MIKE AND THE MOONPIES + VANDOLIERS
Buy Tickets
October 13, 2022
DOORS | 7PM
Show: 7:00 pm
Tickets: $15 PRESALE $18DOS
MIKE AND THE MOONPIES
For a band that regularly plays 250 shows a year, there’s nothing like coming back home.
‘One To Grow On,’ the eighth studio album from Mike and the Moonpies, is a musical homecoming that returns the group to its roots as a workingman’s country band. Layered with Telecaster twang, honky tonk harmonies and lyrics that highlight the Everyman’s struggle to remain optimistic during a 9-to-5 world, this is organic music for dancehalls and car stereos — a soundtrack for the mid-week blues, shot through with weekend energy.
“I wanted to create a record you could crank loudly in your truck on Friday afternoon at quitting time,” says frontman Mike Harmeier, who wrote ‘One To Grow On’ in his backyard studio on the outskirts of Austin. “To do that, I developed a narrative and a central character. It’s a guy who’s working hard to make ends meet, all while living in the moment and hoping to stay appreciative of the things he has. A guy who takes pride in what he does but is still searching for a balance in his life. There are a lot of similarities between him and me.”
For more than a decade, Harmeier and his band of hard-touring road warriors — pedal steel player Zach Moulton, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque and drummer Kyle Ponder — have traveled far beyond their Austin homeland, flying the flag for homegrown Texas music in more than a dozen countries. They’ve become global ambassadors of a blue-collar country sound, striking a balance between timeless influences and cool, contemporary appeal. Along the way, they’ve stretched their legs, following the breakthrough success of 2018’s Steak Night at the Prairie Rose with records like 2019’s Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold (an album inspired by the classic countrypolitan hits of the early 1970s, recorded at Abbey Road Studios with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) and 2020’s Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart (a collection of nine unreleased songs written by the honky-tonk hero).
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the Moonpies’ busy schedule to a halt, Harmeier found himself back home in Austin, inspired to return to the sound that had launched his band’s career. He didn’t need to look far for ideas.
“I have an old, square-bodied Chevy pickup from 1985,” he says. “My dad had the same one. I used to work with him as an electrician when I was younger, and I started thinking about my dad, my grandfather, and the original owner of that truck. I thought about the kids I grew up with. Everyone I know who isn’t a musician is working construction. They’re putting one foot in front of the other and trying to appreciate the moment they’re in, while basically working 24/7, 365. A lot of people live their lives that way, and they inspired me to write a workingman’s story
VANDOLIERS
Vandoliers are the next wave of Texas music. The six-piece Dallas-Fort Worth group channels all that makes this vast state unique: tradition, modernity, audacity, grit, and — of course—size. Forever puts it all together for an enthralling ride down a fresh Lone Star highway.
Produced and recorded by Adam Hill (Low Cut Connie, The Bo-Keys, Deer Tick, Don Bryant, Zeshan B) at American Recording Studios in Memphis, TN, the band’s third album (and first with Bloodshot) Forever is a mix of youthful and defiant punk, rugged Red Dirt country, and vibrant Tejano. The full-length’s 10 songs blend emblematic rock ‘n’ roll with bold horns, violin, and a slather of twang reflecting where the band is from, where they’ve
been and, eventually, where they’ll be headed. It’s regional and universal all the same.
“I wrote a series of songs about my life and gave it to the best musicians I know to flesh out,” says lead singer and guitarist Joshua Fleming. “I spent over a year writing by myself, with friends and mentors, and we spent just as long filling out arrangements and writing scores. We wrote horn and fiddle parts on a trio tour through the mountains of NewMexico, Wyoming and Montana.”
One of those mentors is fellow Dallas-Fort Worth musician Rhett Miller of Old 97’s. The influence and tutelage of Miller and his bandmates helped sharpen Vandoliers’ Texas- bred, roots-based punk rock.
