The macabre has long held uneasy sway over the human condition. From ghost stories to creation myths, from CSI to Shakespeare, from cable news voyeurism to Edgar Allan Poe, the subjects of death, murder and all things ghastly have fascinated and frightened for centuries. Songs are no exception. From Old World roots to more recent incarnations in America, the murder ballad has traversed, shapeshifted and persevered. Despite our collective desire to be good and virtuous, people do very bad things. And then we sing about them.
Death, murder and ghosts have long been underlying threads coursing through Vandaveer‘s original songs, but instead of weaving their own shadowy tales into their latest studio effort, Oh, Willie, Please…, the DC-by-way-of-Kentucky alt-folk collective have tapped into the wellspring of traditional folk’s darker side.
Oh, Willie, Please… finds the group operating in a more collaborative spirit. In addition to the core duo of Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin, the talents of J. Tom Hnatow (These United States, The Mynabirds) and Phillips Saylor (Stripmall Ballads, The Shiftless Rounders) helped expand the project into a formidable ensemble, armed with steel string, resonator and pedal steel guitars, banjos and pianos, voices galore, and a common belief in the quality and relevance of the word ‘folk.’
Inspired by their recent participation in The 78 Project, the group gathered in a majestic old home on a picturesque horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky in the spring of 2012 and set to work re-imagining a collection of age-old murder ballads & songs of self ruin plucked almost entirely from the public domain. With longtime producer Duane Lundy once again at the helm, Vandaveer moved swiftly through the selected catalog, recording most of the tracks live in the manor’s great room. The result is a spacious, honest album that balances reverence and respect for the source material with a healthy coat of contemporary color.
Vandaveer’s Oh, Willie, Please… will be released in North America April 30th on CD, limited edition vinyl and digital formats, courtesy of Quack!Media.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD & SHARE VANDAVEER’S NEW SINGLE “PRETTY POLLY”
Oh, Willie, Please… Tracklisting:
1. The Banks Of The Ohio
2. Pretty Polly
3. Omie Wise
4. The Railroad Boy
5. The Murder Of The Lawson Family
6. Mary Of The Wild Moor
7. The Knoxville Girl
8. Down In The Willow Garden
9. The Drunkard’s Doom
10. Poor Edward
11. Henry Lee
VANDAVEER WINTER TOUR DATES W/ THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS:
Feb 27: Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
Feb 28: Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Mar 01: Rochester, NY – The German House
Mar 02: Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
Mar 03: Cincinnati, OH – Madison Theatre
(additional Vandaveer headlining tour dates to be announced soon)
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH VANDAVEER’S RECENT STUDIO PERFORMANCE ON BREAKTHRU RADIO:
FOR MORE INFO ON VANDAVEER:
www.vandaveer.net
https://www.facebook.com/vndvr
FOR MORE INFO ON QUACK!MEDIA:
http://www.quackmedia.com
FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony@pavementpr.com
https://pavementpr.com
