Moreland & Arbuckle (USA) announce first Australian tour

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moreland & arbuckle (usa) announce first australian tour

“Deeply satisfying…gritty soul and blues with garage overtones and fire-and-brimstone vocals”  -Living Blues

“These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.” – No Depression

Guitarist Aaron Moreland—co-founder of the groundbreaking Kansas-based trio Moreland & Arbuckle—describes their music as “gritty blues and roots rock from the heartland.” Moreland, along with harmonicist/vocalist Dustin Arbuckle and drummer Kendall Newby, electrify raw Delta and Mississippi Hill Country blues, folk, and traditional country with unrelenting punk rock energy washed in hard-hitting Southern soul. Their songs are expertly executed with musical muscle and fifth-gear urgency. When they perform more traditional blues, they play with the same decisive command. With each of their six previous releases, the band has grown musically and lyrically, creating a signature sound while earning a large and loyal worldwide fan base.

Their legendary raw and raucous live shows are played with wild abandon. The New York Post says Moreland & Arbuckle have “a raw juke joint exuberance with a dirt-under-the fingernails garageband attack.” The group’s evolution continues with their Alligator Records debut Promised Land Or Bust, produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Botch, The Sword). From the howling cosmic opener Take Me With You (When You Go) to the stomping Mean And Evil to the plaintive Mount Comfort, Promised Land Or Bust is a far reaching musical showcase.

moreland & arbuckle (usa) announce first australian tour

The instantly-memorable, slice-of-life songs paint scenes of double-crossed lovers, women meaner than the devil, and isolated loners beaten down by careless love. According to Moreland, “The new album is consciously traditional but still has the signature drive and power that we have crafted over the past thirteen years.” Moreland says signing with Alligator is a perfect fit. “One of our biggest influences ever, Hound Dog Taylor, was the very first Alligator artist. One of the reasons we have the non-traditional lineup of no bass player was inspired by listening to Hound Dog’s music as we were coming up.” According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, bringing Moreland & Arbuckle to the label known for its Genuine Houserockin’ Music was an easy choice. “I’ve watched this band grow from talented interpreters of raw, traditional blues into creators of fresh, original roots-based songs.

Live, the energy just pours out of them.” Aaron Moreland was born December 16, 1974. He played in a number of garage bands while growing up and was influenced by punk music before having what he calls his “Son House moment.” Hearing the blues legend’s Death Letter Blues for the first time at age 22, he changed course, focusing his playing on nothing but acoustic blues for the next several years. Dustin Arbuckle was born December 25, 1981. He first discovered blues in his mid-teens and received what he refers to as “a calling. Getting into blues made me want to play music,” he says. He played in blues-rock bands, inspired by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, while learning to sing with deep soul and honest authority.

The two met at an open mic session in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas back in 2001 and they quickly bonded over their mutual love of blues. Less than a year later, they joined forces, their raw and energetic approach to the music melding perfectly. Soon after coming together, Moreland and Arbuckle played both as an acoustic duo and as The King Snakes, a four piece electric band. Keeping a bass player proved difficult, and they soon found they made a better sound without one, as Moreland kept the rhythm thumping on his guitar while Arbuckle took the music into overdrive with his harmonica and vocals.

The band quickly became local heroes, filling clubs beyond capacity. It wasn’t long before they started touring larger cities around the country, earning new fans with every performance. From their 2005 self-release Caney Valley Blues to 2013’s 7 Cities on Telarc, Moreland & Arbuckle have grown from a fiery, crowd-pleasing duo to a genre smashing three-piece band. Together, Moreland’s simultaneous bass, rhythm and lead guitar work and Arbuckle’s emotionally-charged harmonica and edgy vocals—driven by Newby’s propulsive drumming— create a sound that is forceful enough to grab a listener’s attention and nuanced enough to hold it. American Songwriter says the group’s music is “swampy, sweaty and muggy…mixing a bluesy foundation with bits of country, folk and squawking American rock and roll.” WNYC’s Soundcheck says the band plays “gritty blues with a thoroughly contemporary bite.”

Over the course of their career, Moreland & Arbuckle have played hundreds of shows and have logged hundreds of thousands of road miles (recently replacing their van after driving it over 400,000 miles), performing in the United States, Canada and across Europe. In 2008 they spent 10 days in Iraq, playing for the troops. They’ve shared stages with ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lonely Boys. They’ll return to the road in support of the new album, with dates in the United States, Europe and beyond.

No Depression says, “These guys have kegs full of talent. Their songs will keep you driving fast and long.” Now, with Promised Land Or Bust, Moreland & Arbuckle are ready to bust it all wide open. Arbuckle calls the new album “our best yet,“ and says, “we continue to evolve musically outside of the box we started in, but the bedrock—the blues —is always there.”

Moreland adds, “We consciously went back to where we started and it took us to a brand new place.” That new place is clearly part of Moreland & Arbuckle’s never ending musical journey. And for them and their ever-growing fan base, there’s no turning back now.


