Dexter's Kin

COWPATCH

Like the wild and wide-open scene on a prairie postcard, COWPATCH is a breath of fresh air in America’s cluttered rock & roll landscape. The New York quartet’s swagger — steeped in FM radio classics with a modern edge — has fans of robust, vital rock music agreeing: This is something real.

Distinctions are blurred among rock & roll, powerpop, alt-rock, hard rock, classic rock, blues rock and more. Metal? Not really. Punk? Some. Americana? Pop? Twang? Country? It’s in there, in the decisive arrangements and right-as-rain lyrics, the airtight rhythm section and double-helix guitars, and the fearless, wayfaring improvisations.

Nods to Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Who, The Allman Brothers, and The Beatles are evident. But beneath the surface lie flavors of Jane’s Addiction, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Small Faces, The Velvet Underground, Social Distortion, Tom Petty, Husker Du, Gaslight Anthem, Foo Fighters, Rory Gallagher, Foghat, Radiohead, Steely Dan, and so many others. This potent brew pours from the hands of veteran musicians with backgrounds as varied as their vast record collections.

COWPATCH laid roots in the early ‘90s at the feet of guitarist-singer Bill Hafener, then an integral part of indie-rock stalwarts The Skels. Hafener sidelined in folk-rock outfit The Children, where he met drummer Chris Olsen, and Richter scales shook when the two first played.

Soon, COWPATCH found its bassist in worldbeat artist Ted Schreiber, whose band Life Out of Balance was part of the same local scene, and whose dynamic singing and songwriting added new colors to the band’s palette. The picture was complete with the addition of Friction Wheel’s Paul DiBenedetto on guitar and vocals, and his entrance to the band belies its heart and soul — the sweet sound of vintage guitars — as he and Hafener met as regulars at a local guitar shop.

Currently the band is finishing a six-song EP of all-new material, the eternally awaited follow-up to COWPATCH’s mid-90s releases “Economy Tractor” and “Thick Slices from a Crusty Loaf.” The music visits familiar environs and plants the COWPATCH flag in new terrain as well. For longtime fans and new friends, this band is on a journey worth following.

See also:
www.facebook.com/cowpatchband
www.youtube.com/cowpatchband
www.soundcloud.com/cowpatch

When Battle Maiden took shape in early 2011 no one expected they would become the powerful force they have become sweeping across the Big Apple. It’s only the unique chemistry formed between Maude, David, and Roger that parallel’s their music’s unequivocal bursts of fire and enthusiasm. It was a calculated and methodical process of getting the right combination of passion and skill they all knew this force of nature required. There is a special combination of sounds combined together here. Maude’s vocals soar through the air with both a nurturing and fierce character to them, blending harmonically with David’s guitars. He not only plays off the lyrical content adding pop and effervescence to the music, he creates a newer, dynamic resonance to each song. Adding fuel to the fire is Rogers drumming. He is an animal behind his set creating the sometimes heavy and always driving beats necessary to push each song along. Maude’s bass playing pulses through to the core allowing Battle Maiden’s sound to be complete with heart and intent.

The plus of this band being a threesome is that they are able to meet at the intersection of each individuals musicianship and build creatively from there. There is a raw element to the sound that makes a solid foundation for which they construct sonically. Battle Maiden is a band that obviously enjoys making music for music’s sake and the honesty in that rubs off on their fans. This makes their rock shows one Hell of a gig you don’t want to miss.

If ever asked, after experiencing a live Tenrec set, what or who they sounded like, the conversation would take so many twists and turns that only one conclusion can be made: the fruit of their labor can not be sonically classified by any means. Hailing from NYC (by way of Queens NY, Arlington TX, Leeds UK and Malden, MA) the four musical contrarians have effectively slammed their unique style on to the table.

The musical conundrum usually comes in the form of a beautifully blaring rhythmic guitar, a magical rollercoaster ride of a lead, a temperamental bass line and coercing drums that perfectly gift wrap the prize. On occasion, the boys will incorporate keyboard synth sounds that paint appeasing psychedelic, post-punk soundscapes. Their progressions purposely dip from lane to lane and often veer completely off road much to the aficionado’s delight. Nod of the head, slight smirk, “fuck yes”.

There’s a complete lack of fear factor in the delivery of goods. Their sound makes a bold statement: creating music in the typical fashion (trying to sell that single) is cutting off the proverbial balls of the creative monster. They seek the different and find it time and time again. A hinting influence resonates The Flaming Lips, The Feelies, The Breeders, Sonic Youth and The Gun Club. The blend, the final frame, is an exciting new sound well worth drooling over.

Angie Atkinson is a Harlem based musician with roots in Starkville, MS and Richmond, VA. Growing up in the buckle of the Bible Belt was a challenge for Angie, an early adopter of frequent hair color changes and a non conformist sense of style. The positive attention she received for her incredible vocal ability was tempered with a healthy dose of negative attention for her appearance. She always dreamed of living in New York City, a place where she could be as weird as she wanted, yet normal by comparison.

In 2009, Angie started her life over in New York with very little money and a guitar she was still learning to play. She focused primarily on her acting career during her first year in the city. Then, while in East Texas for an acting gig, she had an epiphany. Something about being in the South again inspired her. Maybe it was the easy sounds of the nearby local honky tonk that drifted through her window every night. Maybe it was the good-hearted East Texans and the forthright way they expressed themselves, so conducive to Angie's frank and personal lyrics. Or maybe it was just all the damn good barbecue. Regardless, Angie resolved to put down the scripts and pick up the guitar. She went back to New York with songs pouring out, and couldn't wait to share them with the world.

They say you can take the girl out of the South, but can never take the South out of the girl. Angie could never forget her deeply ingrained Southern roots, and it is this blend of country mouse/city mouse influences and inspirations that makes Angie's alt-pop-country so unique.

Excitless is a rad band from New York City. We like cats and heartache. Download all our music for free at http://exciteless.bandcamp.com/