NORTHERN MAGNOLIA

Artist Information

Biography

Northern Magnolia can bring a tear to your eye and get your boots stomping on the barroom floor – sometimes in the same song. The Chicago band’s twangy alt-country rock pulses with heartbreak and longing. And you can hear it all over their debut album, "Dreams to Reckon With", recorded by Neal Ostrovsky (The Webb Brothers, Local H, Urge Overkill) at B-Side Audio in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village.

The band formed like a happy accident, as brothers Dave and Tony Piscotti’s previous band was winding to a halt. Taking its helm, Rory Miller responded to the Piscotti’s call for an original and unique songwriter. Rory had just returned to her native Chicago after honing her music in Florida. Getting back to her roots, Rory recruited her first bass player and longtime friend, Jerry Rinard. The four fell into place like the pieces of a puzzle.

Rory belts out powerful, confident vocals over the driving rhythm of her percussive guitar. While Tony weaves melodic, tuneful, and twang-filled tapestries on his telecaster, Dave adds dynamic snap behind the kit. The quartet is rounded out by Jerry Rinard with his in-the-pocket bass groove and complimentary backing vocals. The group plays with spontaneous maturity as Rory keeps listeners wondering what turn her melodies will take next. Northern Magnolia’s growing audience is drawn to the band’s exploration of musical territory staked out by Whiskeytown, Neko Case, Heartless Bastards and Alabama Shakes.

In less than two years, Northern Magnolia’s hit-the-highway tunes have already taken them from Chicago’s Double Door to venues across the Midwest. So while Dreams to Reckon With is their first album, it’s just the latest stop in the journey of a band that won’t quit until it finds salvation.

Instrumentation

Rory Miller - Lead vocal & acoustic guitar
Tony Piscotti - Lead Guitar
Jerry Rinard - Bass & back up vocals
Dave Piscotti - Drums & Percussion

Discography

"Dreams to Reckon With" - released 9/25/2012 (see links below for Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon)

Official Website

http://www.northernmagnoliaband.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Last.fm
• iTunes
• CD Baby
• Amazon
• Spotify
• Soundcloud

Audio

• Hold On (to Me)
  Listen   Download
• Whiskey on the Ledge
  Listen   Download
• Cry
  Listen   Download
• Missouri
  Listen   Download
• Brown Eyes and Levi's
  Listen   Download

Video

Whiskey On The Ledge at Beat Kitchen

Photo Gallery

Press

• Northern Magnolia: Americana Debut To Reckon With [+ Show ]
  

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Chicago, IL – November 5, 2012 – Northern Magnolia can bring a tear to you...FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
  
  Chicago, IL – November 5, 2012 – Northern Magnolia can bring a tear to your eye and get your boots stomping on the barroom floor – sometimes in the same song. The Chicago band’s twangy alt-country rock pulses with heartbreak and longing. And you can hear it all over their debut album, Dreams to Reckon With, recorded by Neal Ostrovsky at B-Side Audio in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village. Fans of Neko Case, Heartless Bastards and Alabama Shakes should find plenty to dig into.
  
  Credit singer Rory Miller, who’s hurt but hopeful voice is the hallmark of the record, for living out the lyrics of an old country song. Fortunately, her romantic travails inspired songs like “Brown Eyes and Levi’s;” Miller’s yearning, slow-burning ode that bears all the traits of a classic country ballad. On hard-driving tracks like “Whiskey on the Ledge” and “Hold On,” the band revs its engine, echoing the muscular rural rock of Whiskeytown and Son Volt.
  
  Some listeners might recognize the warm and glittery pedal steel of Ken Champion, whose credits include Mavis Staples, Jim O’Rourke and Jeff Tweedy. Everyone will recognize the raw Americana seeping through the album.
  
  In less than two years, Northern Magnolia’s hit-the-highway tunes have already taken them from Chicago’s Double Door to venues across the Midwest. So while Dreams to Reckon With is their first album, it’s just the latest stop in the journey of a band that won’t quit until it finds salvation.
  
