Kali| vox, keys, glockenspiel, percussion Matt| vox, guitar, keys, percussion Ryan| bass, closest in appearance to woody from toy story Graham| banjo, dancing Stephen| drums, simba the lucky fox Carolyn Bergier | cheerleader
(For more great video shot by Scott Carver, Sean Whiteman and crew, check out our Penny Jam episode here.)
Influences
THINGS PEOPLE SAY:
"Refusing to be pigeonholed, quintet the Ascetic Junkies intermingles bluegrass with modern pop and rock in a way that keeps toes tapping." -WILLAMETTE WEEK LOCAL CUT
"[CLATTERING INDIE FOLK] With more and more bands in town learning about the power of acoustic instruments, we should be thankful they can wrench some great sounds out of them. The quintet known as the Ascetic Junkies does just that by introducing the stomping joy of bluegrass and country into its navel-gazing pop (à la Tilly and the Wall but without that silly tap dancing thing). The resulting music, as heard on the band's debut, One Shoe Over the Cuckoo's Nest, has quickly marked it as one of the best young groups in Portland." -ROBERT HAM, WILLAMETTE WEEK
"(Windows Sell the House is) a great example of the modern bluegrass music that's been growing all over the country, from the deepest deltas of bluegrass country to the edges of the country, like Portland, Oregon... One of the things I love so much about modern independent music is that there are no genre restrictions. You can have a song called "Dracula" and not be goth. You can be from Portland and play bluegrass. It's a cool new world, as far as music is considered... The Ascetic Junkies have solved the problem of always being locked out. They now have no doors or walls." -CERULEAN'S LOVE OF MUSIC
"...what sticks out most is the fun they create no matter how slow chords move or how quick the spoons clap. One Shoe Over The Cuckoo’s Nest brilliantly comes off as vocalists Kali Giaritta and Matt Harmon’s ultimate love letter to one another." -RON TREMBATH, FENSEPOST
Sounds Like
U2 combined with alanis morissette, according to one guy. we disagree whole-heartedly, but we think it was meant as a compliment.
[also, we're playing some great shows, helping our friends the glyptodons record some beautiful music, and often, perhaps too often, googling sarah palin]
{in the meantime, you can kill time by reading various lyrics here, checking us out on twitter or youtube, or poking around this page}
I like how you said: "We simply must share a show"
There are a good number of things I dislike or am somewhat indifferent to, but I like the sound of the "simply must."
It sounds nice. Kind of anglo. Kind of limey. Kind of Audry Hepburn.
Your tunes have a glorious warm feeling to them. Makes me think that maybe it isn't November and maybe my shoes aren't soaked through. Trials, o my brothers and sisters.
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