Ryan Holweger Jon Wurm Thomas Case Josh Christenson Tim Heinlein
contact: westernfifth@hotmail.com
Sounds Like
“I couldn’t overcome feeling I’d been dropped into the novel world of Cormac McCarthy’s gritty western fiction meets pure Souther Gothic. Lyrics are imbued with a straightforward clarity and darkness. Melodies echo universal hard-scrabble characters and striking vistas….You can nearly feel the fading heart, the grieving, the loss, the warm fluids running across cold fingers.” - Refueled Magazine
“lyrics that are beautiful, sadly poetic, and assume an almost existential air….ranging from delicate, quiet acoustic to a full-band blast, it leaves nothing to be desired” – 30music.com
“these songs create an audio landscape of hard times and cold winters with a sweet, sad reverie and sad twangs of yesteryear.” - MinneapolisFuckingRocks.com
“it feels like the late nights spent on porches across America at the end of a party where those remaining are a little too drunk to get home and so sit, smoke cigarettes and wait for sobriety or dawn, whichever comes first.” – Cakein15.com
“The song “In The End I Went Away” has a hazy sheen over it’s americana roots. Banjos sound distant, guitars and vocals are distorted and loneliness and pain are the overriding emotions. In other words it’s wonderful.” - Songs:Illinois
“They aren't perfect but that's what makes them special.” - Music Emissions
“Western Fifth sing a sad little song with perfectly placed piano bits and vocal howls that tug at the heartstrings, making for a great soundtrack to a cold night warmed only by whiskey and neon signs in a dive bar...sounds like a dirtier, grittier Wilco, with a touch of Up Records-era Modest Mouse, thanks to their howling guitars and strange, raspy voices." MFR
“The five-piece plays slow, atmospheric songs with a confidence that makes it sound like it has been doing this for decades.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press
"There are many, many points in the music where a lethargic phrase all of a sudden takes a breath and then slams into you with what can only be called full-on lethargy, akin to being broadsided by a bus." - howwastheshow.com
Their sound is lonesome, haunting, and almost classic country at times, yet sounds right at home in the world of independent rock music. Western Fifth creates a visionary sound, founded on heartfelt and often dark lyrics, blended with both classic and eclectic instrumentation.
The band recorded their shambling, country-tinged debut EP in a single weekend during the winter of 2006. Lasting nearly a day and a half, the mostly improvised sessions were tracked at Silver Ant Studio in Minneapolis.
Western Fifth started playing shows at various venues around the Twin Cities in the summer of 2006, and has since expanded to a six-piece ensemble. In addition to the traditional guitar, bass and drums, they incorporate a myriad of instruments into their music, including piano, lap steel guitar, Wurlitzer, trumpet, mandolin, organ, and banjo.
“…much of their stuff was like listening to The Replacements if they had hired Steve Earle to do their arrangements for them, and then tossed a trumpet in from time to time to round things out. The lyrics were rich in imagery and the music was spare at turns, despite having six group members onstage, but as they got rolling it sort of felt like you'd been hit in the head with a bar of soap shoved into a sock—it was a lot to digest, emotionally. The songs had a worn, frayed-at-the-edges feel as if they had emerged, fully formed, from the drawer of some long-forgotten piece of furniture in the basement of an even longer-forgotten, broken-down farmhouse.”
- Pat O’Brien, howwastheshow.com
I just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy Saturday! May the weekend bring you fun adventures, relaxation, and total contentment :)
I was going to go camping this weekend, but this is definitely NOT camping weather. So me and some friends are gonna go check out Dueling Pianos. Those guys are amazing - they can play just about any song that's been on the radio between 1950 and 2005.
Anyways, I wanted to let you know about a show we have @ Station 4 on Friday, October 16th. We are debuting a series of one time only performance art pieces. This one is called "AN OBJECT TO CRAVE". Live music and visuals based on a short story about life, love, loss, fantasy, obsession and death.
