Ruby Dee - Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Songwriter
Jorge Harada - Electric Guitars- formerly of DRAGSTRIP 77
Support:
Kevin Fox - Bass
Jordan Teitelbaum - Drums
Influences
Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Merle Travis, Willie Nelson, Alejandro Escovedo, The Blasters, The Derailers, The Pretenders, Blondie, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Linda Rondstadt, Maria Muldaur, Eartha Kitt, Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, The Carter Family, Lucinda Williams, Gram Parsons, Emmie lou Harris, Robbie Fulks, Steve Earle, X, Neil Young, Dwight Yoakam, Mark Knopfler, the Stray Cats, Tom Waits, Judy Garland, and many many many more...
Sounds Like
"...a hard blend of rockabilly sass and supercharged Buck Owens style twang and treble..." - Dusted Magazine
"...a whip-smart mix of Stray Cats-fed rockabilly and Blasters-inspired alt-country with a nod towards Cash and Cline..." " - Austin Chronicle
"Consider the various genres this band fits into: rockabilly, old-style swing and stripped down country. If Ruby Dee's singing inspires others to kill, it can hardly have anything to do with the music" - Santa Fe Reporter (Mar 19, 2008)
"Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers are the complete package, and a must-see for any lover of traditional, sassy roots-rock twang delivered with no fealty to modern trappings"
- Metro Santa Cruz (Mar 19, 2008)
"Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers are road tested and approved…" - What’s Up (Mar 12, 2008)
"… Ruby Dee’s voice and instrumentals are as perfect of a fit for this distinct genre as pompadour hair-dos and creepers. … Really, it’s good old rock n’ roll tunage for that classic western lifestyle with a little boogie in it to boot" - Rumblefish
"…Why write a review when you can write a love letter? Whatever woodshedding Dee has done in the last two years has given us this amazing set that still finds her flying under the radar but certainly at the top of the niche. Miss this only if you dare" - Midwest Record Review
"…it’s almost a crime to hear this music outside of it’s environment; it shouldn’t be played on a home stereo or on headphones. It needs to be played, if not live, then over the PA at some well worn bar, just a bit louder than what one would consider comfortable..." - John Shelton Ivany, JSI Top 21 324
"…Their sophomore full length, with Conrad Uno back on board, mines country and rock’s past glories with swagger and skill..." - No Depression 75
"...treads through hardcore honky-tonk, rockabilly, and vintage country swing." - No Depression 66 (Nov 01, 2006)
"...a whip-smart mix of Stray Cats-fed rockabilly and Blasters-inspired alt-country with a nod towards Cash and Cline." - Austin Chronicle (Aug 18, 2006)
"...truck stop attitude and a juke box voice." - Seattle Times (Apr 26, 2006)
"Risky–and perhaps just a bit risqué–Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers conjure forth all sorts of visions of another time..." - Metro Santa Cruz (Oct 08, 2008)
"Blending snarling rockabilly with honky tonk heartache, Ruby Dee and The Snakehandlers have crafted their best recorded set thus far. The heart of the 13-song set emanates from Dee’s original material which combines poetic expressionism and hillbilly sass." - Ken Burke, Blue Suede News 84 (Nov 12, 2008)
"They’ve got that timeless rockabilly sound nailed down; every track delivers the kind of treacherous energy their name implies." - j.poet , All Music Guide (Nov 15, 2008)
Often likened to Janice Martin, Wanda Jackson, and a young Dolly Parton, Ruby Dee's lyrics and vocal styling stem from a whole lifetime of experiences that drive one to drink, ruin, and the like. Jorge Harada's somewhat cleaner lifestyle and well-trodden road of life lived out of a guitar case shows clearly in his obvious love of the instrument and all that it offers up. What you got here is true blue twang without camp, chops, humor, and solid song writing all around!
Who are Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers? More and more music lovers are learning the answer: a locally loved Austin band that’s earning a nationwide following with each and every show it plays of its honest, original music fused with synergy, sugar, sweat and soul.
The seven-year-old four-piece combo plays an Americana that encompasses Northwest alt-country, Texas honky-tonk, Bakersfield twang, Memphis rockabilly, Western swing and good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll.
After almost constant touring for the past two years, and 300+ dates on ten tours across America and in Europe, the band went into the studio again with producer Conrad Uno, putting together their second full-length CD (fourth overall) 'MILES FROM HOME' released in June, 2008. One of Ruby’s new songs on the CD, “Cold Pines & Red Dirt,” earned runner-up honors in Songwriter magazine’s 2007 competition. And since June, 'MILES FROM HOME' has hit the charts: logging in at 86 on the AMA Top 100 Charts for over 4 weeks, and 26 on the Texas Third Coast Music FAR Top 40 for August!
With a reputation for high-energy shows that precedes it, the band continues to deliver to capacity crowds in clubs and at festivals, rodeos, and county fairs such as Seattle’s Folklife 2004 through 2007. Right off the bat, they were voted Best Band in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer People’s Picks in 2005 & Best Signed Band in the People’s Picks 2006.
The music grows on audiences — a combination of Ruby’s singing and songwriting brought on her childhood spent between the no-longer-wild foothills of Northern California and the long straight roads around Big Spring, Texas; her time escaping to South America, driving a truck, working Alaskan fishing boats and more... Of course, guitarist Jorge Harada is no small potatoes either, having sweated all over that Gretch guitar in such bands as The Ugly Americans, The Spitfires, and rockabilly giants DRAGSTRIP 77 over the years.
Early on, fans of Ruby Dee and The Snakehandlers live shows demanded something to take home, which led to the five-song EP CD, FIVE FOR THE ROAD (released in 2003 and still selling on their website), and the Uno-produced full-length NORTH OF BAKERSFIELD, which has earned a lot of airplay in the United States, Europe and Australia and charted a number of tracks on the European Americana list. A third EP CD was recorded but never released, so perhaps down the road... Meanwhile, the band is currently writing new tunes, and busy touring everywhere they're asked to play. Go ahead, ask 'em!
“Ruby Dee and The Snakehandlers make a sweet honky-tonk country racket that’s perfect for long road trips, lazy afternoons and jumpin’ and jivin’ at the corner bar,” says NWsource.com. “If you like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, X or any combination thereof, you’ll immediately recognize the band as kindred souls. If you don’t like those great artists, guess what? You may end up dancing to The Snakehandlers anyway, despite yourself. The band’s that good.”
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Hey, thanks for adding Willie's Place and becoming one of our newest friends. We sure hope you can join us for the "Whiskey River Smoke Out" in March. Tall tales will be told after this event.
Thanks for adding me as a friend. Will see you all at The Shanty Jan. 2, Saturday night. Might be a bit nippy out, but I heard there was snow in Austin . . .
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