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Iowa- what could there possibly be in Iowa other than your common cereal grains and livestock? Well, there's a river called the Skunk, for one thing. Along its low muddy banks grew several boys who became young men who love to make and stir up homestyle kick-ass rock-roll music. Who are these fellows? Well, you & I know them as the Skunk River Bandits. The core of the band came from the Skunk's shores, but then were discovered kindred spirits from different river banks who sensed this same spark that would possess them to love and play the music they do so well lest we forget the rivers Cedar, Iowa and Missouri. They call Iowa City home; must've been for some crazy want to expand their minds. Or maybe they had good jobs in mind somewhere down the line. Or maybe they wanted to play kick-ass rock-roll music. In any case they are the Skunk River Bandits and they intend to come out and send you home with a head full of tune stew you'll never stop savoring. Enjoy. ----------------------------------------------------------- Iowa... perhaps this is a name that many would typify with nothing but the likes of corn, soybeans, pigs, cattle, and, if you're lucky, sheep and/or barns. "It's durn flat there, too," you might add to that. All you can hear is "Sooeee, sooeee" and cattle lowing, someone might say. However, such are the words of the generalists who take precious little time to train themselves visually and aurally. Further, truly flat lands do not have rivers flowing through them... if you look carefully, when crossing Iowa on her east-west superhighway, Interstate 80 (or any of her other great east-west highways and byways), you will notice a curious stream crossing your path several times... we call her the Skunk River. She flows from a point somewhere out near the Minnesota line and eventually spills into the Des Moines River, which spills into the Mississippi, drifting slowly down through the great cities to the south as she makes her way to the Delta. The Skunk River Bandits draw their inspiration as musicians and as Iowans from this interconnectivity and flow. The original Skunk River Bandits formed in 1997 in Iowa City (where some of the members were attending the University of Iowa) as an outlet for playing the roots and Americana music that its members so enjoyed. Today, the band plays a wide array of music, straddling many genres, but still root themselves in an ethic which owes much to original American musics. They favor rock but certainly don't shy away from rockabilly/bluegrass, and certainly they have no fear of the funk. While they are fairly traditionally structured as a band (guitar, bass, drums, piano/keys), they can often surprise by switching roles and instruments, sometimes within the same song. As the old saying, with which many Iowans are familiar, goes: "Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes!" Such can be said about the Skunk River Bandits. They can surprise, like when in the spring there will be a thunderstorm or tornado during the day, only to give way to a blizzard that night. Yet they can keep rolling on some sort of rocking groove that seems as familiar as a long sunny day down by the river, or mom's house and the worn-out comfortable recliner shaped like your butt. The Skunk River Bandits have, in the years since their formation, created many a riffy melody that seems to have disappeared from today's most popular bar bands. Most of the current lineup was in place by mid-1999, although they still had yet to gig publicly. Later that year, however, they had become a staple of the Iowa City music scene wasted no time in getting started on their debut full-length release, 2000's "Year of the Skunk" as well as in playing shows around the Midwest. An experience they used to craft their sound on stage and build a foundation of fans. Now with the release of their new album "This Is Not the Life I Ordered" in the fall of 2002, the Bandits plan to go out on the road to support their music as much as possible. While they play for their loyal fan base and garner rave reviews, they expect only to continue to convert the non-believers or the neophytes though writing, playing and enjoying the music that they and those who hear it appreciate. Check out the artist's website: http://www.skunkriverbandits.com Track List: 1. So Blue, So True 2. Devil I Guess 3. If Whiskey Were A Woman(I'd Always Be True) 4. Sweet Blues 5. The Ashtray 6. Funky Pussycat 7. Todd's Prayer 8. This Is Not the Life That I Ordered 9. Saving Grace 10. Solitary Drinker 11. Borrowed Time Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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