"Just when you think you've said everything you can about the Weird Beards, they prove you wrong. These guys are crazy...let me just say these guys are raising the bar with regards to performance. This group is quickly evolving from a band into an experience" ~ Jonas Sanchez "140 Below"
...."New London’s answer to The Fugs -- the Weird Beards" ~ Stephen Chupaska - "theday.com"
...."This booking wins, by a whisker...The Weird Beards we've seen, and they are weird: a singular mix of baritone uke and Queen-style rock falsetto, stand-up bass and jam-band guitar" ~ Christopher Arnott "New Haven Advocate"
....“Patriot Act” an open call against Government intrusion into the lives of it's citizen's. With lyrics such as “The President of the United States just called/he asked me to stop playing my ukulele/no way man!” they aren't always subtle, but their approach varies from song to song. While they joke frequently during their practice, they make it very clear that they take pride in their music" ~ Adam Cregeur "Freelance Reporter"
...."The Beards are completely unique, featuring non-traditional instruments, non-traditional lyrics and non-traditional song styles" ~ Tim Malcolm, "Norwich Bulletin" //
THE WEIRD BEARDS thrive in the Land of Crazyness that is New London, Connecticut with a BARITONE UKULELE, ACOUSTIC GUITAR, STAND-UP BASS and DRUMS with occasional harmonicas, djembe, electric guitar, puppets, roboshades, robots, plaid pants, a rude blue dude, arreakas and a wheel on an upside down bicycle.
WILLOW TREE EXPRESS VIDEO
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::WEIRDUS BEARDUS HAS INVADED THE FOLLOWING VENUES::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: BEAN & LEAF (NEW LONDON, CT) // HYGIENIC ART PARK (NEW LONDON, CT) // OASIS PUB (NEW LONDON, CT) // BANK ST. CAFE (NEW LONDON, CT) // BACKSTAGE PASS (NEW LONDON, CT) // PJ O'CONNORS (JEWETT CITY, CT) // THE SPACE GALLERY (PORTLAND, ME) // THE SPACE (HAMDEN, CT) // THE PRISM GATHERING @ THE ARK (EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ) // AS220 (PROVIDENCE, RI) // BREWBAKERS (MIDDLETOWN, CT) // PUBLIC BAR & GRILL (MIDDLETOWN, CT) // BUTTONWOOD TREE UKEFEST (MIDDLETOWN, CT) // JAVAPALOOZA (MIDDLETOWN, CT) // DOWNRIGHT MUSIC (COLLINSVILLE, CT) // ACADEMY SKATE PARK (WOODBRIDGE, CT) // CAFE NINE (NEW HAVEN, CT)
The Weird Beards: EP
CD Review
(Cosmodemonic Telegraph, 2009)
CD Review by Adam Wujtewicz
"One of the many things for purchase during Hygienic’s opening weekend was The Weird Beards debut EP... a 4 song ditty with the old lineup, the lineup that included OB on mandolin and does not include their current drummer. The production team on this record is a veritable who’s who of New London music. The recording itself was done by Hugh Birdsall of The Reducers and was mixed and mastered by Paul Brockett of the Paul Brockett Roadshow. For such organic instrumentation; baritone ukulele, standup bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin and percussion, there is quite a bit of studio trickery. There are some backwards vocals and also vocals with digitally manipulated pitches. There is a cool loop intro at the beginning of “Patriot Act” as well as some ping pong panning on the ukulele and mandolin. These kinds of things work well with The Weird Beards’ psychedelic gypsy nature. The songs on the EP; “With a Lime”, "Weird Beard”, “Patriot Act”, and “Beautiful Eyes” are super clever lyrically and all the songs are completely different topics. This gives you a really good view of the pallet that Brian Skidmore, lead singer and baritone uke, is working with to paint the landscapes of his songs. The canvas of this record is the three musicians who are able to keep Brian’s dreamlike visions afloat with their expressive riffing. While not exactly a sing along record there are a bunch of gang vocals that add a little bit of fullness that can sometimes seem lacking with an all acoustic band. This is no singer songwriter pop BS either… the instrumentation and song structure removes it quickly from that category. This not your average folk - The Weird Beards may actually be from outer space somewhere, but the songs are easy to listen to for the educated musical ear. For anyone who has seen them live you know Brian’s vocal acrobatics and the jammy-ness of some of the songs can lead to them lasting a while. Both of those things have been pretty much cut out… leaving the real gold of the songs to shine in three minute intervals. This is a super worth-while record for the alt-folk enthusiast."
PUBLISHED ON: WAILINGCITY.COM
RECENTLY FEATURED IN: THE SCOPE MAGAZINE
Heyhey. We are coming back to rock New London this Friday at The Oasis, 16 bank st at 9:30. Playing with Robert Jensen and Mustache. This will be our first area show with our brand new cd!!!! hope to see you there.
Ok so how am I supposed to listen to cream puff at work if its not on the page? I mean come on guys. Here I am at work .. on my computer .. on your page AND I HAVE NO CREAM PUFF. I need a CD NOW!!!! And by now I mean now!!! Pronto! (With Cat dog too please!)
we come from manchester/middletown/wethersfield. maybe we will come through and check out one of the middletown shows! definitely would be interesting. peace and love