The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang

Sound Off: The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang
Monday, August 6th, 2007

"Austin has recently lost some of its best string bands...but among the newcomers filling the gap, The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang shows a great deal of promise for keeping the tradition alive while still infusing it with a contemporary energy that has come to define the scene nationally with bands like Old Crow Medicine Show or King Wilkie. Plus, you have to love a band that lists their top choices for bands to open for as Sixteen Horsepower and Minor Threat."
http://www.austinsound.net/?s=The+Electric+Mountain+Rotten+Apple+Gang - austinsound

electric mountain rotten apple gang, james hinkle, woodeye
went and saw them kobetich boys tear it up as the electric mountain rotten apple gang at fred's saturday night. with matt skates (confusatron) on stand-up bass, adam (banjo/high lonesome voxxx) and darrin (dobro/mandolin/gtr -- is there anything with strings he can't light up?) played the fahhhr out of mountain music, bluegrass, whatevah (adam started to 'splain the diff but got sidetracked), alternately raging like a wild river and tinkling like a mountain stream. at times during his solo set, darrin sounded like _two_ gtrists; cat's the only axeman i know who can play so fast with a flatpick that it sounds like he's fingerpicking alternating bass figures under whatever line he's got going. scary. apparently this is gonna be a regular sat'day gig for them. they had a good-sized crowd that mostly showed up after the kitchen was closed and stuck around when they took their break -- the true sign of dyed-in-the-wool music listeners. 'twas cool. on nights when the music's playing, fred's is starting to have a feel and vibe not unlike that of liberty lunch in austin, back when austin was still, y'know...austin. except you couldn't get a steak like terry chandler's at liberty lunch. - The Stash Dauber

Despite two fires and a burglary over the past several months, Fred�s Texas Caf� keeps on keepin� on. And now that summer�s on the way, what better way to spend a weekend evening than out on Fred�s patio listening to the bluegrass stylings of the Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang? Co-led by brothers Darrin and Adam Kobetich, EMRAG continues evolving, though not into �newgrass� or anything notably poppy or trendy. More like �bluegrazz,� or bluegrass and jazz.

Stellar upright bass player Matt Skates and the band have parted ways, making the Fred�s show an opportunity for EMRAG to introduce the new lineup. The most obvious addition is singer Amanda Kitchens, who has a timeless country growl and is pretty handy with an accordion. As she and her bandmates will prove with their pickin� and a-grinnin,� the best bluegrass is hard to play but easy to kick off your shoes and dance to. - By Caroline Collier

The Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang

Fronted by the harmonies of banjo-picker Adam Kobetich and the accordion/rhythm guitar stomp of Amanda Kitchens (also of Manny & the Brokeback Boys), Austin's EMRAG is hardly your typical bluegrass band. Kobetich's unlikely path to strings springs from the metal group Conniptionfit but belies the authentic stamp of their blazing, raucous sets. - BY DOUG FREEMAN, The Austin Chronicle