Doors: 07:00 PM Starts: 09:00 PM - $7/$10 cover
Likened to watching “Hee-Haw on mescaline”, The DEFiBULATORs wield an arsenal of guitars, banjos, fiddles, and junkyard percussion, with relentless energy and virtuosity. The DEFiBULATORs jump-start new life into vintage country music and deliver a unique sound that’s anything but old timey. Razor sharp harmonies by Bug Jennings and Erin Bru, along with dark and surreal lyrics, illuminate songs that are gritty and witty; spinning tales of deception, debauchery, depleted bank accounts, fanaticism, vintage firearms, biological anomalies, airline intoxication, and animal ennui.
Though the band formed in NYC, its members hail from all corners of the country. Singer/banjoist Bug Jennings and washboard/harmonica player Metalbelly were both raised in Ft. Worth TX, only to be accidentally reaquainted years later in Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park. Meanwhile, singer Erin Bru drifted over from Los Angeles, Smitty the Giant Fiddler was being dairy fed in Wisconsin, and a trio of east coasters would eventually round out the group. Lead guitarist and Hoboken native, Roadblock (aka Chris Hartway), initially met Jennings while working at a Manhattan bbq joint, finding a shared obsession of classic country music. Fellow Garden state-er Mike Riddleberger was later recruited to play drums, along with Philadelphia bassist, Freddy Epps. The band cut it’s teeth on classic obscurities, gigging relentlessly in NYC, while peripherally writing the original songs that would eventually comprise Corn Money.
Produced by John Hill (SANTIGOLD, DEVO) and Terrence Bernardo (TAXI TAXI), mixed by D. James Goodwin (MURDER BY DEATH, CAMPHOR), and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, The DEFiBULATORs’ debut full-length album, Corn Money is making waves in the world of alternative country. Heavily praised upon it’s release, Corn Money was cited as “a fantastic, fantastical debut” (Melophobe) and “a brash, bold, trend-setting accomplishment” (Honest Tune)
