ARTISTS
Brooklyn band THE INNER BANKS is the musical alter ego of married couple Caroline Schutz and David Gould and their revolving cast of talented friends. Since forming in 2006, THE INNER BANKS has eluded easy categorization, and in its upcoming third release Wild, the band shows no sign of bucking that trend. The ensemble’s rich, cinematic orchestration skews the traditional country twang of instruments like the lap steel by integrating string sections, wurlitzer and layered female vocals. THE INNER BANKS draws inspiration from a wide variety of traditions—British folk,‘60s pop, shoegaze, film music and Americana among them—but ultimately emerges with a sound that is grander and more unique than the sum of its parts.
Kate Ellis is an Americana Singer/Songwriter born in Louisiana, raised in New York, based in London.
Playing in festivals and concerts, from NY to London to Paris, Kate's timeless music reflects a love of classic singer/songwriters, from Gram Parsons and Gillian Welch, to Mary Chapin Carpenter, Leonard Cohen and Nanci Griffith.
Folksongs For the Afterilfe
Folksongs for the Afterlife formed in 1996 when singer/songwriter/guitarist Caroline Schutz met up with multi-instrumentalist Chris Sizemore and they decided to form a group. Schutz had already been writing music, mostly of an instrumental nature, under the name Folksongs for the Afterlife, but when the two joined together they decided to take the band in a more pop direction. After a couple years of refining their sound, the band released a five-song EP for the U.K. indie label Enraptured. The disc was a mild success and introduced those who heard it to the band's dreamy sound.
Their profile was boosted in 2001 by an appearance on Arena Rock's This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn Based Compilation.
Their track, "Wasting in the Sun," was a highlight of the compilation. Around this time, the band's lineup began to take shape. Along with Schutz and Sizemore, Steve Toole (guitar), Chris Deaner (drums), and David Gould (bass) rounded out the personnel. In 2003, Hidden Agenda released the band's full-length debut, Put Danger Back in Your Life.
-by TimSendra, All Music Guide
The Bootleg Remedy
The brainchild of banjoist/multi-instrumentalist and ethnomusicologist David Gould, the Bootleg Remedy quickly gained renown in New York during the early 2000s among fans of traditional old timey string band, bluegrass, Dixieland, and Western swing. Reminiscent of acts like the Squirrel Nut Zippers and R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, as much for their free-wheeling fun spirit as for their exemplary musicianship, the band had few obvious rivals in their masterful mixing of revered American forms.
Arliss Parker
Arliss Parker evolved as the solo project of Chris Parker in 2006. Chris moved from Colorado to New York in the fall of 2006 with an arsenal of musical ideas. He converted an abandoned dark room into a recording studio and started adding a wide array of sounds to his acoustic guitar compositions. Toy keyboards, glockenspiels, random percussive instruments and electronic tones found their way into the mix and Arliss Parker was born.
Between 2006 and 2007, Chris recorded, mixed and mastered dozens of compositions in that home studio. He whittled the offerings down to six tracks and made a few demos. In 2008, DAG! Records teamed up with Arliss Parker to introduce Handsome like a Lion to the world. The album is a mix of experimental folk rock and electronica that hopes to get you lost in thought.