Strawfoot
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Strawfoot

St. Louis, Missouri, United States | SELF

St. Louis, Missouri, United States | SELF
Band Alternative Americana

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Things out on the farm and in the country aren't all happy and the simple life"

There is a dark side to "Americana" and Strawfoot might be the premiere storytellers of that underbelly.

-Jim Utz - Vintage Vinyl


"Come one Come All"

"Strawfoot has created their own genre and accomplish this rare feat with blues guitar riffs, the country pluck of the banjo, fiddlin' and harp blowin'. The lyrics and vocals oscillate between humorous rants and painfully poetic pleas. These cats have always been a favorite in the Lou..Come one come all to the congregation!" --Shane Signorino - Friday Nights Live


"Sweet Salvation"

"Old-time revival and spirited dirge country band (strawfoot) make fire and brimstone sound sweet." -Paul Sturtz - True False Film Festival


"Bang Bang Rock and Roll"

Bang Bang Rock & Roll; The Twangbang revitalizes the Lou's alt-country scene
By Annie Zaleski
Article Published Feb 22, 2006

A to Z has now lived in St. Louis long enough to feel wistful when we hear others talk about seeing Uncle Tupelo at the old Cicero's Basement Bar, so we're aware that the alt-country/Americana/folk-twang scene has strong local roots. But a new twang-centric night is starting to create tremendous buzz in these circles. Called the Twangbang, it's the brainchild of Strawfoot vocalist-mandolinist the Reverend Uncle Marc, who started the night to showcase bands around town such as the Monads and Bad Folk (and, of course, his own outfit). "I'm just a huge fan of the alt-country music that's going on here in St. Louis," the Rev says. "I feel like our city deserves to command the throne, to take the helm. There's so many great bands, I wanted to bring them together, see what their sounds are all about." Held at either the Hi-Pointe or Off Broadway (the latter venue will host one at 9 p.m. on Thursday, February 23, with Strawfoot, Team Tomato side project Bearded Babies and NYC-based Curtis Eller's American Circus), the night has so far been a rousing success. "I've never been in a better live setting in my entire life," testifies the Rev. "People come to the shows and they don't talk over the band; they sing, they dance. It's an energy unlike any I've ever seen at a show — especially at a local show, where usually you're playing to the other bands." Indeed, while the latter situation is all too common in the Lou, the cooperative camaraderie these bands are fostering — the Reverend for one refuses to schedule shows when other groups he wants to see are already playing — is heartening. Nevertheless, A to Z can't help but think that there's something missing. With a bevy of talented bands and fans willing to come out to gigs, where's the local record label committed to helping these groups become known outside of the city? Why should we depend on a bigger city (like, say, Chicago) to help us become well-known? The Reverend isn't sure why the city lacks these seemingly basic resources, but A to Z gets the impression he would found such a label if his strengths weren't in promoting the Twangbang — and playing with Strawfoot wasn't such a positive experience. The septet is now "in the process" of mixing an EP, which the Rev says is "coming real soon" — no small feat, especially considering that the band was never meant for the stage when it formed around Halloween last year. "When we started out, we were just a studio project, telling a story about a wayward reverend that kills a man for a woman and is cursed for eternity as a scarecrow," the Rev explains. "A bizarre little story. But once we started playing, it just felt so good, we had to share it. We had to play it out. "Everyone understands the mood of the music, the point of the songs, the conceptual story behind them, it blends so well. I'm pretty amazed, I didn't know it could be this fun and easy to be in a band." Nor to go to a show. Fans can look for the next Twangbang at the Hi-Pointe on April 22. The lineup is TBA, but the Reverend lets slip that the Albino Alley Cats burlesque troupe will be joining in on the fun. Take that, stodgy folksters! "You have to keep it all fun and light and give people a reason to drink heavily and shake their asses," he reasons. "That's something we're all doing a pretty good job of nowadays. It's only a matter of time before things get even bigger."


