the buckerettes

It would be easy to dismiss the Buckerettes, Asheville’s only cowgirl band, as a novelty act. A cowgirl band? OK. Right. Easy, that is, unless you’ve heard them. Sure, it’s a shtick, but they’ve got the goods in those saddlebags, and they deliver.
The Grey Eagle Show once again hints that the Buckerettes may soon be little more than a legend in these western hills. There are bigger pastures out there and these gals know how to ride.
— Cecil Bothwell, staff writer

- Mountain Xpress

One's immediate -- and, all things considered, understandable -- impression of this Asheville, North Carolina-based acoustic trio is that it aspires to be a feminine answer to the venerable Riders in the Sky.

The Riders have been reviving Western-pop music (inspired by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers) for decades now. Like the Riders, the Buckerettes possess both keen comedic skills and first-rank musical chops. Though there is some undeniable resemblance, the Buckerettes turn out not -- at least all, or even most, of the time -- to be the Riders in skirts.

"Zen Cowgirl," the opening cut, makes clear that these three women are not reprising Gene Autry or even the Girls of the Golden West. While the Riders play basically to the Grand Ole Opry audience, the Buckerettes' is the broader cultural perspective of the hipster or, more to the point, of the liberal-arts major who falls in love with American roots music. The Buckerettes have integrated a range of grounded genres into a cohesive and tuneful language with plenty of accents, including (most obviously) 1930s/'40s country, plus vintage pop, folk, swing and gospel.

All but one of the songs are originals written by one or another member of the band. Each is expertly, often joyfully performed, and a few express social satire and criticism subtle enough to escape the comprehension of the not fully attentive. Only those who listen closely to, for example, "Cowgirl in Paris," about how once-loved "cowboys" are now despised ("the Wild West gone astray"), will learn how deeply unlikely it is that the Buckerettes voted for George W. Bush -- though if you want to, you can also hear the song as mourning the declining popularity of the Western (something worth lamenting on its own). I don't think, though, that the Buckerettes really want you to hear it that way.

The group consists of Deb Criss (guitar), Robin Cape (bass) and Roberta Greenspan (fiddle). Their harmonies are warm and pure, and there's plenty of good-natured humor. Most of my favorites here, however, are the more serious songs, particularly Criss's "Sweneo" (a Seneca word translating as something like "the great mystery"), imbued with awe and beauty sufficient to disorient you and even, for the duration of its 5:08, encourage you to see the world with new eyes. There are also, courtesy of Greenspan's playing and compositional skills, a couple of terrific fiddle tunes.

review by
Jerome Clark

4 October 2008



- Rambles.net

" I go out and see music several nights a week, and my wife says I don't like anyone I see....but tonight was the real thing...the Buckerettes were the best show I've seen in a long, long time..." Anon Dixon Day, musician - Anon Dixon Day

"This was the best show of our season...those who missed it will be sorry,"
Triangle Folk Society - Triangle Folk Society

"These cowgirls have got the stuff! The Buckerettes add a fresh new sound to our Western Music lineup at Heartland Public Radio"
George Fair, President/Director of Programming Heartland Public Radio the only place in the world featuring Western/Cowboy music 24-hours-a-day.


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- Heartland Public Radio

The Buckerettes are absolutely infectious. They are having so much fun, they pull you right into it with them....what a pleasure this show was! - sponsor

Asheville, North Carolina, with its 70,000 inhabitants lies at the mouth of the Swannanoa River and the French Broad River, near the border with Tennessee in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the home town of THE BUCKERETTES, Robin Cape (vocals, standup bass), Deb Criss (vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Roberta Greenspan (vocals, fiddle) an existing female trio that, at least since the publication of the debut album Live And Unfenced (2004), consistently and with much vigor and enthusiasm are creating their own musical path. Already at the first listen of this recording, their second album, simply titled “The Buckerettes” one wonders where the three female singers, song writers and musicians want to go. With her three-harmony singing, clean, perfect craftsmanship instrumental work, the crystal solo voices and an incredible variety of genres and styles they could easily be the female counterparts to the long career of the successful Riders In The Sky.
But this hastily imposed comparison comes up short, because it is also the first song of the CD, “Zen Cowgirl” which quickly illustrates The Buckerettes no way intend to follow the new breed of the old story of Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers, or even the Girls of the Golden West. Their musical autonomy is important to them, even though their origins lie mostly from the Old Time Country Music of the 30s and 40s, enriched with elements of swing, folk, gospel, blue-and newgrass, and the early, somewhat old-fashioned pop music (who still remembers the Andrews Sisters?) This is a compact, exciting Americana mix, as they also come from different protagonists gets offered. The Buckerettes take the old and build something different.
The traditional sound, still unspoiled virtuoso and the song selection - with the exception of the gospel number “Walk In The Light” is exclusively from their own crops. - is a whole which is simpler but also expresses diverse, unique, humorous and variety. The Buckerettes have created a successful merger, then, with plenty of fresh wind blowing in the traditional western music genre. The task itself is absolutely original and authentic implemented. Precisely for this deserves the cheeky ‘Cowgirl Band ‘ from the Blue Ridge Mountains deserves respect.
Max W. Achatz
County Jukebox
http://www.countryjukebox.de/pages/roundup.htm
- Max W. Achatz