Stephanie Prausnitz - fiddle.....
Evie Ladin - banjo, clogging.....
Lisa Berman - dobro, banjo, guitar.....
Sue Sandlin - guitar, tiple.....
Martha Hawthorne - bass.....All of the Sisters sing.....
Juicy details @
http://www.stairwellsisters.com
Influences
Hazel and Alice, Tommy Jarrell, Ginny Hawker, Suzy Thompson, Arthur Smith, Laurie Lewis, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Grateful Dead, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Rick Good, Highwoods Stringband, INXS, John Hartford, John Ashby, Public Enemy, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Flatlanders, Bruce Robison, Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Coon Creek Girls, Hot Tuna, Elton John, John Denver, Flatt & Scruggs, Rhys Jones, Red Mules, Stuart Brothers, Carter Family....
DALLAS OBSERVER
Five women who attack string instruments with a veracity that rivals some of rock's most venerated fret-burners...played with a gospel spirit and an expressive playfulness...rarely have songs taken from the public domain sounded so modern and vital.
BILLY ALTMAN, THEBLUEGRASSSPECIAL.COM
It's hard to say what is more striking: the Sisters' clear passion for old-time string band music, or the thoroughly modern exuberance of their performing style. It is, however, the originals that really underscore the band's distinctiveness. The Stairwell Sisters organically and emphatically connect their democratic music with their democratic values. Together with the implicit empowerment aspect of their being an all-female band, Get Off Your Money adds up to quite a statement.
GET OFF YOUR MONEY
Produced By Lloyd Maines
Release Date - 5/12/08
Producer Lloyd Maines recalls hearing The Stairwell Sisters for the first time: “I happened upon this tribe of women musicians, playing old-time string music, with the power and excitement of a great rock band.”
Tribe of women indeed. Evie Ladin explains what holds sway with the sisters, themes similarly found in one of their early influences, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard: “not exactly the sweet and tender ladies, but the stand up for yourself and face the world kind of women.”
Which is exactly the women that make up The Stairwell Sisters. Evie, Stephanie Prausnitz. Lisa Berman, Martha Hawthorne, and Sue Sandlin are career women, organizers, activists and mamas; making ends meet working and living in San Francisco. They also happen to crank out acoustic, old-time music with a punk-rock intensity. Somehow, between raising children, working and releasing records, they've taken their band to some rather well-regarded places - appearing on A Prairie Home Companion, festival stages from Lincoln Center (NYC) and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (SF) to Celtic Connections (UK), and many points in between.
Their third release Get Off Your Money, produced by Maines and out May 12, 2008, covers substantial ground as well. There are fiddle tunes crafted decades ago from Alabama to Scotland and points unknown. There are old songs of trains, boats and possums. One song is translated from Swahili, an all-too familiar story learned from a street musician in Tanzania. There are new songs too - original songs of trial and work, loss and love, and all-night parties. The women run all of it through the “Sister Mill.” Regardless from which era or continent the songs have traveled, The Stairwell Sisters make such heartfelt and skillfully played music that boundaries dissolve beneath the chugging force of old-time fiddle and banjo, the whomp of bass and guitar, the grit of the slide guitar, and the tight, closely interwoven harmonies.
Lloyd Maines has it right. The Stairwell Sisters are tribal; laying down their all-gal teardown wherever they go. Get Off Your Money reflects the spirit to keep the message alive in the urban evolution of country string band music.
Will Scott's new album, GNAWBONE is here!!! The CD is available at CDBaby and other online retailers.
Over three years in the making, GNAWBONE is Scott's fully-produced studio debut and features a crack team of hand-picked musicians as well as guest performances by Jan Bell, Jolie Holland, Samantha Parton, and Preacher Boy (the album's producer).
Hello, it's me, Ruby Jane.To those who don't know me, I am a 14 year old fiddler, songwriter. I have some songs posted that are fresh out of the studio. Let me know if you like the new songs..be one of the first to hear, even before they are released!Thanks! new videos too! Ruby Jane
WE R Searching for a FEMALE LEAD GUITAR PLAYER !! PLEASE check out our site ~ THANK YOU AND ROCK oN! Blake KNOW BS myspace.com/knowbsrocks "hell yes" is just an expression !
Thanks for the comment we all enjoyed the Glasgow show my aunt bought your CD my mum loved it my friend saw what ive been trying to explain for the last 2 years my niece really enjoyed the dancing and i got another nice photo so everyones happy
Hey, It's Dave Clupper. If I haven't told you thank you for your support yet, thank you! Check out the video below for a live clip shot from Downtown Tulsa with my daughter Ellen. Also, stop by my profile and enjoy a majority of my new record "Letting Go" released earlier this month. If you want to own a copy, look for the Buy Now Button on my profile or to just own a track, visit iTunes by clicking here. Talk soon!
After pre-release tours in Colorado and Georgia, Dehlia Low’s new full-length cd “Tellico” will be presented for the first time in Asheville this Thursday at the Grey Eagle ($8/10, thegreyeagle.com)! Several cuts off the new disk can be heard on at www.myspace.com/dehlialow and live takes of a few of the songs will be performed Thursday afternoon on WNCW 88.7FM. Thursday night’s show will also be a chance for those of you who didn’t make it to Merlefest to hear Lyons, Colorado’s own Spring Creek Bluegrass Band, who are also preparing to release a new disk next month. Dehlia Low will also be joined by “Tellico” producer Jon Stickley of the Shannon Whitworth band. We hope to see you out and thanks for supporting live, original, and local music.
Online Now!
Victoria Theater
2961 16th Street
Mission District
San Francisco
Go to http://rollingmovie.com for more info.