“Before the band started diving into the new material, I sent Rhett a bunch of acoustic phone demos,” says Fleming. “Being the amazing person he is, he sent me back a 3,000- word email of advice that read like a master class in the art of songwriting. Beyond their influence musically, they’ve really taken us under their wing, letting us play shows with
them and giving us all kinds of advice along the way.”
While tracking alongside the muddy path that country-punk bands like Old 97’s, Jason and the Scorchers, and the True Believers blazed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Vandoliers define their own style; no one else is upending the genre quite like them. There are familiar ingredients—Fleming’s raspy vocals, rousing sing-along choruses, and an infectious energy (like on the rippin’ “Sixteen Years”)—that lay down the foundation on Forever. But it’s the ancillary instrumentation that separates them from others. When they seamlessly inject punk rock with ‘60 and ‘70s country grime (“Tumbleweed”), old-timey fiddlin’ (“Miles and Miles”), Tex-Mex horn and violin (“Fallen Again”), and heartfelt balladry (“Cigarettes in the Rain”), a rich new sound emerges. References to the Texas Tornados, Social Distortion, Deer Tick, and Calexico can be made, but none fully capture the soul of
the self-proclaimed “Converse cowboys.”
For a band that spends more than half the year on the road, “forever” is their credo of hope and determination—“VFFV” (Vandoliers Forever, Forever Vandoliers) is tattooed on the six members’ arms as an emblem of their solidarity and commitment to the collective, through good times and, more significantly, the tough ones. The album’s lyrics center on
themes of dedication (“Sixteen Years”), being known as middle finger-throwing rabble rousers (“Troublemaker”), seizing adventure while traveling (“Nowhere Fast”), and addressing anxiety and depression (“Fallen Again”). When they return home from tour, broke and empty, they humbly look to their families for support (“Bottom Dollar Boy”),
and unconditional love—despite their unconventional career paths—(“Tumbleweed”). Thus recharged, they can hit the road again, to spread the Vandoliers’ message with renewed fervor.
October 13, 2022
DOORS | 7PM
Show: 7:00 pm
Tickets: $15 PRESALE $18DOS
MIKE AND THE MOONPIES
For a band that regularly plays 250 shows a year, there’s nothing like coming back home.
‘One To Grow On,’ the eighth studio album from Mike and the Moonpies, is a musical homecoming that returns the group to its roots as a workingman’s country band. Layered with Telecaster twang, honky tonk harmonies and lyrics that highlight the Everyman’s struggle to remain optimistic during a 9-to-5 world, this is organic music for dancehalls and car stereos — a soundtrack for the mid-week blues, shot through with weekend energy.
“I wanted to create a record you could crank loudly in your truck on Friday afternoon at quitting time,” says frontman Mike Harmeier, who wrote ‘One To Grow On’ in his backyard studio on the outskirts of Austin. “To do that, I developed a narrative and a central character. It’s a guy who’s working hard to make ends meet, all while living in the moment and hoping to stay appreciative of the things he has. A guy who takes pride in what he does but is still searching for a balance in his life. There are a lot of similarities between him and me.”
For more than a decade, Harmeier and his band of hard-touring road warriors — pedal steel player Zach Moulton, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque and drummer Kyle Ponder — have traveled far beyond their Austin homeland, flying the flag for homegrown Texas music in more than a dozen countries. They’ve become global ambassadors of a blue-collar country sound, striking a balance between timeless influences and cool, contemporary appeal. Along the way, they’ve stretched their legs, following the breakthrough success of 2018’s Steak Night at the Prairie Rose with records like 2019’s Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold (an album inspired by the classic countrypolitan hits of the early 1970s, recorded at Abbey Road Studios with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) and 2020’s Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart (a collection of nine unreleased songs written by the honky-tonk hero).
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the Moonpies’ busy schedule to a halt, Harmeier found himself back home in Austin, inspired to return to the sound that had launched his band’s career. He didn’t need to look far for ideas.
