The Dust Bowl Cavaliers

"The Dust Bowl Cavaliers stir up a brew of rusty, rebellious, raw and up-to-no-good whiskey drinking country so naughty that it makes you giddy. Remimiscent of The Old 97s, Old Crow Medicine Show, Uncle Tupelo and so forth, their nasal and exceedingly playful approach spreads a smile on yer face so big your ears will get in the way." (5 Stars!!!)

- CD Baby - CD Baby Staff

"... experiencing the Dust Bowl Cavaliers is like an infectuous high that never goes away! They are irresistable performers and incredible musicians."

- Erica Lane Saylors (Moondance International Film Festival Director) - Festival Director's Review

DUST BOWL CAVALIERS
Volume One, Sweet Tomorrow
(Self-released, 2006)
by Mike Kelly | Winthrop, MA

At first glance, it would be easy to confuse The Dust Bowl Cavaliers for a gag band: bluegrass for hipsters. While such an impression may be earned by performing a countrified version of Flaming Lip's oddball masterpiece, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1," the band's version is no joke. It's performed with earnest integrity—a great cover that just happens to be about evil robots.

Across the six-song EP, Volume One, Sweet Tomorrow, The Dust Bowl Cavaliers deliver a mix of four covers and two originals. The covers range from the blues classic, "In the Pines," to the aforementioned contemporary piece. Throughout, the band just sounds right, the aural equivalent of a cold drink after a long, hot day. All the covers are delivered with enough style and conviction to warrant their existence.

The real standouts of the album, however, are the two originals. "Hurry Back Home" sounds like a lost Hank Williams classic performed with enough world-weary heart to do the country king proud. "The Other Side of the Hill" harkens back to Bob Dylan, only with better vocals. While the covers are worthwhile, the listener is left hungry for more original material from this quaint but exciting band. - www.dissolvermagazine.com

"My top music picks are Trainwreck [feat. Tenacious D's Kyle Gass] and Dust Bowl Cavaliers. I saw both bands in Concert this month.

The Dust Bowl Cavaliers are a bluegrass band and they too have a connection to Tenacious D. Coming up in November they have an album coming out called Bluegrass Wrecks the Music of Tenacious D. I saw them play just the other night, and they even played Tribute (The Greatest Song in the World) during the set. Bluegrass style is just some old fashion fun anytime."
- popculturechaos.com

The Dust Bowl Cavaliers - Volume 2: Flowers and Gasoline
Music Disc Reviews Audio CD
Written by Abbie Bernstein
Friday, 01 February 2008


There is something delightfully unlikely about the Dust Bowl Cavaliers. Let’s face it, there aren’t a whole lot of homegrown L.A. bluegrass bands to begin with, but the Cavaliers have a totally authentic sound, whether they’re playing straight-up traditional old folk tunes, original compositions or even you-have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it covers of songs from other genres.

The musical dexterity, speed and skill of the Cavaliers – bassist/vocalist Matt Stephen Young, mandolin/harmonica/vocalist Ryan Raddatz, guitarist/fiddler/vocalist Cory Rouse, banjo player John Rosen and snare drummer Dave Keeton (with additional drums supplied by Ken Beck) – is truly something to hear. This is the kind of music where the performers are so good, and so clearly having a blast with what they’re doing, that the mood is infectious.

Interestingly, for the most part, the originals are more fun than the folk covers, and manage to sound pretty much as authentic. The trad tracks include a Celtic-flavored, fiddle-and-mandolin-driven “Old Joe Clark,” “Hot Corn, Cold Corn,” Darlin’ Corey,” a super-swift tempo “Crawdad,” a very funny “Slew Foot” (about a man who may be masquerading as a bear), “Banks of the Ohio” (about as upbeat as a murder ballad is going to get), “Buffalo Gals” and an exuberant “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.”

As for the originals, the opening track, “DBC Theme,” written by Young, introduces all the band members at already-airborne velocity, with each instrument racing in time with its fellows. Young’s “What Is a Man?” has country gospel aspects side by side with a traveling ballad, powered by strong vocal harmonies and a firm drum line.

Flowers and Gasoline takes its title from “Got Me a Woman,” an original written by guitarist Mark McConville, which plays with rhymes as it celebrates the singer’s contradictory ladylove. The song showcases the individual voices of the band members as they chime in one at a time on the choral “Oh!,” and lets bass, banjo, mandolin and guitar all make expressive, distinctive contributions.

“Lay You Down,” another original by Young and Raddatz, is a highlight, an ecstatic romance that speaks of both immediate desire and enduring love, with Raddatz’s mandolin in the shimmering forefront.

Finally, there’s a cover that, even if you know what’s coming, surprises every time. Ever hear a bluegrass version of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”? Didn’t think so. This is just a hoot. The intro starts out briskly but not really indicating what’s going to happen until the lyrics kick in, voices insistently twangy and strings plucked with wild yet accurate fervor behind the expected strumming and drumming.

Sound
Sound quality is clean, clear and realistic, with neither audible special effects nor flaws imposing themselves between music and listener. (The album notes state that Flowers and Gasoline was recorded at the Matt Cave, which may be a reference to Young’s domain.) You can hear every string pick and fret hit, which is saying something, given the abundance of flying fingers in these performances.

Even if bluegrass isn’t normally your genre of choice, there’s such joy and fine musicianship on Dust Bowl Cavaliers’ Volume Two: Flowers and Gasoline that it’s borderline irresistible. “You’ll have a good time” the DBC Theme promises, and dang it, so you will. - avrev.com

You won’t find bluegrass under my music favorites on my Facebook page. It’s not something that springs to mind when asked to list genres I enjoy. And I definitely do not own any bluegrass albums. But after seeing the Dust Bowl Cavaliers, I’m starting to wonder if I should put one of their three albums on my Christmas list.
The band consists of six men: Matthew Young on upright bass, Ryan Raddatz on harmonica, Mark McConville and Cory Rouse on acoustic guitar, John Rosen on banjo, and David Keeton on snare drum. Most of them sing one or two songs at some point, and they are also fond of the harmonica. All of them are outstanding at their instrument (and sometimes they switch) but since the banjo is an especially amazing to watch, Rosen gets a few extra claps here and there.
The Cavaliers have three albums out, two of which can be found on iTunes. One is original music, one is covers of 80’s bands, and another is a cover of most of Tenacious D’s songs. During the show, Rouse explained, “This next song is for the ladies, but fellas: listen closely.” I thought to myself, gee, that sounds awfully familiar. And indeed, they started playing “F*** Her Gently”, all while making horrifyingly hilarious eye contact with the audience. They also played “867-5309/Jenny” by Tommy Tutone, which was a lot of fun. Everyone helps backup sing, and rounds out the mostly string sound.
Besides their own music, The D’s, and 80’s covers, they also played a few songs that they told us to sing along to if we knew them. I had never heard them; they mostly were about loving the mountains and things as such, but the friend I was with was from north Florida (that is to say, the South), and she knew the songs, which she got a kick out of. All together, seeing the Dust Bowl Cavaliers was a very fun experience and I would recommend it for anyone who needs a little lively bluegrass pep in their lives.

Link to review...
http://notpaul.com/review/91/bluegrass-in-la-great-times
- NotPaul.com