MORELAND & ARBUCKLE AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Saturday 18th February

Holler Roots Music Festival

Caravan Music Club

95-97 Drummond St Oakleigh VIC

Ph: 03 9568 1432

www.caravanmusic.com.au


Sunday 19th February

Spotted Mallard

314 Sydney Rd Brunswick VIC

Ph: 03 9380 8818

spottedmallard.com


Monday 20th February

Prince Bandroom

29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda VIC

Ph: 03 9536 1168

Dinner & show tickets also available

www.princebandroom.com.au


Wednesday 22nd February

Stag & Hunter

187 Maitland Rd, Mayfield NSW

Ph: 02 4968 1205

stagandhunter.com.au


Thursday 23rd February

Black Bear Lodge

322 Brunswick St Fortitude Valley QLD

www.blackbearlodge.com.au


Friday 24th February

Soundlounge

165 Duringan St Currumbin QLD

Ph: 07 5534 7999

soundlounge.com.au


Saturday 25th February

The Basement

7 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW

Ph: 02 9251 2797

Dinner & show tickets also available

www.thebasement.com.au


Sunday 26th February

The Brass Monkey

115A Cronulla St, Cronulla NSW

Ph: 02 9544 3844

brassmonkey.com.au


Tickets to all shows available at

www.morelandarbuckleaustralia.com   

The beauty on Promised Land or Bust is that Moreland & Arbuckle approach their spiritual and carnal as inseparable, bound together in their rowdy, soulful, infectious sound; it’s all killer, no filler. What really sets this band apart from virtually every modern blues act is that their energy, rawness and virtuosic instrumental skill are matched by their songwriting. Brilliant…considerable firepower…roots inspirations of Mississippi Delta and Hill Country blues, electric roadhouse boogies and heartland hard rock. The emotional depth in Arbuckle’s vocal is underscored by his haunted harmonica and Moreland’s supercharged guitar breaks…Squalling, scorching slide…grungy, gritty, bluesy country-rock. Smoking and scorching. –AllMusic, May 4, 2016 by Thom Jurek
http://www.allmusic.com/album/promised-land-or-bust-mw0002928237
 
Blessed with an independent spirit and clear vision, Moreland & Arbuckle continue to walk the thin line between tradition and something yet to be defined. The band has created a stubbornly idiosyncratic musical blend that defies easy categorization. It has the grit and history of blues, replete with murder ballads, open tunings, slides and mouth harp. There’s an energy and sense of adventure that comes from the rock element of their sound. Dynamic, glimmering, insistent rhythms fire, Arbuckle emotes more deeply and passionately than in in the past. Moreland’s playing crackles with inventiveness. The trio’s wit, diversity and overall commitment to music that elevates, impresses and succeeds in giving the listener a good time. –Popmatters.com, May 4, 2016 by Jedd Beaudoin http://www.popmatters.com/review/moreland-arbuckle-promised-land-or-bust/
 
Raw, potent blend of roots rock …Droning stomps shot through with straight-ahead, Hill Country-style rhythms. Moreland pours molten, furious, bloodcurdling fretwork. Arbuckle’s lyrical harp licks and clear, full-throated vocals shine. –Living Blues, June 2016 by Melanie Young
 
Shamanistic guttural yet soulful and melodic and that is only a description of lead vocalist Dustin Arbuckle’s vocals. His grungy harmonica playing also adds to the no holds barred approach by this very talented three piece band. Aaron Moreland also plays mean guitars and can change the mood and tone of any track they play. Add thrashing percussion in form of Kendall Newby and that is the finished article and live performances at times are mesmeric. This eleven track release has it all…eclectic musical mix. Mississippi swamp howling vocals. Haunting…fueled with passion and rage. Raw with a traditional twist, this is a masterpiece of changing the rules. –Blues Matter, June 2016
 
Promised Land Or Bust makes it obvious the Moreland & Arbuckle are a natural for the genuine houserockin’ label. They have a huge sound, raw and dirty…hill country blues rooted with a deep, throbbing groove…storming down-home…plenty of wailing harp. A fine set, particularly if you like your music lowdown, dirty and loud. –Blues & Rhythm (UK), NO. 310, June 2016 by Norman Darwen
 
Hard charging, noteworthy, and satisfying…. Moreland & Arbuckle have ascended into top tier territory with this new and exciting release. Beginning with the very first track, they scorch a path to the last one. Song craft is their hallmark. Taste is another. Arbuckle’s yearning vocal and sinuous harp carry the melody wrapped in a low-down aural tapestry. Moreland plays imaginative, gritty slide-guitar. 
Throughout, Dustin Arbuckle and Aaron Moreland find a place between joy and pathos with beguiling songs and adroit performances. –Blues Music Magazine, July 2016 by M.E. Travaglini
 
For two guys, a drummer and some guests they hit extraordinary noise-levels; the unwary listener reels back as if struck in the face by a Marshall amp. Exhilarating. 4/4 Stars. –MOJO, August 2016

Mick Pacholli

Mick created TAGG - The Alternative Gig Guide in 1979 with Helmut Katterl, the world's first real Street Magazine. He had been involved with his fathers publishing business, Toorak Times and associated publications since 1972.  Mick was also involved in Melbourne's music scene for a number of years opening venues, discovering and managing bands and providing information and support for the industry. Mick has also created a number of local festivals and is involved in not for profit and supporting local charities.        

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