GREAT AMERICAN TAXI

Great American Taxi is Vince Herman (vocals, guitar, mandolin), Chad Staehly (keys, vocals), Jim Lewin (guitar, vocals), Chris Sheldon (drums, vocals) and Brian Adams (bass, vocals). On their latest release, Paradise Lost (produced by Todd Snider), the band enlisted master folk musicians Tim O'Brien, Barry Sless, and Elizabeth Cook to tackle songs about working class, blue-collar issues while maintaining Taxi's signature upbeat, country-, bluegrass-, rock-infused, Americana-without-borders feel.

"I believe in the power of music and songs that can generate the energy to do something," explains Herman. "Politics should be in music; everything's politics, especially music. Songwriting can draw attention to appropriate issues of our times." The band holds no bars in confronting current issues like mountaintop removal, nuclear energy, poor economic conditions, or a soldier returning home from war.

"Taxi's latest release has shed the jamming and gone for the throat with focused song writing and tight musical arrangements," adds Staehly. "The album combines 'folky' elements with straight ahead bluegrass that was propelled by Tim O'Brien playing fiddle, banjo and mandolin on several numbers mixed with equal parts rock 'n' roll — think early-'70s country-rock Rolling Stones."


POOR MAN'S WHISKEY

Northern California’s outlaw music bards bring a reputation for high-energy live shows and an incomparable fusion of bluegrass/old time, southern rock, and old school jam to stages and festivals world wide.  This “High-Octane Hootenanny” will certainly delight those interested in a foot-stompin good time.  Poor Man’s Whiskey has evolved into a ragged, spontaneous beast pulling from equally deep wells of story-telling originals, expertly crafted covers and zany on-stage shenanigans.

PMW has released 6 studio albums, “Like a River”, released in 2012, “Goodbye California” (2011), “Dark Side of the Moonshine” (a double disk set featuring original music as well as the bluegrass interpretation of the Pink Floyd classic album)  (2009), “Roadside Attraction”(2005),  “Train to California” (2003),  and “Hunnerd Proof”(2002).