Seven Harkey: Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Mountain Dulcimer
sometimes joined by: Rex Espinosa: Guitars, Mandolin, Banjo, Vocals Michael Israel: Drums, Percussion James Israel: Bass Greg Schultz: Pedal Steel
Influences
Woody Guthrie, Paul Westerberg, Hank Williams, The Beatles, Dorothy Parker, Wilco, Velvet Underground, Virginia Woolf, The Kinks, Nirvana, Big Star, Bob Dylan, Leadbelly, William Faulkner, Neil Young, Camper Van Beethoven, The La's, J.D. Salinger, George Jones, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Cat Power, Nancy Botwin, Let's Active/Mitch Easter, Raymond Carver, R.E.M., Johnny Cash, Grant Lee Buffalo, Charlie Rich, Louvin Brothers, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Neko Case
Sounds Like
Woody Guthrie and Leonard Cohen kidnap R.E.M.'s rhythm section, drive them acros the southwest in a convertible, and show them how it's done. -- Lewis Buzbee, Author
[Seven's] songs are like brief snippets of americana. -- CMJ Magazine
Pink Floyd & the Heartbreakers -- Adam Keith Warner, Singer/Songwriter
Seven's songs are like singable short stories, embedded in cool, eclectic roots music. -- Bonnie Hayes, Singer/Songwriter (Bonnie Raitt)
His performances stir emotions while comforting the soul. -- Noah Schottenfeld, PhotoShow (featuring 3 of Seven's songs)
Delightfully disturbing. It's haunting, raw edgy. The real deal. -- Silvia Marie, Singer/Songwriter
Channeling influences as diverse as Woody Guthrie, Kurt Cobain, and Raymond Carver, Seven Harkey’s “singable short stories” tell tales of longing, love, drugs, death, and other earthly delights. His music has been called “edgy & compelling”, “infectious” and “delightfully disturbing”, with performances compared to Grant Lee Buffalo, early Wilco, and even Gram Parsons backed by Pageant-era R.E.M.
Growing up in rural North Carolina, Seven swished with country music, gargled with pop, and spit southern rock. On the cusp of the Alt-Country surge of the early nineties, Seven greyhounded to San Francisco, where he explored “garage country” with Farmgirl, and “powerfolk” with the Lomaxes. But after seven years in a seven-by-seven-mile town, his hunger for a change of atmosphere drove him east to Chicago. After a series of musical incarnations, he got back to his country-tinged roots with the Dogwoods, a poppy group of porchrockers that take his unique brand of guitar-playing and word-singing to new levels of strum and bash.
Seven was hand-picked by legendary writer Ben Fong-Torres to perform on his Fog City Radio NPR show. In the studio, Seven has lent his talents to recordings by John Wesley Harding and E (of Eels). Live, he has played with Jeff Buckley, Peter Himmelman, Leon Russell, Southern Culture on the Skids, Peter Case, Chris Isaak and more.
Winter 08: Hunkered in a bunker, Seven is writing and recording the followup to his acclaimed record "dirtysomething". To hear samples of "dirtysomething" and pick up your own copy, click here.
Hey Seven, Happy Holidays from the old Tonos days:-) Your music sounds great as always! Roadside Dead is still one of my favorites. I hope all is well and you are enjoying life:-) Brent
The Milestone is alive and well. It's not quite the place it was when we used to hang out there. I don't think you'll find today's equivalent of David Lowery doing tequila shots in the parking lot with a couple of guys from Salisbury. My band practices pretty much around the corner from it.
Thanks for the add. It's great to hear your music again. I've always enjoyed your writings and that seasoned voice of yours. "Roadside Dead" has got to be my favorite. Love that Zydeco sound. Great to be onboard. All the best.
Hey Seven! Love the video....great job....especially the little kids doin their thing! Is the bass player related to Ben Stein? Very cool stuff...all the best to you from down here in Texas. Peace
Lookin' and soundin' sharp, Mr. Harkey, not that I'd expect anything less from you, of course. I dig the mutton chops. At 3:04, the girl on stage left actually performs the only dance I've ever been able to do. Great fucking song, by the way...
Hey Seven, I see you got the show with the Stoltz project. Right on. I wish I could be there. Give my love to Sean. Hope all is well. Have a great show. Nikki
