Album Notes

Sanctified Grumblers write and play acoustic music in the vein of the old blues, jug band, and old timey traditions with a sprinkling of New Orleans rhythms. The trio was formed by Chicago musicians Rick Cookin’ Sherry, founder of Devil in a Woodpile (Bloodshot Records) and uber-picker Eric Noden. Their music succeeds in the challenge of combining the sounds of music’s pre-electric past with the narration of modern universal themes; tales of love, communication break-downs, and good time grooves.

Between Noden and Sherry, Sanctified Grumblers’ sound is formed from a mesh of finger picking resonator guitar, washboard, harmonica, 6-string banjo, and clarinet. The trio’s third musical leg is alternated between the dog-house bass of Texas ex-patriot Beau Sample and the sousaphone of Mike Hogg.

The band’s first release “no lie” was released in the spring of 2011. It contains seventeen acoustic cuts, sixteen of which were penned by the band. These sessions were greatly enhanced by the skills of friends Jim Becker (Califone, Iron and Wine) on fiddle, mandolin, and saw, Mike Reed (numerous Chicago jazz projects and Pitchfork founder) on drums, and Tom V. Ray (Neko Case, Bottle Rockets, Jakob Dylan, Devil in a Woodpile) on banjo and ukelele.

Sanctified Grumblers can be heard live on a regular basis throughout Chicago, including at The Hideout on Tuesday nights, playing as they favor, sans microphones, in the front corner of the bar. The band also performs behind delta blues legend Honeyboy Edwards and Chicago harmonica great Billy Boy Arnold.