim's Last Chance, here is another opportunity to catch us in action. We will be opening up for the Blue Healers at the Conor Byrne (5140 Ballard Ave NW) on Saturday May 31. This will be our last full band show until July. I hope you can make it out.
