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Purty Mouth, Seattle's camped-up country-tonk combo: a little Hedwig, a little Hee Haw, a lotta heart. The veteran countrypolitan crooners in Purty Mouth have been performing in the Seattle area for most of the decade, their unique take on country and pop music dialed in from an alternate universe where Brokeback Mountain shares equal space alongside John Wayne.
Press
2008
Seattle Weekly, Aug 20-26: "Purty Mouth play up the humor of the stereotype with their entertaining lyrics, but never let the joke railroad their polished handle on their particular brand of country-tonk."
Seattlest, Aug 20: "The band name Purty Mouth sounds like a bad, bad joke, but the music is excellent. The adorable Alyssa Keene and Lori Ramon have the sweetest voices since Jo Stafford and the whip-smart lyrics will have you smiling all night long.
Vocalist Lori Ramon profiled in the February 2008 issue of Seattle Sound Magazine.
2007 and earlier
“There is something for everyone at a Purty Mouth show as long as you like fun and cowboys. And having fun with cowboys. Especially if you are another cowboy" Seattle Sound Magazine
"Gay and lesbian alt-country band from Seattle. They're sort of like Hee Haw meets Queer Eye" MetroWeekly (Washington DC Gay & Lesbian Magazine)
"The genius behind Purty Mouth is the band's respect for the music and the theatrical opportunities afforded by love songs that tell stories" The Stranger
"Perched somewhere between cornpone kitsch and hardcore honky-tonk, local combo Purty Mouth certainly have found a unique niche in an otherwise crowded roots scene" Seattle Weekly
Performance
Purty Mouth has headlined shows at the Tractor Tavern, the High Dive, the Crocodile, the Mars Bar, Jules Maes Saloon, the Blue Moon Tavern, Highway 99 Blues Club and the Comet Tavern. As support, Purty Mouth has proved itself as an exotic and entertaining opener for local and national touring acts, including Neko Case, the Hidden Cameras, Momus, the Moondoggies, the Meat Purveyors, Carolyn Mark, El Vez, the Ditty Bops and more.
Local acts sharing bills with Purty Mouth have included the Wakefields, Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, Miss Mamie Lavona the Exotic Mulatta and her White Boy Band, the Half Brothers, the Moondoggies, Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, Rocky Point All Stars, the Rainieros, Grownup Trouble, the Bouchards, the Buttersprites, and many more.
Purty Mouth is a regular at local festivals, performing at Seattle's Fremont Fair, Fremont Oktoberfest, the Bite of Seattle, Folklife and Hempfest, and supports queer events as often as possible, including the Northwest Bear's Spring Thaw (2005), Seattle Pride (2006), Portland's BearTown MusicJam (2007), Gay & Lesbian Softball World Series block party (2008), and in 2004, at the Freedom to Marry benefit WEDrock, in Washington D.C., where they shared the stage with Henry Rollins, Sandra Bernhardt, Bob Mould, and Hedwig creator John Cameron Mitchell.
Purty Mouth can be seen the third Wednesday of each month at the Highway 99 Blues Club, where they've had a residency since July 2007. The club, its owner, Ed Maloney, and the band have regularly transformed these Wednesday nights into special events including benefits for the Dunshee House, Home Alive and the Rat City Rollergirls, and most recently with a series of variety shows, featuring the band collaborating with burlesque troupe the Heavenly Spies and other acts.
On the Web
Become a fan on our Facebook page
Listen to our music on www.myspace.com/purtymouth
View our electronic press kit at www.sonicbids.com/purtymouth.
Receive show updates via email - send an email request. (purtymouth_info at yahoo.com)
Spread the word!
Music
Purty Mouth's program consists of originals by Graham, Mikey & Alyssa, with covers drawn from the catalogs of Dolly Parton, Kirsty MacColl, Highway 101, Loretta Lynn, the Ramones, Wanda Jackson, Tammy Wynette, Jackie DeShannon, the Kendalls, the Beatles and Gram Parsons, with nods to the Nashville and Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtracks.
In March of 2009, Purty Mouth completed a two-song 'single' (remember those?), with our own Walter Harley on engineering duty. The two tracks, She Plays Rugby (I Play Hard to Get) and South Tacoma, both originals, will be featured here on myspace.
A four-song demo was recorded in May 2006 under the auspices of Steve Smith (formerly of Billy Moon). The leadoff track, Tapedeck in His Tractor (a cover of a Ronee Blakely song from the Nashville soundtrack), received airplay on Seattle’s community radio station, KEXP. Tapedeck is also featured here on myspace.
For additional information, bookings, T-shirts, etc., contact Graham Short, (206) 329-6851, or via email.
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