THE DEFIBULATORS
Brooklyn’s Roots Rockin’ Iconoclasts
Americana Music Festival & Conference
The Basement
Wednesday, September 8 – 9pm
*Available for Interviews
“Carter Family-meets-Ramones…an eclectic acoustic/electric sound all their own.”
All Music Guide
“No yee-haws or any other hoots or yawps were held back…raucous and slightly surreal.” The New York Times
“[Bug] and singer Erin Bru slip into harmonies that recall the storied Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris duets…unvarnished beauty.” New York Magazine
“The Defibulators are gifted musicians…genuine about their craft.” CMT.com
Emerging from the thriving roots scene in New York City, The Defibulators wield an arsenal of instruments (upright bass, banjo, fiddle, backhills harp, Telecaster, and junkyard percussion) with relentless and expert energy. The Defibulators have been touring the US and Europe behind their debut album, Corn Money, released this spring on Salvage Records. Produced by John Hill (Devo, Shakira, Santigold), Corn Money captures the ferocity of The Defibulators’ live shows while creating its own strange sonic world. Under The Radar writes, “Corn Money recreates the barroom swing of early country greats…a boozy concoction worth swigging until last call,” and Dig Philly confirms that “when all the indie bands in Brooklyn decided to go roots, these guys actually got it right.”
While jumpstarting new life into vintage country and characterized by The New Yorker as “Citi-billy,” the Brooklyn-bred septet deliver a unique sound that is both timeless and timely, deep fried and downtown. Bug Jennings and Erin Bru’s rich harmonies combined with dark, surreal lyrics — illuminate songs that are gritty and witty; spinning big-rig tales of deception, debauchery, depleted bank accounts, fanaticism, vintage firearms, biological anomalies, airline intoxication and animal ennui. Minneapolis City Pages proclaims their live show “whipped the place into a plaid-and-denim frenzy.”
The Defibulators are the house-band and wrote the theme song for “The Rejection Show,” a live comedic event at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC that embraces the rejected and ‘turned down’ material of well-known and up and coming writers, comedians, cartoonists, artists, filmmakers and TV personalities. Many of The Defibulators’ songs are being licensed for feature films and shorts, television, and online productions, most recently placing two songs in the feature film, The Dry Land(starring America Ferrera with music from Dean Parks and Lyle Lovett), a drama set in west Texas depicting a veteran’s struggle after returning home from a difficult tour of duty in Iraq. The band has also self-published their very own 24-page coloring book available by request.
The Defibulators:
Erin Bru -vocals
Bug Jennings -vocals, banjo, and rhythm guitar
Roadblock -electric guitar
Justin Smitty -fiddle
Freddy Epps -upright bass
Metalbelly -washboard, percussion, harmonica
Mike Riddleberger -drums