“I have an old, square-bodied Chevy pickup from 1985,” he says. “My dad had the same one. I used to work with him as an electrician when I was younger, and I started thinking about my dad, my grandfather, and the original owner of that truck. I thought about the kids I grew up with. Everyone I know who isn’t a musician is working construction. They’re putting one foot in front of the other and trying to appreciate the moment they’re in, while basically working 24/7, 365. A lot of people live their lives that way, and they inspired me to write a workingman’s story
VANDOLIERS
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Vandoliers are the next wave of Texas music. The six-piece Dallas-Fort Worth group channels all that makes this vast state unique: tradition, modernity, audacity, grit, and — of course—size. Forever puts it all together for an enthralling ride down a fresh Lone Star highway. Produced and recorded by Adam Hill (Low Cut Connie, The Bo-Keys, Deer Tick, Don Bryant, Zeshan B) at American Recording Studios in Memphis, TN, the band’s third album (and first with Bloodshot) Forever is a mix of youthful and defiant punk, rugged Red Dirt country, and vibrant Tejano. The full-length’s 10 songs blend emblematic rock ‘n’ roll with bold horns, violin, and a slather of twang reflecting where the band is from, where they’ve |
|
been and, eventually, where they’ll be headed. It’s regional and universal all the same. “I wrote a series of songs about my life and gave it to the best musicians I know to flesh out,” says lead singer and guitarist Joshua Fleming. “I spent over a year writing by myself, with friends and mentors, and we spent just as long filling out arrangements and writing scores. We wrote horn and fiddle parts on a trio tour through the mountains of NewMexico, Wyoming and Montana.” One of those mentors is fellow Dallas-Fort Worth musician Rhett Miller of Old 97’s. The influence and tutelage of Miller and his bandmates helped sharpen Vandoliers’ Texas- bred, roots-based punk rock. “Before the band started diving into the new material, I sent Rhett a bunch of acoustic phone demos,” says Fleming. “Being the amazing person he is, he sent me back a 3,000- word email of advice that read like a master class in the art of songwriting. Beyond their influence musically, they’ve really taken us under their wing, letting us play shows with |
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them and giving us all kinds of advice along the way.” While tracking alongside the muddy path that country-punk bands like Old 97’s, Jason and the Scorchers, and the True Believers blazed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Vandoliers define their own style; no one else is upending the genre quite like them. There are familiar ingredients—Fleming’s raspy vocals, rousing sing-along choruses, and an infectious energy (like on the rippin’ “Sixteen Years”)—that lay down the foundation on Forever. But it’s the ancillary instrumentation that separates them from others. When they seamlessly inject punk rock with ‘60 and ‘70s country grime (“Tumbleweed”), old-timey fiddlin’ (“Miles and Miles”), Tex-Mex horn and violin (“Fallen Again”), and heartfelt balladry (“Cigarettes in the Rain”), a rich new sound emerges. References to the Texas Tornados, Social Distortion, Deer Tick, and Calexico can be made, but none fully capture the soul of |
|
the self-proclaimed “Converse cowboys.” For a band that spends more than half the year on the road, “forever” is their credo of hope and determination—“VFFV” (Vandoliers Forever, Forever Vandoliers) is tattooed on the six members’ arms as an emblem of their solidarity and commitment to the collective, through good times and, more significantly, the tough ones. The album’s lyrics center on |
|
themes of dedication (“Sixteen Years”), being known as middle finger-throwing rabble rousers (“Troublemaker”), seizing adventure while traveling (“Nowhere Fast”), and addressing anxiety and depression (“Fallen Again”). When they return home from tour, broke and empty, they humbly look to their families for support (“Bottom Dollar Boy”), |
and unconditional love—despite their unconventional career paths—(“Tumbleweed”). Thus recharged, they can hit the road again, to spread the Vandoliers’ message with renewed fervor.
