Cask Mouse
Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | SELF
Music
Press
When the world was looking the other way, New England's Cask Mouse became the best thing going. This fiery act will always be known by Adam & I as the little band that blew away Austin in 2013. That day the band triumphed like never before - proving they were capable of some amazing heights. (The Mouse captivated an audience of hundreds on the road under the awesome heat of a Texas sun. They earned a minutes long standing ovation and free drinks from the appreciative crowd!) And the band hasn't slowed down ever since. Think of this as a long-overdue homecoming for Cask Mouse!
Your next favorite new band? There's a very good chance that if you see Cask Mouse at The Outlaw it will be on of your favorite sets of the weekend. Come to The Bowery Electric Thursday 10/15 and find out for yourself!
Cask Mouse is in their own words, 'a true contradiction'. It's a quality reflected in the range of the songs that occupy their set and perhaps due to the various creative minds that have somehow come together to form this wonderful sonic amalgam.
Says the band: "Cask Mouse are people who love music, people who love people and people who love a good time. We are humbled and thankful to have an audience to such a personal journey. Weather its a living room, a backyard, pub or theater we find ourselves still amazed by warmth and positivity that derives from our music. We are you. For that we thank you for listening, for being adventurous, and for being you!"
Cask Mouse are: Kevin Boldwin, Mitch Belch, Bonnie Parks, Jonny Howes and Joe Wyatt. - Ryan Spaulding
If Johnny Cash, Jimmy Page, and Brian Wilson ever formed a supergroup, it might sound something like Cask Mouse. The “outlaw” Americana folk-rockers bring their genre-spanning brand of musical storytelling to the outdoor stage for a foot-stomping good time. 7-8 p.m. Liberty Mutual Copley Stage, Copley Square - The Boston Globe
Here I am at my final show of 2013 and Cask Mouse may be playing the best set I’ve seen all year. They’re impossibly good right now. The Sinclair is teeming with energy, harmonies, hoots, hollers, twang and grit. It’s pure joy. I love this band. I love, love, love, LOVE this band. - Day Kamp Music
There was so much to like about watching Cask Mouse stomp-their way through a textured, fireside set of warm, folksy numbers: the timeless cool of a stand up bass, Heavy Set Joe holding it down on the fiddle, and front man Boldwin’s physical Ray-Liotta-meets-Evan-Dando thing he’s got going on. - The Boston Phoenix
Cask Mouse quickly captivated the room with their sweet down-home folky-Americana that speaks of a simpler time. Their joy of performance and love and appreciation of their audience (largest of the evening) and deep respect for each other was as endearing as their music. They shared lead vocal duties, each with their own unique personality, like Bonnie Parks’ gentle country chanteuse on one tune, and earlier on in the set, playful and coy with a fun kazoo solo. Highlights included the times when they stretched into expansive, heartwarming 3-part harmonies, delightfully meandering pedal steel and the audio-visual enjoyment of ‘big man’ Joe, arms covered in tattoos, alternately sawing away at and coaxing beautifully delicate melodies from his fiddle. - Ryan's Smashing Life
Next up was Allston folk-collective Cask Mouse, who made especially great use of each band member to make their quintet sound twice as large with their simultaneous harmonizing and playing. Mouse’s position in the lineup proved beneficial, as following the out-and-out rock of the first two acts allowed the audience to be a little more receptive to the group’s downtempo vibe. Frontman Mitch Belch drew in the crowd from the first verse, and that my friends, is what a frontman should do." - The Weekly Dig
"Cask Mouse profess their wanderlust on “Astronaut,” the opening track of 2011's Cambridge Sessions. It’s a feeling that will pop up again and again throughout the EP. This is a stomp-and-clap-along number filled with hope. It sucks me in. The drawl. The hook. The positivity. Cask Mouse are masters of emotional manipulation." - DayKamp Music
"Jesus H Possum, Tuesday night crowd @ObriensPub02134 going batshit for Cask Mouse. Chants and screams and shit. - Boston Music Blog
Next up was Allston folk-collective Cask Mouse, who made especially great use of each band member to make their quintet sound twice as large with their simultaneous harmonizing and playing. Mouse’s position in the lineup proved beneficial, as following the out-and-out rock of the first two acts allowed the audience to be a little more receptive to the group’s downtempo vibe. Frontman Mitch Belch drew in the crowd from the first verse, and that my friends, is what a frontman should do." - The Weekly Dig
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
In a fire-lit parlor on a cold December night, the silence of snow blanketed the city of Boston. As most settled in for the night, the strings of an upright piano waited patiently for the tap of felt and hammer. A guitar sat strung alone in the corner while a mandolin lay lazily atop the mantel. The room was still.
With a burst of cold air and the howl of wind, eight feet stomped the frigid rug while eight arms peeled off layers of warmth covered in white. Brown bags filled with spirits clanged glass on glass. The room awoke. Smiles braved dry lips and cracked with thirst. Whiskey poured like water as the four bodies warmed around the crackle of pine in the red brick fireplace.
That night burned hot and bright like kerosene. It shined the very essence of companionship and what it truly meant to be alive. Day broke and the sun rose as it always had. The city woke, brushed itself off, unaware of the true beauty that night held. Yet the world seemed different, and in fact, it was. Cask Mouse was born.
With love and respect for the art of songwriting enjoyed by generations, Cask Mouse sifts the sand of time to bring alive new stories of American life with the love and craftsmanship that made this country what it is today.
Like the sense of history that crackles through the needle on a dusty turntable, Cask Mouse is inspired to keep the traditions of those before them while innovating to push the creative thresholdexemplifying what it means to live in the NOW.
Its members draw from all aspects of their diverse musical and geographical experiences to truly express emotion and tell untold truths. With a sweeping love for all music they find themselves meandering the genres of country, folk, rock nroll, rhythm and blues, gospel and soul.
Band Members
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