Another group of mine, The Magnetrons, which plays an exciting and innovative Livetronica set (i.e. STS9, Disco Biscuits, The Histronic) will also be playing. The night will be full of creative, interesting, high-energy music, good drinks and good times.
Here's the info:
Blood Root Mother - "An Object to Crave" w/ The Magnetrons & Thought Thieves Friday, October 16th Station 4 201 E 4th St St Paul, MN 55101 9pm / $5 / 18+
Just checking back with you to remind you that Powerplayed is really interested in showcasing your videos. I know I reached out some time ago but haven’t seen an upload from you as of yet. Powerplayed.com offers a free membership, free upload and gives you a platform to expose your talent to a quarter of a million people. Also, by uploading your video you are automatically entered in the running to be a part of our Friday “Independents Day” e-blast, dedicated to indie artists that exposes your work to a lengthy list of music industry execs.
If you need help or want more information please call Troy at
I just wanted to stop by to say hello and give you a little update on what Blood Root Mother is up to! We will be recording an EP of new music in August, and we recently finished recording a live DVD. The DVD is currently unreleased and I actually just saw it for the first time a few days ago. It features the last two performances with Tony Ellis still alive, and some footage from the tribute show we played on the night of his funeral.
There are some cool covers, as well as some NEW music that will be on our upcoming EP. We're very excited about the new music and we'd like to share a sneak peak with you. Here's a video of a new tune called Run Bobby Run:
Blood Root Mother will be playing at Trocaderos in Minneapolis on Friday, June 26th. I cannot stress enough how awesome this show will be. We're playing with three of the sweetest local rock bands: Claret, Niobium and Casanatra. If you haven't heard these guys, check them out immediately! Please come to this show!!
I recommend coming during happy hour for two for one drinks along with free buffet, which is delicious. We'll be hanging out at Trocs all night, so come by and chill/party with us :)
Please come out and support some great local music! Music starts at 9:30pm and we should go on around midnight. Invite your friends, pile into a car (or a party bus), and together we will make this one of the highlights of the summer :)
Hey, how's the weekend going? Just letting you know I'm taking on a few more projects this summer and it would be awesome to work with you guys. So if you need any Recording, Live Sound or Producing, be sure to let me know.
THEE VANILLA SHOELACE will have their big reunion, then the ANALOG COLLECTION will rock out, and then TOLLUND MOSES will do their thang. Club Underground is in the basement of the Spring Street Tavern at 355 MONROE ST. NE in MINNEAPOLIS.
This is the first Shoelace gig in years, Tollund Moses' first gig ever, and just another day in the life of the 'Logs. There will be unicorns visible to those in the know, although the presence of unicorns is likely to be felt be anyone within a 72-mile radius of the club. Things will shimmer, sparkle, and glitter, and somebody may throw up. It will be louder than you expected it would. Beverages will be available in the form of liquor-type, beer-type, soda-pop-type, and water-type. They make decent hamburgers, and will cook you a frozen pizza for a nominal fee. The kick drum will be 26 inches in diameter. Most of the guitars will have 6 strings until one breaks. The bass guitars will be standard 4-string-type. Singers will do their best. The upstairs part of the venue offers terrible singing via karaoke at no extra charge. It doesn't smell bad in there, although sometimes it smells like old beer and new pot. One time, the floor was kinda sticky, over near the bar, but you can walk around those areas. This whole thing will end really late at night/early Saturday morning, and some people are likely to be kinda tipsy. If you drink, don't drive, if you drive, don't drink. If they charge you to get in, just tell them you're on the guest list, and then while the door person is looking for your name on the little notepad, run past them really fast and sit down on one of the couches, all relaxed-like, and when they give you crap, just say "Dude, I been sitting here all night, get outta my face before I have to call Reggie. " While they're trying to figure out who Reggie
Online Now!
Facebook Event: 
Get them here!
