T.V. Mike and the Scarecrowes

Offering a brilliant vision of early My Morning Jacket (minus heapings of delay) crossed with locals the Trainwreck Riders (minus punk-rock edge), West Oakland’s TV Mike and the Scarecrowes accomplish the rare feat of making folk-rock both transcendent and earthy. Anthemic melodies and atmospheric harmonies are fueled by strong banjo and guitar work, plus TV Mike’s absorbing vocals. - East Bay Express

Buskers TV Mike and the Scarecrows and Francisco of the Ferocious Few serenaded folks as they entered the concert grounds, which featured a vintage steam engine blowing it’s whistle throughout the evening and some other mechanical oddities on display that wouldn’t have been out of a place in a Terry Gilliam film. The music officially kicked off around 6 pm with Old Crow Medicine Show, starting things off right with their high lonesome tunes. Edward Sharpe enlightened the crowd as the sun set over the bay. Bringing it all together in the end was Mumford and Sons with their swelling anthems closing out the evening. - Railroad Revival Tour

Formerly Bloomington-based songwriter Michael Klinge, who’s toured nationally as a solo artist and as frontman for the late Pious Companion, has resettled in the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s been serving his dusty California folk-rock magic up with six other like-minded friends and beating clear paths of off-the-cuff goodness up and down the West Coast. Their cosmic country, mixed in with a Midwestern sensibility, earned them slots with Avett Brothers and Beachwood Sparks. TV Mike is strictly tri-state going into this Labor Day weekend, touring on his new CD, Spittin’ In Cursive. Jonathan Glen Wood opens. —Mat Herron - LEO Weekly

Indiana is probably a good place to grow up if you are going to make Country music (amber waves of grain and all that). And moving to California, a musical wonderland, to help push along a burgeoning career probably isn’t a bad idea either.
T.V. Mike and the Scarecrowes did just that. They now reside in the Bay Area and have been heating up the local scene. After recently earning “Band of the Month” honors from The Deli Magazine’s San Francisco music scene publication, T.V. Mike and his crew are ready for bigger things. Powered by the unusual vocal pairing of T.V. Mike’s twang and Andrea Delarosa’s fervent harmonies (nicely situated next to banjo-picking wizard Toby Oler), this band is poised to take off.

While vocals and a banjo might be the standouts throughout Spittin’ in Cursive, the group’s debut album, it wouldn’t be complete without the other three churning parts. Ever-revolving drumbeats are synced flawlessly to the rolling bass lines and Oler’s banjo-pickin’ is matched impeccably with sprawling guitar riffs. While the album might be as busy as a Cosby sweater, every musical strand is needed. Every song feels familiar, yet each has distinctive qualities, helping build a cohesive, satisfying album that doesn’t leave the listener wanting anything more — except to see them perform live.

These Californian Country rockers have made the Bay Area their scene but are striving to branch out. The band’s current tour should help, kicking off Sept. 1 in Cincinnati and running through the Midwest (including plenty of stops in their old Indiana stomping grounds). Join T.V. Mike and the Scarecrowes for a night of knee-slappin’ and hand-clappin’ and give this sextet a jumpstart on their quest to musically enlighten the Midwest. - Citybeat (Cincinnati)

A edicated crowd turned up at the Rickshaw Stop Wednesday night to hear a solid set by some very fresh East Bay talent. First up were TV Mike and the Scarecrowes, coming off of several days on the road supporting their CD Spitting in Cursive. Originally out of Bloomington, Indiana but based in Oakland of late, The Scarecrowes traffic in straight-ahead country-tinged pop. They work up a nice head of steam with Toby Oler’s propulsive banjo and guitarist Matt Lundquist’s pedal steel leads adding flavor. The last half the set, particularly a cover of Lowell George’s classic “Willin’,” found them in a respectable groove, and co-lead singer De Delarosa’s voice emerged from the somewhat busy mix. TV Mike and company come off as affable oddballs. The affable part has found its way into the music. Now maybe a little more oddball..
Todd Wanerman - Bay Bridged

Combining wistful, storytelling lyrics with folksy, jangling chords, shimmering and virtuosic fingerpicking, and deliberate gestures, TV Mike & the Scarecrowes invariably recalled the glory of an amphetamine-strained 70s folk rock movement. Also like that specific era, TV Mike sang with a free spirited twang, using every iota of breath before sputtering out completely, only to create brilliant arpeggios to balance their lyrically intensive and fun songs. It was a welcomed opener.
- Kata Rokkar

With Devendra Banhart, the Freight & Salvage, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass commanding national spotlights, why shouldn’t the Bay Area be a bastion of self-styled folk revivalism? But a banjo and a stash of Pete Seeger records does not a 21st-century folkie make. There must be a broader vision — something to warrant trotting out the old familiar tropes. Rooted as surely in the West Oakland warehouse that frontman TV Mike calls home as in the timeless continuum from Seeger to John Fogerty to the Avett Brothers, TV Mike & the Scarecrowes excel on vision and execution alike. Part string band, part cow-punk (at times recalling fellow locals the Trainwreck Riders), and gently transcendent through and through, their debut reveals no shortage of ideas, nor of skill to see them through. The whole thing, from TV Mike’s alluring drawl to Toby Oler’s slow-stepping banjo, resonates to a frequency all its own. (Brave Scarecrow Records)

- East Bay Express