|
Citigrass Press Reviews
Citigrass has been featured in many magazines and newspapers...
These press clippings include:
|
|
|
|
|
Artists too new to know...for now
Mick Skidmore
GRASS IN A CONCRETE JUNGLE
Not only does the five-piece Citigrass have a name that perfectly fits their style, they have the talent to back it up. How many bands can comfortably nestle traditional bluegrass tunes like "New River Train" and "John Hardy" with contemporary originals and a cover of Madonna's "Live to Tell" and make it all work? Citigrass dubs its music "high-energy alternative bluegrass" and surprisingly often appeals to an audience of more jazz and rock fans than bluegrass converts. The band has a diverse array of players with backgrounds in jazz, classical and rock as well as bluegrass (the band is made up of "lifetime" musicians with influences and backgrounds across the spectrum; from heavy metal to pop, from the Dead to the Ramones) and they continue to broaden those musical horizons. With their new album, Serpent in the Grass, they've added Middle Eastern and Spanish-Phrygian elements. The band also boasts great harmonies, precise but innovative instrumental work and an all-around good vibe. Citigrass has played residences at the Knitting Factory in New York City and Galapagos in Brooklyn, appeared in the off-Broadway musical Fortune Cookie Dreams and has released one excellent self-titled CD with a new one on the way. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND & CITIGRASS
IRVING PLAZA
The Village Voice: Voice Choices
“Two young and serious improv-bluegrass combos team up for a promising evening of machine-gun picking, single-mike harmonizing, and bucolic vibes. Locals Citigrass are known for their association with Phish bassist Mike Gordon…” at the Knitting Factory in New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
News
Edited by Jeff Waful
Mike Gordon Performs with Citigrass
Phish bassist Mike Gordon joined Citigrass Wednesday night at Galapagos in Brooklyn, NY. Gordon played acoustic guitar with the group for the entire show, which included standards such as "Man of Constant Sorrow," "Rocky Top" and "Old Home Place," as well as the Citigrass original "Aint Gonna Change." The setlist also featured bluegrass interpretations of "I Will Survive," "Viva Las Vegas" and "Wish You Were Here." Mike's banjo teacher, Andy Cartoun, also sat in for a portion of the show. Citigrass" regular banjoist, Sandy Isreal, is out of town this week and asked Gordon and Cartoun to perform in his absence. Both Mike and Andy have also sat in on the previous two Fridays at the Knitting Factory in New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
The Village Voice: Voice Choices
CITIGRASS They call the catchy stuff they do "Urban Bluegrass" which blends some jazz turns and knowing Big Apple lyric references with actual bluegrass chops. No joke, no-noodling from an eclectic bunch, who came to this band from Off-Broadway, Israel, Iowa and -- in the case of the fiddler -- the Flux Quartet. Williamsburg folks even put down their drinks for a minute to listen. Galapagos, at 8:30.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Village Voice: Voice Choices
CITIGRASS They've been building a following with these energetic, smart weekly Williamsburg gigs, offering up "urban bluegrass," which marries bluegrass with knowing local lyrics and sounds that shout out to rock and even ambient/jazz - not shocking for a band with a fiddle player from the Flux Quartet. Yet they still play, "Orange Blossom Special" with no-joke, straight-on pickin' abandon. Galapagos, at 8:30.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bluegrass Unlimited: Bluegrass As We Know It
The liner notes state... CITIGRASS is not bluegrass as we know it, but this New York based band incorporates traditional bluegrass with a modern/contemporary slant. Most of the 13 songs are originals with interesting themes including "Sepent in the Grass," "Crooked Beak Bird" and "The Ballad of Jeff Van Gundy." One moment they're belting out straight bluegrass with Ola Belle Reed's High on a mountain and the next delving into Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas."
|
If you are a member of the press and are interested in receiving Citigrass materials for consideration, please contact: citigrass@earthlink.net
|
