BIOGRAPHY
Twisted Timber band was formed in the spring of 2009 as an experimental project of five musicians visiting the same bluegrass jams in Prague. With Petr Šolc on double bass, Matt Whitten on guitar, Zuzka Lišková on mandolin, Pavel Bařina on banjo and Jan Bartošek on fiddle, the formation originally interpreted and covered material, then started to enrich its repertoire with original songs written by almost all the members. This led inevitably to mixing genres which crossed the boundaries of the modern bluegrass to areas of new acoustic music, acoustic pop, country, blues, folk, swing, rock or rock'n'roll. Nowadays, the original material has become the main part of the show. Lead vocalists Matt Whitten and Jan Bartošek complement each other in lead singing and often create strong duets. They are sometimes accompanied with Petr Šolc and Pavel Bařina to create beautiful 4-part harmonies. Most of the songs are presented in English, many of which are currently being contributed by mandolin player Zuzka Lišková.
Despite the short existence of the band, Twisted Timber has become a stable part of many key bluegrass music festivals across the Czech Republic. However, but on the other hand the band still enjoys gigs in smaller clubs. During the winter and the spring season, the band arranges regular shows at Carpe Diem, a club/cafe in Prague, each time with a special guest. The formation is also appreciated being able to performing abroad - it attended one of the biggest European festivals La Roche sur Foron (FR) in 2010 and twice had a chance to also feel the great atmosphere of the festival at Horná Poruba (SK). In June 2011 the band attended the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) festival in the Netherlands for the first time and in competition with more than 30 European bands, they were voted the #3 European Bluegrass Band in 2011. The band's second prestigious award is the winning the 8th annual Czech folk and related acoustic genres competition, Notování.
The first big milestone of the band was reached in May 2012, when the first CD titled "Freeride of Our Lives" was released. Containing 14 original tracks, the album consists purely from songs composed by band members and was recorded and released under GoodDay Records label.
The main goal of the band is to play good acoustic music that addresses and satisfies listeners of all ages across wide range of musical styles.
Read more...