J. Roddy Walston is a force of nature. If his hits like Heavy Bells is are a war cry, then the
deep cuts like Boys Can Never Tell are a tac@cal cosmic retreat. For some, his music is a
form of religion, psychedelic in its intensity, transforma@ve in its grip on the body,
shaking loose something primal that’s been buried too long. It’s not about thinking, It’s
about moving, feeling, surrendering. His influences are a riot of contradic@ons: Kurt
Cobain’s fury, Nilsson’s fractured sweetness, Zeppelin’s power, and somewhere in there
a perverted nod to William Onyeabor’s lonely calculator funk. Cri@cs try to box him in,
but Walston can’t be contained—he does chaos, and his live shows do damage, but
fortunately his songs can pay the tab. Catch him and his band before he burns it all
down again.
Strange Vine's earthy, energetic music is a fusion of blues, psychedelic, and traditional American rock. It's a sound born of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, from two men who were raised there. Ian Blesse plays drums and Rhodes piano (simultaneously), while Toby Cordova fleshes out the songs with a rotating arsenal of guitars (including one made from a cigar box). Both contribute vocals toward a rich, layered sound that's greater than the sum of its parts.
SV has supported/toured with acts like Cage The Elephant, Los Lobos, Cold War Kids, Robin Trower, Delta Spirit, B.B. King, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lord Huron, Band Of Skulls, The Record Company, Kurt Vile, Cedric Burnside, Meat Puppets, Matt and Kim, FUZZ (Ty Segall), The Growlers, The Bones Of J.R. Jones, Bob Log III, Jackie Greene, The Mother Hips, Nick Waterhouse, White Denim, Reignwolf…..