  Contact:
  For inquiries, please contact Northern Magnolia’s management at:
  booking@northernmagnoliaband.com
  
  ###

• Come on down to Northern Magnolia [+ Show ]
  

  How do I begin to describe the sound of the Chicago alt-country foursome Northern Magnolia? Bass... How do I begin to describe the sound of the Chicago alt-country foursome Northern Magnolia?
  
  Bassist Jerry Rinard (far left in the photo above) puts it like this: "We give a wink and a nod to that old Americana."
  
  Northern Magnolia is made up of Rinard, singer/guitarist Rory Miller, and brothers Tony (guitar) and Dave (drums) Piscotti. Collectively, their influences include Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Neko Case, Gillian Welsch, Edie Brickell, Crowded House, Neil Finn, Jonatha Brooks, Ryan Adams, Wilco, and the Jayhawks. But they struggle to come up with a succinct description of their sound.
  
  "We sound like Northern Magnolia," Tony jokes. If pressed for a description, Dave would say their sound was "the lovechild of Neko Case and Whiskeytown."
  
  Northern Magnolia hit the ground running at the end of 2010, after Dave answered an ad Miller put out looking for bandmates. He quickly recruited his brother to join on guitar, and Miller contacted her longtime friend Rinard to fill in on bass. The group of seasoned musicians convened at the brothers' practice space under the El and the rest is history.
  
  "As soon as we started playing together, I felt pretty awesome about it," Rinard said. They formed a quick camaraderie in that space under the Brown Line. Miller said about the space, "We practice under the El and it sounds like thunder. It brings kind of an ambiance to the science lab."
  
  The band has made an impressive transition from the science lab to many popular venues in Chicago, including The Double Door, Abbey Pub, Marytr's and Beat Kitchen, with upcoming shows scheduled at Subterranean and Fitzgerald's. They agreed that their favorite "big" venue so far was The Double Door. But their old standby is undoubtedly Lincoln Square Lanes.
  
  "We get to bowl for free, and the whiskey flows like water," Miller said. I caught Northern Magnolia at Lincoln Square Lanes in April and I could feel the warmth between the band, the bartenders, and the audience. The casual atmosphere is great for bringing in guest musicians and creating some real show magic. Tony says about that magic, "There's so much that happens at a show that you can't rehearse, it just happens."
  
  Recently they took their magic on the road, up to the festival Music in the Park, in Ontonagon, Michigan. Miller described the festival as a kind of precursor to the Porcupine Music Festival, where they will be performing at then end of August, on a stage that was built into a ski lift. Past performers include Kelly Joe Phelps and That One Guy.
  
  In the meantime, the band is looking forward to returning to Champaign on Saturday night for their gig at Luna, 9 p.m. on the patio. Northern Magnolia aren't strangers to Champaign-Urbana. Miller and Rinard premiered on the scene in 2001 at an open mic at The Canopy Club. Rinard then settled in Champaign and played in a couple of local bands (Humpty Dumpster, The Idle Hours) in the early 2000's. Fast forward to this decade, the band debuted their sound live in C-U last fall on 88.7, promoting their show the next day at Exile on Main Street, part of the Pygmalion Music Festival. That gig was soon followed by a show at the Iron Post during the Folk and Roots Festival. I, for one, am really stoked for their return to C-U.
  
  Northern Magnolia are both dreamers and realists. Tony says while they are realistic about the music industry, "We'll take this as far as it can go."
  
  Miller agrees, "The ultimate goal would be to be able to play music full time and not have to work a day job. It doesn't matter if we are famous."
  
  Rinard is more focused on the short term. "We really just want people to buy the record."
  
  Northern Magnolia's debut album, Dreams to Reckon With, should be out by the end of the year.
  
  [EDIT: Dreams to Reckon With is now available as of 9/25/2012!]

Setlist

MISSOURI
WHISKEY ON THE LEDGE
DYLAN CAME HOME
TAKE US AWAY
CRY
HOLD ON
GAS IN MY LEAD
GO ON HOME
DANCING ON A DREAM
BROWN EYES AND LEVIS
TELL ME, TELL ME
ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY (John Prine cover)
CALL ME A DOCTOR
NO MORE SUNSHINE
WHEN IT RAINS

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