The Blushin' Roulettes
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The Blushin' Roulettes

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"The Blushin' Roulettes and their Fine Friends"

by Monica Krauth 4/23/09

It might sound like a bad soap opera. Women are left alone and pregnant. They murder their lovers and commit suicide. They run away. But such are actually common themes of the songs sung by Mendocino Coast's Blushin' Roulettes. They truly are hauntingly beautiful, sometimes tragic and often quite funny.

The band is comprised of Angela Rose on guitar and vocals, Kate Stone on cello and vocals, buddy Stubbs on lead guitar, Cas Sochacki on dobro and vocals and Jubal Steadman on drums.

On stage their mixture of California country and twang coupled with an eerie, yet sexy stage presence has earned them a steady and ever-increasing following.

On April 11, the Blushin' Roulettes, along with special guest singer Gwyneth Moreland, celebrated the unveiling of a new CD titled "Took to the Country" at the Mendocino Hotel- a venue offering an Old west ambiance surrounding the rootsy, sultry group. The Roulettes are now looking to take more of California under their coast-sewn spell.

"Took to the Country," an album of self discovery and growth is infused with sensuous lyrics about women in their rapture and grief. Unlike their debut album "March Sketch," which has more upbeat songs, "Took to the Country" is more mellow. "We went into the studio and recorded (March Sketch) with the intention of touring the eastern U.S. Maybe part of the pop feel is the energy of doing it totally live," says Rose.

"Took to the Country," on the other hand, took three years to complete. The latest is a collection of songs that transcends feminism, speaking more of the human condition of love and love lost.

Take for example, "Look Away," an unforgettable song sung by Rose and Stone, who talk about an unfaithful man who has given himself to two women. The two schedule a meeting underneath the weeping willow tree and plan to "bury deep this dagger into his sleeping chest."

But not all their lyrics are this spooky and spiteful. The humorous song "The Day Pigs Fly" sung by Rose and Sochacki goes back and forth with a little flirtatious name calling "You're a fully loaded, off-roadin' pedal pushin' man" and literal cat calls "(You're) frisky as a kitten"... "Meow, meow, meow." The song ends sweetly with the two in harmony: "I checked your credit, darlin, and it went through/ And the day pigs fly is the day I'll die or walk away from you."

The Blushin' Roulettes are coming to Ukiah on Friday May 15 to perform with other local groups as part of a benefit for Casey Elderege who is battling cancer. The event is held at the Satrday Afternoon Club from 6 to 10 p.m.


- The Ukiah Daily Journal


"One hell of a wisecrackin' duet"

This coming Saturday, the 23rd, you can catch Angela Rose and Cas Sochacki, at Lauren’s Café in Boonville (9 P.M, $5.) The wisecracking, bantering couple regularly play and sing with a larger ensemble of musicians known as The Blushin’ Roulettes, whose act you may have caught anywhere from San Francisco’s the Make Out Room, to local roadhouse The Caspar Inn, or even this past summer’s Kate Wolf Festival. They are also a favorite amongst DJ’s on KZYX, KMFB, KOZT and KHUM and are kept in regular rotation. Of late, Angie and Cas have been working on a forthcoming EP of duets called “The Day Pigs Fly,” whose material will be largely showcased Saturday night. Their musical style is deeply rooted in the American traditions of folk and Bluegrass, which rings true to their geographic origins: Angela being from Ohio originally, Cas from Kentucky.

Like so many great couples in history, Cas and Angie appear to be each other’s foil. Where Angie stands barely five feet tall, Cas breaks six feet, easy. Angie’s clarion vibrato has earned her voice comparison to country greats Dolly Parton and Iris Dement. Cas’ molasses baritone puts him closer to Johnny Cash. With her Old World beauty: large hazel eyes and wavy brown hair, Angela Rose’s stage presence is both affable and day dreamy. Mr. Sochacki on the other hand, not just tall, but dark and handsome to boot, is a man of few words: he has a sardonic sense of humor, his delivery deadpan. On stage, as in life, the two play off of these differences beautifully, comically. As important as their differences is what they do share in a common: a life together living on Cas’ family farm and a rare knack for writing songs that are at once poignant and clever. Songs like “The Day Pigs Fly” and “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ ” are written with an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek take on relationships.

Cas and Angie don’t just sing about country living: they embody it. In previous years Cas’ family run and owned Old Mill Farm has provided locally grown organic produce and meats to Mendocino Farmer’s markets and restaurants. Old Mill farm has also hosted many Sustainable Living workshops on everything from straw bale housing to homespun yarn. Angela Rose says that living and working in such close proximity to each other, as they have for the last few years, has provided them with a wealth of material for their songs. “Oh you bet. We’re miles from town, so there are plenty of days where we’re the only person the other sees. After the chores are done there’s really only so much talking you can do! But we’ve set up a studio in the living room and that’s made it easy for us to just sit down and write… work out new songs,” says Angela Rose.

With Angela Rose on acoustic guitar, Cas Sochacki on Dobro slide guitar, and Mike “Lupe” Luparello on bass: Saturday night, January 23rd should prove to be an intimate and entertaining evening at Lauren’s Café.
- Anderson Valley Advertiser Online


Discography

March Sketch (2008)

Took to The Country (2009)

Tracks from both albums receive regular and streaming airplay on americana and independent radio stations in the northwest and beyond.

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Bio

Hailing from the west coast friendly ghost town of Caspar, CA, the Blushin’ Roulettes deliver old-time tunes with a modern twist rooted in feminine perspective. The San Francisco Free Folk Festival says "Their songs are stripped down, sexy little jewel boxes stuffed with ancient mountain magic." Award winning songwriter Angela Rose belts her sweet and sultry tunes of damsels in their bliss and distress in a warbling vibrato often likened to Iris Dement. The quirkily comical stage presence and loving interplay amidst band members reflects the closeness of the kindred rotating cast of characters, which includes Buddy Stubbs on soulfully gritty lead guitar (Stubbs has played with members of Crazy Horse, Gene Clark ,and Hollywood Fats, to name a few.) Cas Sochacki rings in on the dobro and on baritone vocals on salty duets. Not-so-little drummer boy Jubal Stedman chugga-lugs brushy train-beat rhythms. Once in a big ol' blue moon, performances include sister Kate Stone on vocal harmonies and plucked and bowed cello and brother Luke Stone on them ticklish ivories. Feathers in the Roulettes' cap include performances at the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, San Francisco Free Folk Festival, North Bay Hootennany and the Humboldt Hills Hodown, as well as shared stages with the Wailin' Jennies, Wayne the Train Hancock, Big Sandy and His Fly Right Boys, and The Devil Makes 3. Frontwoman Angela Rose has earned herself a few ribbons in countrywide songwriting contests, including KZFR/Sierra Nevada's Celebration of the Song, Woody Guthrie Songwriting Contest, Artists for Literacy SIBL Songwriting Contest, and South Florida Folk Festival.