- Riverfront Times


"Rev it Up"

Rev It Up
Maybe today's youth are too busy screwing, drinking and swearing to go to church, but they haven't been too busy to become reverends. In fact, in a trend that's slipped under the radar of most Christian groups, there are more self-proclaimed reverends making music today than ever before — and we're not talking about choir tunes. Here's the shortlist of some notable holy rollers indoctrinating the atheists of tomorrow.
Reverend Glasseye: Boston's premier Americana revivalists sing hymns of soulful repentance. With some of the saddest banjo-strumming imaginable, these theatrical musicians draw in sinners with their offbeat, David Lynch-does-Carnivàle sound and wrench every offense out of them by the end of the night.
Strawfoot's Reverend Uncle Marc: Preaching to a choir of local converts, the Reverend is flanked by his alt-country brothers and sisters. His songs flirt with damnation and sin, yet he always ends his sermons with a hearty "Amen!"
The Reverend Horton Heat: Referred to by fans as simply "The Rev," the rockabilly band leader used to have a monopoly on the title of religious cleric when the band formed in the late '80s. Now the Rev may share his moniker with many, but his slick style still sets him apart.
Avenged Sevenfold's The Reverend Tholomew Plague: The band's name refers to a passage in the Book of Genesis, and all of its members go by roller-derby-esque stage names. But if drummer the Rev is preaching anything through his heavy-metal style, we haven't yet been able to discern his message.
The Reverend Whiskey Richard: St. Louis can claim this Magee's regular as all its own. And despite the occasional donning of a priest's collar, this Reverend sings perhaps the most drunkenly blasphemous songs of them all. — Andrea Noble
- Riverfront Times


"Homespun"

From the start of Strawfoot's second full-length, How We Prospered, it's clear that the ramped-up bluegrass band has lightened its mood. Where its debut album, Chasing Locusts, was scorched by fire and blackened with brimstone, Prospered finds no small amount of joy in the dark folds of its Gothic Americana-inspired songs. The disc kicks off with the jaunty, banjo-driven "Broken Crown," which careens along with fiddle and guitar solos and a knee-slapping rhythm. Singer Marcus Eder has grown into his high-pitched, occasionally pinched delivery, and he inhabits these songs rather than merely performing them. Gone, too, are many of the Civil War-era string band affectations that saddled parts of Strawfoot's debut record; this time around, the band isn't shy about mixing influences, as on the raw, electric guitar-led "Invisible Man." Later on the disc, the distorted Irish folk of "Churchyard Cough" recalls the Clash-meets-Chieftains aesthetic of the Pogues and Flogging Molly.

Of course the wages of sin reappear on the album's second half, because Strawfoot delights in soundtracking the final footsteps of the damned. "Seven Ways" walks through the seven deadly sins with a loping gate, and "Sinner's Lament" uses a shuffling, cavalry-calling drumbeat that builds along with a seesawing fiddle and rangy guitar. Guitarist Steve Simmons is the wild card here, infusing these songs with Crazy Horse-inspired squalls or jazzy strums to punctuate the flurry of Jennifer Neimann's mournful fiddle and Brian Bauer's relentless banjo. But it's Bauer who carries most of the instrumental weight; his banjo sets the table for nearly every song, and his turn on lead vocals for "Independence Day" is a growling, flint-eyed highlight. But for all the forays into sin and damnation, How We Prospered lives up to its name and ends with the gospel-organ raver "Goin' South," where Eder and his broke-down choir find salvation by any means necessary. For a band that once seemed permanently embalmed in sepia tone, it's a welcome flash of tent-revival grace. - Riverfront Times


Discography

Chasing Locusts-2007
Rodentia-2008
How We Prospered-2009

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Bio

Dirge-Country pioneers, Strawfoot, bring a dark sound of candy-coated salvation and eternal hellfire and damnation to the public with haunting cautionary tales of outlaw scarecrows, wayward preachers, falling pianos, and the devil.

Formed in the summer of 2005, Strawfoot creates an original sound steeped in the rich, dark history of America and beyond. Fronted by a crazed and angry preacher, Strawfoot is a six-piece band consisting of violin, banjo, harmonica, upright bass, guitar, percussion, cello, mandolin and accordian.

A part of the burgeoning Gothic Americana scene gaining popularity both in the US and abroad, Strawfoot has performed with Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, The Ditty Bops, Curtis Eller, The Meat Purveyors, Reverend Glasseye, Humanwine, Of Montreal, Bobby Bare, Jr., Jason Ringenberg, the Black Diamond Heavies, the Monads, The Redwalls, Tim Barry, The Hackensaw Boys, Scott H. Biram and William Elliott Whitmore among others.

For additional videos, pictures, and mp3's, please visit www.strawfoot.com or www.myspace.com/strawfoot