VARMINT performing THE GOLDEN ROAD - GRATEFUL DEAD 1966-1971

VARMINT
ROBIN HOLCOMB, WAYNE HORVITZ, TIM YOUNG,
JON HYDE, KEITH LOWE & ANDY ROTH

THE GOLDEN ROAD - GRATEFUL DEAD 1966-1971
with special guests
PAUL MOORE AND ERYN YOUNG

December 27th
The Upstage Restaurant
923 Washington Street / Pt. Townsend, WA
www.upstagerestaurant.com

December 28th / 8 pm / $15
Tractor Tavern
5213 Ballard Avenue NW / Seattle, WA
www.varmintband.com
www.myspace.com/varmintmusic

Opening Act: Fasten With Pins
Nova Devione, Arni Adler & Robin Holcomb

December offers two big holiday shows with the much-loved VARMINT. Each show features two sets: one with classic VARMINT material from the band’s release Mr. Man in the Moon, the second, THE GOLDEN ROAD - GRATEFUL DEAD 1966-1971. Varmint first did these tunes New Years' Eve 2007 in Vancouver BC, and rocked the house!

About the material

Golden Road will be playing music from Anthem of the Sun, Aoxmoxoa, Workingman's Dead, American Beauty, and with a special focus on the Dead’s first recording, the eponymously titled "Grateful Dead" including "Sittin' on Top of the World", “Cream Puff Wars”, and “Viola Lee Blue”.  Often noted as a record the Grateful Dead themselves disliked, Varmint keyboardists Wayne Horvitz notes, "To me this record represented all that was great about the San Francisco sound, it was psychedelic but also tight and even funky. Pigpen is great here, never did the vox organ sound so good, and the balance of powers in the band keeps some of the Dead's lesser instincts at bay. Even the vocal harmonies sound great. I am sure there are millions of Deadheads who will hate me for saying this, but this is Jerry Garcia at some of his best. And the record sounds great, the reverbs are killing and the drum sound is fantastic. Paired with their next record, "Anthem of the Sun", which may be the best piece of electronic music created up to that point, you have a real portrait of what was important, and a blast, about this music."

Check out Wayne's blog, "Why the Grateful Dead?" at blog.waynehorvitz.net

About the band

VARMINT is:
Robin Holcomb – Vocals
Tim Young – Guitar & Vocals
Jon Hyde –  Pedal Steel & Vocals
Wayne Horvitz – Hammond B-3 & Vocals
Andy Roth – Drums
Golden Road special guests Paul Moore and Eryn Young

VARMINT came into being on New Years Eve 2005 as a one time only covers project. It featured Robin Holcomb and Danny Barnes as the principal singers, along with Tucker Martine - drums, Tim Young - guitar, Steve Moore - wurlitzer piano, Wayne Horvitz - Hammond B-3, and Keith Lowe - bass. Shortly thereafter Horvitz and Holcomb approached Tia Freeborn (ex-O.K. Hotel) with the idea of leaving the Hammond B-3 at her newly opened bar, Lottie’s Lounge in Columbia City, and doing a weekly gig with the project. 
   
For almost two years, VARMINT maintained the weekly Tuesday gig at Lottie’s with the members of Zony Mash/Sweeter Than the Day in addition to Holcomb on vocals and Jon Hyde on pedal steel. Each week featured special guest vocalists and the band maintained a strict rule of “no original material, and no rehearsals.” Guests over the years included Reggie Garrett, Karen Pernick, The Tallboys, Dave Keenan, Grant Dermoday, Orville Johnson, Laura Veirs, Joe Miller, Casey MacGill, Del Ray, Garfield High Horns, Jed Jedrzejewski, Jim Burns, Paul Hiraga, Terri Moeller, and many more, including two Christmas shows where the entire bar sang along.

A typical night with VARMINT might include renditions by Holcomb of Black Jack Davey and Cluck Old Hen (traditional), Mister Man on the Moon (Michael Hurley), Enlightenment (Sun Ra), Dues (Ronee Blakley from the movie Nashville), the Al Green version of I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams) and Close To You (Burt Bacharach), with Tim Young singing Solitary Man (Neil Diamond) and It Won’t Be Long (Johnny Paycheck), as well as Jon Hyde singing Last Date (Floyd Cramer) and rippin‘ through the instrumental Bar Hoppin. Dave Keenan would sit in on Reuben’s Train (trad), Laura Veirs would sing Frieght Train (Elizabeth Cotton), and Arni Adler would guest on If He Swings on a String (made famous by Marlene Dietrich).

In the summer of 2006, the core band went to Montana to record at Snowghost Studios with engineer Brett Allen. In just 2 1/2 days the band burned through 20 tunes with a “catch it live while it’s hot” attitude.  With very few fixes or overdubs, these tracks, mixed over a year later, were released in February 2008, with a guest-filled CD release extravaganza at the Tractor Tavern, Seattle.