Pale Horse
Celina, Texas, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Pale Horse picked for Mike's Picks May 2010 on Song.Cat . Mike McCready is a Music Writer for TheHuffingtonPost.com and has his own site http://song.cat. Mike's Picks "This is where I (Mike McCready) post songs I really like. So, for whatever little taste-making influence I have, these are tunes worth hearing. Many of these artists are unsigned and uncommitted so feel free to contact them and get a deal done"" - Mike Mcready
"For those of who you missed my showcase at the Cavern with Pale Horse, shame on you. At some point in the near future, I hope to give the band the full profile it so deserves. In the meantime, I'll just say that the band puts on a seriously intense performance, and that lead vocalist J.R. Denson has a powerful vocal and stage presence. The music is raw, rugged, straight from the heart, and while it's not soul music, it is definitely music with a soul." - Ghost of Blind Lemon
Pale Horse
If you haven’t seen Pale Horse live yet, then you need to get off your ass and drive to the next bar that Pale Horse is playing at. A month ago, I had never heard of this group until my own band shared a stage with them at the new downtown hot spot, City Tavern. When they finally made their way to the stage at midnight, my ears were met with crafted songs performed with true Rock & Roll deliverance. The band has a rock solid rhythm section that slowly turned up the heat as the set proceed well into the night. Lead singer J.R. Denson gave the crowd what they were looking for by singing his ass off all night. The energetic front man knows a thing or to about engaging the audience while spearheading Pale Horse into a Rock & Roll frenzy. By the time the last song came rolling around, the crowd was practically on its feet whooping and hollering for more. The blend of bluesy licks laid on top of constant drive bass lines gave City Taverns patrons a bedrock for drinking and getting loose. It’s one thing to have your own tried and true fans yelling for your music, but when total strangers react with more passion than dedicated fans, you know your group is on to something great.
My favorite track out of the Pale Horse’s catalog is called You’re No Good. With lyrics starting off with, “Everybody knows your crooked, and when you can’t pay the rent.
You’ll be cooking up a plan to take what you say is heaven-sent. There’s a con man on the pulpit selling opportunity on the cross. you let that minister share your bed because you liked the way he talked
.” their music just keeps draging me deeper and deeper into all things Pale Horse. - www.rockandrollblues.com
"Warning!!!Pale Horse is trying to steal the title of "Best Live Band in Dallas" from you! They haven't done it yet, but they're working on it. Don't let this mellow, introspective song fool you: their lives shows rock with an intensity shared only by the best in town." - Ghost of Blind Lemon
"Pale Horse's stadium sized hooks will easily fill the small room at The Cavern. If big choruses are your thing, make your way to Lower Greenville on Saturday night." - Dallas Observer
Up next on the lineup is Pale Horse, a band that, in my book, has defined 2010 possibly more than any other act. I have never seen lead singer J.R. Denson deliver less than 110% on any vocal performance. As for lyrics, the band challenges the audience with unconventional lyrical topics regarding religion, politics, war, and family matters. While emotionally intense, with songs as catchy as "You're No Good" and "Will You Be There", Pale Horse delivers thought provoking messages in a manner that is never preachy. Like The Black & Blues, this music is not easy to classify. It's equal parts southern rock and psychedelia, with slight hints of reggae and blues infused into the sonic mix. And the live show? "Wow" is the only word that comes close to describing it." - Ghost of Blind Lemon
With the recent breakups of area favorites Dove Hunter and Bridges & Blinking Lights, the local music scene has suddenly become lacking in the psychedelic Southern rock genre. Enter Pale Horse, whose soul-influenced Southern rock, gritty guitars and emotional lyrics look to fill the void of these two former area mainstays. Their first proper offering comes in the form of an EP called Future Dimensions produced by Beau Bedford, who's known mostly for his work with Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights. In other words, he's exactly the guy you want to help your band achieve a psychedelic Southern rock vibe.
