Edmonton string band the Whiskey Sheikhs are all about having fun with no strings or wires attached.
“ You won’t be listening to someone singing pages from their diary,” said Whiskey Sheiks frontman Mike Poddurney who plays guitar, bass and sings.
They are excited to come to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Dec. 12. While they have never played Lethbridge proper, they were a highlight of this year’s South Country Fair.
The band also includes Jared “J Money” Armstrong who also plays bass and sings; Brom Ollivierre who plays mandolin and kazoo; Cam “ Bad News Boyce” Boyce on fiddle; Dustin Lambert on tenor banjo and spoons player Andrew “Woj” Wojciowsky.
They formed in 2012 and though they released a rough demo a few years ago, released their first official CD “100 % Pure String Mash” in August.
“ It’s always been about string band music. It’s string band music with traditional instruments. There’s six of us and no percussion except for the spoons,” he said adding they had a drummer in the beginning, but he moved on.
They just enjoy playing though don’t tour a lot.
“We tour in the summer when everyone has more free time and there’s festivals,” he said adding they will play anywhere.
“If we get tired of playing in the basement we can just go and busk at the corner of Whyte Avenue and Calgary Trail,” he said.
“We listen to Woody Guthrie and jazz greats like Cab Calloway and the Mississippi Sheiks. We just like the sound of the music. There’s a lot more opportunities our kind of music,” he said.
“ We’re traveling with our friends the Midnight Crisis who have a gig somewhere else (The Slice for CKXU's Holiday Extravaganza),” he said.
They recorded and released their CD within six weeks.
“ The whole process was six weeks. We recorded it all in one day live off the floor in our friend Stu’s studio. Then we designed the cover and got it ready to sell,” he said adding a lot of other bands will spend a lot of time and money playing with their sound.
“ Our sound is a little more raw. It’s a big sound,” he continued.
Their current tour includes a stop in Calgary, Dec. 11 and a radio appearance on the University of Calgary Radio station CJSW.
“We like to have a good time. We want people to be pumped up. There isn’t a lot of sitting down in your seats at our show. Have a good time. That’s what we do.
The Whiskey Sheikhs play Dec. 12 at the Owl Acoustic Lounge at 9 p.m. There is no cover for the show.
