Album Notes

"Rubblebucket Orchestra are one of the most exciting groups to come out of Boston in recent memory..." - Seven Days

Rubblebucket is a ten-piece psychedelic poly-rock band feat. trumpeter/composer Alex Toth and vocalist/saxophonist Kalmia Traver (both members of cutting edge nationally renowned reggae band John Brown’s Body). Four piece horn section, alluring lead vocals, and a harp-like West African stringed instrument called an N’goni. Their vibe is like Bjork meets Fela Kuti meets James Brown. "The result is a genre-mashing maelstrom of hot-blooded West African funk rhythms and scorching soul melodies unlike anything that’s come before it." - Dan Bolles, Seven Days.

Rubblebucket Orchestra was born in June of 2007, out of a milk plant in Vermont. One balmy eve, two lovers – trumpeter Alex Toth and singer/saxist Kalmia Traver, who devote their lives to music and art – came head to head with percussionist/n'goni player Craig Myers. An improvised happening of rhythm and melody soared through the air at a party at Burlington's Hood Plant. Everything emerged on the spot and everything clicked. (Born and raised in Vermont, Myers has been traveling around the world his entire life. When he was 18, he was shot in the jaw by a bandit in Carlsbad, New Mexico and his life flashed before his eyes. He went on to live in West Africa for some time, immersing himself in the world of African drumming.)

Toth brought together young and feisty musicians from diverse musical backgrounds – including funk & soul, noise, avant-guard, German pop, West-African drum and dance, bebop, classical, and indie rock. By September of 2007, after a month of serious rehearsals and with the first tour around the corner, they knew they needed a name. Myers and German drummer Andreas Brade had both worked as stone masons, and so the band decided on the name of a tool the two used in their work: a rubblebucket.

The band now functions like a family, especially when they travel; like the cultish big bands of the 50's, they make their meals together, sleep en masse on open floors, and love and believe in the music. They have made several rounds throughout the northeast in NYC, Boston, Vermont and upstate NY. They are already drawing crowds of up to 300 and booking legendary clubs like Smalls, Canal Room, and Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.

The first tracks of Rubblebucket's debut album, "Rose's Dream," were laid down in October, 2007, when the band had only been together for three weeks. In just seven months as a band, Rubblebucket has built a glowing and die-hard following, released a solid album, and forged its own genre of music. Major dance vibrations, colorful style, big PSYCHEDELIC SOUL sound with fresh beats, plump horns and alluring vocals – Rubblebucket Orchestra sparks and dots, zig-zags of desire!