There's some real emotion at play here, too: Singer J.R. Denson and guitarist Aaron Carder, both formerly of The Greater Good, began working on the songs that would make their way onto the EP during personally trying times. The deeply personal and quite powerful "Will You Be There" chronicles the feelings of someone returning from war, and is dedicated to the memory of Denson's brother-in-law, who was killed in overseas service. And while the other songs on the EP aren't quite that heavy, they all boast a sincerity that's tough to fake. It's not just about sincerity, though: "You're No Good," with its vocal reverb, sing-along chorus and driving drumbeat, invokes visions of a smoky bar in the Deep South, all while Denson's Caleb Followill-esque wail soars over a sea of guitar and drums.
Pale Horse has trotted out an incredibly soulful and passionate collection of Southern rock on this debut. - Dallas Observer
Discography
Future Dimensions EP
You're No Good - 102.1 FM The Local Edge Single
For You - Rocky Erikson Cover ( Indie-verse.com in studio performance)
Photos
Bio
Before J.R. Denson and Aaron Carder started Pale Horse, there was Greater Good.Between being signed to Lizard King (where the Killers were first signed) and opening for Blind Melon and various other tours, their future seemed bright. Unfortunately, others members of the band went on to pursue other projects. There was no more Greater Good.
What followed was a tumultuous period for J.R. and Aaron. J.R.’s brother-in-law, 2nd Lt. Peter Burks, was killed in Iraq. As this was happening, Aaron’s long term relationship with his girlfriend had come to an end, leaving him without a place to live. It was at this point that J.R. invited him to move in with him and his wife. As they began writing new songs,it marked a dramatic turn in musical style. Instead of the feel good, 60’s Stones vibe of Greater Good, the two found themselves dealing with heavier issues in their songs, including religion, personal family dramas, and life after war. They chose the band name Pale Horse not only as a tribute to 2nd Lt. Peter Burks’ military unit of the same name, but also because of the controversial book Behold a Pale Horse by William Cooper.
These songs from Pale Horse are part of the Future Dimensions Collection, a collection of 25 tracks to be released over the course of a year. The band has already released four
of these tracks as an EP. The lead off track, “You’re No Good”, a powerful (and true) tale of a crooked minister, has been played for four weeks in a row on KDGE’s The Local Edge Show with Mark, as well as, CBS Indie-Verse Radio. On “Don’t Lose Your Soul”, the band recruited Fair to Midland’s Andrew Sudderth to add background vocals to the song that reminds listeners to think critically and not follow blindly. The EP’s final track, “Will You Be There”, deals with the struggles of a soldier returning home from war. The song was also used in the band’s Will You Be There Campaign, designed to bring attention to the mental health needs of members of the military. The band’s sound has been described as a cross between The Band, Pink Floyd, and Sublime, but even with such diverse influences, Pale Horse has created a sound far fresher than the sum of those parts.Through their intensely personal and catchy tunes, married with a live performance that has captivated their audiences, the popularity of Pale Horse is spreading like wildfire.
They have already opened for such diverse acts such as Rhett Miller, The Romantics, Evan Dando (ex-Lemonheads), Bob Schneider, Charile Mars, Fair to Midland and more. They’ve earned notice from local press such as Dallas Observer, as well as, influential blogs Ghost of Blind Lemon and RockandRollBlues.com. The band played forty shows in 2010, and are looking to double that in the following year. The band is committed to spreading a deeper message through its music, and based on the reaction so far, people are embracing both the message and the messengers of Pale Horse.
“Pale Horse has trotted out an incredibly soulful and passionate collection ..... on this debut.” – Mark Schectman, Dallas Observer
“The band puts on a seriously intense performance, and lead vocalist J.R. Denson has a powerful vocal and stage presence. The music is raw, rugged, straight from the heart, and while it's not soul music, it is definitely music with a soul." – Ghost of Blind Lemon blog
“If you haven’t seen Pale Horse live yet, then you need to get off your ass and drive to he next bar that Pale Horse is playing at. When they finally made their way to the stage at midnight, my ears were met with crafted songs performed with true Rock & Roll deliverance." – Rock and Roll Blues blog
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