Erik Grotz - Guitars, vocals
Scott Hudgins - Guitars, Bass
Peter Neff - Bass Dulcimer
Robert Donne - Bass, Guitars
Kevin Cornell - Drums, Percussion
Influences
Jim Reeves, Lorne Greene/Peter Lorre, Carson McCullers, Robert Bresson, William Faulkner, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, DC punk, Lee Hazelwood, Mancini, Thomas H. Benton, Wire, Werner Herzog, John Barry, rooftop views of the river at dawn, Tom Waits, Morricone, Flannery O'Connor, Scott Walker, concrete floodwalls and train trestles.
The Hard Ride, Eno, Bolan, Nick Drake, Jim Redman, Hank Sr., Claudine Longet, the magic hour, JG Ballard, Joy Division, Enoch Light, Lloyd Bridges, Gilberto, Calvino, Bobby Fuller Four, Lynch/Badalamenti, Johnny Cash, Neubauten, William Kennedy, sparrows, swallows & finches.
Peter Cushing, Helen's, Millies Diner, Mike Hailwood, Mario Cipollina, the Velvet Underground, distant trains, M.Hedberg and Slim Dunlap, etc.
Tarkovsky, Burl Ives, Nina Simone ... you get the idea.
Sounds Like
Soundtracks from a dark movie about trains and rivers.
Peter Neff and Erik Grotz formed in the band in early 2001 and quickly built up a catalog of material, inviting friend Jim Thomson on board later that year. Scott Hudgins joined in March of 2002 and they quickly gained prominence in the Richmond, VA music and arts community performing live with bands as diverse as Big Lazy, Smog, TONE and the Centimeters.
The members of the band have long been skulking about Richmond, playing in various avant-garde projects like The Hard Ride, Aurora Paralysis, Sliang Laos, Alter-Natives and the Griefbirds, and Neff’s dulcimer has made appearances on Pan•American and Labradford records.
Their debut, "No Wake", was released to much acclaim, and even landed a spot on late, legendary British DJ John Peel's "best of" list (June 2004).
They recorded a follow up at Altamont Recording in Asheville with Scott Minor (Sparklehorse) producing. The album "Songs from a Mean Season" is a joint release of Perpetual Motion Machine and Dry County Records.
Jim Thomson has since left the band and set his sights on New York City. His replacement is the ever affable Kevin Cornell, who has performed and played in bands such as Dark Little Rooms and is currently in The Barstool Heroes as well as Marionette. Bobby Donne (Labradford, Breadwinner) joined the band on bass guitar in 2007.
Tulsa Drone is currently recording an EP at the bands studio, located in a basement within view of the James and the train trestle.
"Motor Comtoir sketch" *****! Great stuff and I look forward to hearing the new lineup. Keep on trucking down the dusty road. It's a beautiful journey.
