The Honeycutters
Tickets: $13 advance, $15 at the door.
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
The Honeycutters are singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt and guitarist/ producer Peter James. While their sound has drawn comparisons to such artists as Graham Parsons and Emmylou Harris or Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Platt and James produce a refreshingly unique blend of Americana music that is comfortingly familiar while being entirely original. Ω
Their first full length studio release Irene (May 2009) was recorded at Asheville’s own Collapseable Studio, and mixed by Grammy Award winning sound engineer David Fergason ( Nashville TN ) . The album has garnered radio support across the USA as well as overseas, and landed them in Iaan Hughes’ (No Depression Podcast) top twenty of 2009, Fret Knot Radio Hour’s “Nine to Know from ‘09″, and as number 32 in WNCW’s listener voted top 100.
Amanda Anne Platt has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson, and her voice has been described as “perfectly unadorned” and “recklessly beautiful”. Her lyrics are as catchy and heartbreaking as her melodies. Dane Smith of Asheville NC’s Mountain Xpress writes “Her songs make you sad…in a good way!” In both her simple composition and honest delivery it’s easy to hear the influence of country legends such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, or Loretta Lynn, and with this Miss Platt credits growing up listening to her Father’s extensive record collection every Saturday morning. Despite her love for classic country, she cites Bruce Springstein as one of her biggest influences and her songwriting carries a wit and an edge that plants her firmly in her generation.
Peter James is rapidly becoming one of Western North Carolina’s most sought after guitar players, known for both insightful solos and tasteful accompaniment. Having first held a guitar at age thirteen, he quickly started making up for lost time by delving completely into the instrument. His natural talent and attention to detail made him an asset to The Slant Six Cowboys, a New Hampshire based group founded by James and singer/songwriter Don Witcher out of their long time musical collaboration. In 2004 they released a self-titled album on 95 North records which reached number 14 on the AMA chart. Since moving to Asheville in 2006 James has played right-hand man to several of the region’s top acts, including Taylor Martin and Brian McGee.
Like so many of country music’s great duos, Platt and James have a musical chemistry that can be felt throughout the songs they play, from the sounds of their guitars to their vocal harmonies. Perhaps this is why they are frequently mentioned along with the movement to “Take country music back to it’s roots”. The Honeycutters are just doing what they know how to do: making music that feels as good to hear as it does to play. Their original brand of Americana has proven equally appealing to both the musician and the music lover, the country and the city, and the old and the young.
“If anyone can make this old metalhead want to whip out the cowboy boots and hat, order a couple of Budweisers and spin my woman around the dance floor, the Honeycutters can.” -Brent Fleury, Bold Life Magazine
“Old school country in the truest sense, “Irene” is free of twang and ten-gallon hats but full of real emotion, family history, quick wit and strong liquor.” -Ali Marshall, Arts and Entertainment, Mt Xpress
“Amanda Anne Platt is easily one of the best songwriters coming out of Western NC these days, and she really needs to be discovered by the national Americana world. Her moving delivery, accompanied by Pete James’ tasteful guitar work and harmonies, make The Honeycutters an act that really should not be missed. We can’t stop playing their CD “Irene” here at WNCW!” – Martin Anderson, Music Director WNCW
Toy Box Trio CD Release Party w/ God’s Favorite Beefcake, Bakelite 78
Showtimes: 7.00 PM w/ God’s Favorite Beefcake, 9.00 PM w/ Bakelite 78.
Tickets:$13 advance, $15 at the door for either show (tickets sold separately)
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
The Toy-Box Trio presents “…charmingly quirky music that shifts from whimsical to creepy, from lullabies to marches. It is the soundtrack to a forgotten circus, a broken childhood memory, a magic music box full of dust and wonder.” (Sarah Shay, Jew-ish.com).
Founded in 2007 by classical composer Harlan Glotzer, the Toy-Box Trio is devoted to helping audiences experience through-composed music in an entirely different way. The pairing of concertina, toy piano, and tuba is reminiscent of the classical piano trio—a staple in chamber repertoire—but able to extend into the 21st century by creating a sonic landscape evocative of dusty old music boxes and haunted carnivals. Jordan Block of Sepiachord describes the trio’s sound as “…markedly intimate retro-future circus music, transforming baroque sounds into a stranger version of ‘The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’.” Toy-Box Trio is committed to approaching time-worn ideas and concepts from unexpected, non-traditional, and rarely-used angles. The trio fills the space between carnivals, circuses, and classical chamber ensembles, creating a light and fanciful sonic atmosphere.
The Toy-Box Trio is at home in venues ranging from concert halls to cabaret clubs to street corners, and performs for a diverse audience including families, steampunks, and symphony-goers. Previous performances include the Seattle International Cabaret Festival, Steamcon, and the University District Street Fair, as well as various stages and art galleries throughout the Puget Sound region. Aside from stage performances, the Toy-Box Trio has been featured on KEXP’s “Sonarchy Radio” and has made a live television appearance on the Seattle Channel’s “Art Zone with Nancy Guppy”. Sepiachord has commissioned two separate pieces from Toy-Box Trio for the CD compilations The Sepiachord Companion and The Sepiachord Passport. Music from the trio’s self-titled EP creates the backdrop for Philadelphia’s Olde City Sideshow and provides the soundtrack for various films including My Lucy Charm and Back Ally.
For the 7.00 show, the Toy Box Trio is joined by God’s Favorite Beefcake, the illegitimate musical offspring of singer/songwriter Shmootzi the Clod (a.k.a. Drew Keriakedes) and bassist Meshuguna Joe (a.k.a. Joseph Albanese), formerly of Seattle’s Circus Contraption performance troupe. Joined by a rag-tag ensemble of skilled musicians —on guitar, musical saw, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, and spoons — the two eccentrics serve up a rich stew of Americana and old-time music, seasoned with a dash of tango and a dollop of old-school country. The band’s maniacal live shows combine sideshow theatrics with toe-tapping original tunes. Did someone say sword-swallowing? God’s Favorite Beefcake is living proof that old circus habits die hard.
In the 9.00 show, The Toy Box Trio welcomes Bakelite 78.
