Pierce Edens

Genre: Americana
Secondary Genre: Rock Asheville, North Carolina USA Contact

Voted Best Alt-Country of WNC four years running... "Gritty, visceral and about as subtle as a flamethrower duel at a gas station, Pierce Edens and the Dirty Work is handily one of the defining bands in the current Asheville music scene." Steve Shanafelt, Mountain Xpress.

Artist Information

Biography

Somewhere between the front porch and the garage, with a voice as strong as the lyrical content it is known to bellow, is Pierce Edens. With enough credentials to prove his status as both a leading songwriter and as a leading performer in the Southeast, the accolades still pile up from regional, national, and international reviews, critics, and fans. Receiving such praise as "a frenetic mix of rock-inspired carnival barker, part troubadour/part guitar-slinging vagrant" and "It would be easy to view Edens and company as a band to scuff your boots to, but if you listen a bit more closely, it quickly becomes evident that Edens is also a truly gifted songwriter." seemed a decent enough response. Then, after the release of their CD, constant rotation on several regional radio stations, packed road-houses and dives, coffee shops and private parties, Edens and crew were voted one of the best Alt-Country bands of the area by Mountain Xpress readers (four years running)...and one of the top 20 new releases by WNCW a few weeks later.

Hailing from rural western North Carolina - Madison County, to be more precise - Pierce was instantly inundated with the feral story-telling and musical ramblings of the area. The red clay ramblings soaked into his blood and kicked holes out of his throat. Since the early days of learning to play guitar (with a hand me down electric with the head stock leaned up against the window to create a poor man's amplifier), Pierce began weaving his own stories into the sounds of the mountains. Then 1990 happened, and the effects of the Seattle Sound would infiltrate and add additional grit to his songs, mixing to create some illegitimate child born of both worlds.

With an EP (Four Songs) under his belt, he was soon joined by the Dirty Work: Dave Mack on drums; Matt Smith on lap and pedal steel; and Jesse James on upright bass. The boys took Pierce's songs to an all new level. Within that first year, the first full-length CD (Partydress) was recorded (appropriately in Madison County, a few mere miles from Edens childhood home) and released into wild in 2006. Then another full length album (Long Days Above Ground), three years later in 2009. After a short break for Jesse and Pierce to renovate Pierce’s home into a fully functioning recording studio, they are currently recording yet another collection of Pierce’s songs… with a release date yet to be announced.

For more on Pierce (and the boys) check out his website www.pierceedens.com where there are videos, tracks, posits, and more.

Instrumentation

Jesse James - Upright Bass and Vocals
Dave Mack - drums /percussion
Pierce Edens - Harmonica, Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Matt Smith - Lead Guitar., Doboro, pedal/lap steel

Discography

"Long Days Above Ground": Self-Released 2009.

"Party Dress": Self-Released 2006.
Voted top 20 regional releases on WNCW.

"Live at the Grey Eagle, NC". -Demo Ep. Released 2005.

four songs. -Demo EP. Self-Released 2004.

Official Website

http://www.pierceedens.com

Links

Audio

Lyrics

Video

Photo Gallery

  • sepia

  • pierce edens

  • organ

  • At Landslide Studios - Spring 2008

  • Pierce throwing an old tire.

  • Pierce caught by JBird

  • Pierce Edens and the Dirty Work live at the Orange Peel

  • Pierce Edens and the Tricky Dicks - Halloween 2007

  • Pierce Edens at the Orange Peel

  • Pierce in Black and White

Press

  • A Live Review of the Charleston Bluegrass Festival [+ Show ]

    "Last Saturday afternoon at the Sewee Outpost, it took a band with more roots in rock than bluegrass...

  • First the Big Room, then the Big Time [+ Show ]

    Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work ...Pierce Edens is the guy hidden in the back of the room drinkin...

  • Gravel voiced phoenix rises from Asheville [+ Show ]

    Whilst Edens strangles words in a kind of a Tom Waits way, Matt Smith lays down a dirty fingernails ...

  • Wildy's World [+ Show ]

    Wildy’s World Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work - Partydress 2006, Pierce Edens Pierce Edens is...

  • Record Reviews [+ Show ]

    Pierce Edens and the Dirty Work sound like a fusion between Tom Waits and Louis Armstrong. The beg...

  • Dressing for the Party [+ Show ]

    -by Jake Frankel Despite what his singing voice suggests, Pierce Edens does not chew on gravel, ...

  • Earful (Notes on local music) [+ Show ]

    Show Review Pierce Edens at Harvest Records... Genre: Singer/Songwriter; bottleneck blues... Be...

  • Junk Journal (valuable scraps from the local music scene) [+ Show ]

    ...First, a newcomer to the Asheville scene, Pierce Edens, sent along his Four Songs. EP, containing...

  • Talking new roots music: A sit down with Pierce Edens [+ Show ]

    by: Jake Frankel Local old-time blues singer/songwriter Pierce Edens’ perfectly gruff and gravel...

  • Listening Party [+ Show ]

    ...Our next act is anything but somber. Gritty, visceral and about as subtle as a flamethrower duel ...

  • Best Of WNC

    Voted Best of WNC 2007-2011

Setlist

All material is written by Pierce Edens, with an occasional traditional or more modern cover, ranging from Will the Circle Be Unbroken to Morphine's Buena Buena.

Shows range from not-so-quiet solo performances with any number of sets to full-blown raucous events with the back-up band, the Dirty Work, going on for hours on end. Typically, shows consist of all of the original work, seldom one of a number of covers gets thrown in to the mix.

List of Songs:
Spirits
Youre so pretty
Things are looking up
Jailhouse
Baby Doll
Heaven
Let it Rain
Holliday
Creeping Vines
Momma
Mischief
Party Dress
Lonely
Drowning Man
Hallelujah
Blacktop
Black Shiny Shoes
Good Man
Ghost on the Radio
Sobering Up
Queen of hearts
Things I stole
Money
Trouble laid me low
Rock and Roll song
Mighty Mighty River
Train Tracks
Daffodil
Champagne
Montana
There's the Devil
Wandering Man

More songs are always in the works and are unveiled at shows periodically.

Basic Requirements


Calendar

There are no upcoming dates at this time.