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Event

Hey Mavis wsg/The Steam Donkeys 8pm $10
21
Nov
2015

Hey Mavis wsg/The Steam Donkeys 8pm $10

  • Location:326 Amherst Street
  • Venue:Sportsmen's Tavern
  • Length:08:00 pm – 12:00 am
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Date/Time
Date(s) - 21/11/2015 - 22/11/2015
8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Categories


Sportsmen’s Tavern & Music Hall
326 Amherst St.
Buffalo NY 14207
Sat. Nov. 21 @ 8 pm
Hey Mavis
&
Steam Donkeys

$10

www.heymavis.com

With songs that effortlessly float from softly orchestrated lullabies to raw and raucous love songs, the music of Hey Mavis …is best described as “Appalachian Americana”. Their lyrics focus heavily on the beautiful imagery of life, the joy and labor of raising children, and the timeless themes of love and heartbreak.

“Wrapped in original songs whose styles range from old timey to jazzy to blistering alt rock, Laurie’s voice turns from cold steel to melted butter in the time it takes your heart to break.”
~ Don Dixon, key producer of the jangle pop movement

Laurie Michelle Caner~vocals and banjo
Brent Kirby~vocals, guitar, kick drum, harmonica
Eddie Caner~fiddle, bad jokes
Bryan Thomas~bass and percussion

www.steamdonkeys.com

Ladies and Gents, the Steam Donkeys…

They’re a country band.

They’re a rock band.

They’re honky-tonkers.

They’re swingers (musically, that is).

They’re The Steam Donkeys, and there’s nobody quite like them.

For more than a decade, the boys have brought their blend of musical virtuosity and eclecticism to bar stages, street festivals and massive amphitheaters throughout Buffalo, Western New York and all the way down the Eastern Seaboard. Their live performances have caused thousands of music lovers to exclaim, “Hey, these guys are good,” and bar owners to proclaim, “You boys drank a lot of beer.”

Their live performances have caused thousands of music lovers to exclaim, “Hey, these guys are good,” and bar owners to proclaim, “You boys drank a lot of beer.”

The story of The Steam Donkeys began waaaay back in 1991, when Buck Quigley, Charlie Quill, John Brady and Kyle Brock thought it would be a fine idea to form a band to play the music they love — whether anyone else agreed or not.

At the time, country music meant line-dancing, with Billy Ray Cyrus about to spring Achy Breaky Heart on the world. The seminal Uncle Tupelo album No Depression had been out for less than a year, and the genre to which that CD would lend its name was little more than an abstract notion in the musical minds of guys like Buck, Charlie, John and Kyle. In 1991, alternative country wasn’t even a phenomenon off in the distance — it didn’t exist.

Weaving Buck’s smooth vocals and rhythm guitar with Charlie’s Dick Dale-meets-Don Rich surf/twang leads over the pinpoint precision of John and Kyle’s rhythm section, The Steam Donkeys quickly built a following on the Buffalo music scene.

Bringing real country music to venues that normally hosted sound-alike cover bands and hair metal, their reputation started to grow beyond the borders of the Queen City.

Doug Moody joined up in 1992, his violin virtuosity and vocal range adding a lush texture to The Steam Donkeys’ melodic grit. That year, they released a five-song EP, Songs From a Stolen Guitar, recorded by Robbie Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls, another band grinding away in hopes of hitting it big.

The Steam Donkeys toured the Southeast in 1993, and a year later, their first full-length release, Cosmic Americanarama, had them on the road for much of the next three years. The band’s musical evolution, along with the toll extracted by constant touring, led to some lineup changes, with bassist Frank Quebral coming on board in 1994.

The band’s journeys through the south helped land the only spot afforded a Yankee band on Bubbapalooza, Vol. 1, an anthology of non-Nashville country and roots music. John left the band, temporarily, in 1997, and Frank did the same a year later, with Joe Kross and John Weber taking their places. The band also put together a little outdoor show with a few of their friends at the old Pierce Arrow that year, an all-day party they called Americanarama.

In 1998, pedal-steel guitar wizard Jim Whitford also joined up, adding to the musical tapestry, and the band’s second full CD, Little Honky Tonks, won rave reviews.

The band’s journeys through the south helped land the only spot afforded a Yankee band on Bubbapalooza, Vol. 1, an anthology of non-Nashville country and roots music.

The touring continued over the next three years, with The Steam Donkeys hitting 23 states in all.

John Brady returned to his seat behind the drum kit in 2000, with Frank again picking up the bass a year later.

By 2000, Americanarama had outgrown its original home, and the festival that annually draws bands and fans from around the Northeast moved downtown to East Mohawk Street, home of the Mohawk Place, one of the city’s most diverse musical forums. This year’s show will mark the fifth downtown Americanarama, and the eighth overall.

While the boys haven’t been touring regularly, particularly since Sophie was born to Buck and his wife, Heather, in 2000 and Doug moved to the Albany area in 2002. But playing mainly as a foursome, Buck, Charlie, John and Frank have been playing weekly gigs, most recently at Merlin’s on Elmwood on Friday evenings. Doug returns to add a violin for Americanarama and selected other gigs, and former band members remain more like extended family than “ex-Donkeys.”

Last year, they completed work on their third CD — Buffalo, NY. That effort, which began in 2000, includes the talents of most of that extended family. It was released on a limited basis in time for Americanarama 7 last summer, with its official release in spring of 2004. Also this year, pedal steel player John Deickman became a full,card-carrying member of the band.

A new CD is in the works, and Americarama 8 is being planned for its annual weekend in June, so the history of The Steam Donkeys keeps evolving along with their music.

Coming to see the show from out of town? Please visit our friends at the Adams Mark Hotel.
http://www.adamsmark.com/
Please call 716-845-5100 to get a special Sportsmen’s Tavern Rate for Concert Series Ticket Holders.
Or try the Best Western on Delaware Avenue
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/US/NY/Buffalo-hotels/BEST-WESTERN-On-The-Avenue/Hotel-Overview.do?propertyCode=33035&cm_mmc=PTI-_-local-_-feed-_-33035
716-886-8333
Please Note that the artists have a 3 hour window to complete the show. This does not meant the performance will be 3 hours in length.