With the release of “Live at the Delta of Venus”, the hard playing Davis, CA string band has returned to their roots to record their debut album. The 16 tracks document a period of time in the band’s history where the boys could be found playing for approving audiences at coffee shops, dive bars, concert halls, and festival stages, including a tour throughout Europe. The album is made up of original songs, inspired adaptations and fan favorites. This release has once again offered indisputable evidence they are the freshest and most exciting live band on the Davis/Sacramento bluegrass/acoustic scene.
This mad group of string-plucking UC Davis alumni coalesced in 2003 and for the ensuing years honed their craft, keeping their rabidly enthusiastic Davis fans dancing to the Mad Cow brand of high-energy acoustic string music. Somewhere along the way, the raw, youthful enthusiasm they poured into their music morphed into a highly skilled bluegrass sound. The band’s tight instrumentation and harmonies captivate the listener and conjure up images of a simpler, more perfect time in American music. The boys draw from influences ranging from the slick bluegrass new guards such as Hot Rize, the energetic old-time sounds of the contemporary Dickel Brothers, the classic high and lonesome of the Stanley/Monroe era, and even the gypsy string swing of Reinhardt and Grappelli. All multi-instrumentalist and song-writing members Tim Delaney, Alex Roth, Danny Chaves, and Andy Lentz share the stage and the microphone by swapping instruments, lead vocals, and solos on guitar, mandolin, upright bass, banjo and fiddle. Featured part-time member, Sean Feder, adds the fifth dimension on bass and banjo.
If the wildly enthusiastic crowds of Northern CA and Europe are not evidence enough, the many invitations the Mad Cow String Band has received to play alongside diverse talented performers offer testimony to the band’s growing momentum. After three years of live shows the band has shared the stage with many talented friends including old-timey giant Baby Gramps, SF’s finest Jolie Holland and Sean Hayes; blues phenom, David Jacobs-Strain; Portland bluegrass legends, Jackstraw; garage blues duo, Hillstomp. The Mad Cows have also been featured on live radio spots on KVMR in Nevada City (“Red Heaven”) and KDVS in Davis ("The Saturday Morning Folk Show" and "Cool as Folk").
For the past four years, fans have had access to the Mad Cow String Band through residencies at the Delta of Venus and Sophia’s Thai Bar in Davis. They have played throughout Northern CA, including the Bobolink Festival, Whole Earth Festival and the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival. The Mad Cows celebrated the release of “Live at the Delta of Venus” at the beautiful Palms Playhouse in Winters, CA with a highly acclaimed Bay Area band, The Stairwell Sisters, and a sold-out house. This hometown record release show was the culmination of the first chapter for the band.
www.madcowstringband.com
www.crossbillrecords.com
Review from "The Big Takeover" Issue 60:
"On their debut recording Davis, CA's Cows have the intense loose feel of a jug band, though they use a string bass rather than a jug for the bottom end. Recorded live with their fingers on fire and lots of talk about beer, the five of them trade off on banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, vocals and are joined by Keith Cary on lap steel. They've got nice harmonies and great chops and on the 11-½ minutes of string fury that is "Whisky Before Breakfast" they even include a banjo head drum solo. They cover bluegrass tunes by Bill Monroe, folk by Eric Andersen , country by Mickey Newbury and gypsy jazz by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli , plus some old-time traditional tunes and originals. Very impressive and fun."
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