Wonky Tonk

Meanwhile, Darling's Seedy Seeds co-founder Mike Ingram has been busy as a road sound technician, but he has found time to work with a new collaborator, great local singer/songwriter/guitarist Jasmine Poole, who works under the name Wonky Tonk.

Ingram (who harmonizes and plays guitar) and Poole have been working on new Wonky Tonk material and, given their hectic schedules, they even created a cyber-concert for fans to check out while they wait for it. - Mike Breen

"Last to play was Wonky Tonk. Originally Jasmine Poole’s solo act, she’s added a few new friends to share the stage. A week after their album release party at the Southgate House, Wonky Tonk’s live show is like an eclectic Woody Guthrie concert that a few indie rockers decided to revamp with melodica and xylophone, alongside guitar, mandolin and upright bass."

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/entertainment/bearcast_puts_on_show-1.1320640 - Sean Peters

8:30 p.m. Wonky Tonk (Fort Thomas, Ky.)
Acoustic Folk
Wonky Tonk makes sweetly naive Folk music that has the off kilter lilt of Bjork raised in the Midwest and brought up on Woody Guthrie songs. She says she sounds like "Janis Joplin buying Dylan at Walgreens." That could be every bit as right. See Wonky Tonk warbling with her acoustic guitar and make up your own mind.
Dig It: Scout Niblett translating Melanie's catalog as Dust Bowl Folk songs. (BB)

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-16176-midpoint-saturday-sept-27.html - Mike Breen

We all are familiar with the moments when some stranger stumbles
along life’s path and the scenery seen from our vantage point seems to
be forever altered for the rest of the venturing. Jasmine Poole is
precisely that kind of person for me. The first time I met Jasmine, I
was ordering another round of a drink called “grasshopper”—part vodka,
part pineapple juice—at some abandoned church located between somewhere
I’d been and somewhere I’ll most likely never go. Little did I know who
Jasmine was, and I certainly didn’t know that a few months later she
would be one of my favorite Cincinnati artists. You might have heard of
her, actually—she goes by a little something called Wonky Tonk.


One month Jasmine picks up the guitar and starts piddling around. A
couple months later, she met Moriah Lawson, who, with roots deep in the
bluegrass tradition, wipes the floors with mandolin and fiddle skills
that leaves your jaw swigging behind your stumbling footsteps. Throw
Nick Mitchell (melodica, mandolin, xylophone), Thom Curran (upright
bass) and Eric Cronstein (banjo) into the mix, add a few months of
practicing together, and the result is the wonderwork called Wonky
Tonk.

It only took eight months between Jasmine’s initial
experimenting for the band to become one of Cincinnati’s most popular
bluesy-folk bands. Call it destiny, fate, the will of some god or
goddess—the stars have certainly aligned for this band and the ground
their seeds fell on is giving rise to a crop that will nourish all who
come to their fields to listen and play. See, while Jasmine performs
every show with a smile and energy like there are daisies growing
through beer-stained hardwood floors, her energy derives from a full
heart and heartfelt desire to do something with her opportunities.

Just
what it is she wants to do is as vague as it is beautiful. When I
recently asked her if she wants to “make it big,” she told me, “Make it
big. Music is a job, an art, a life. I would be cheating myself, the
band and the world... man that's a bold statement (lauhgs)... if we
just stayed in Cincinnati. I am in it for the love of the music. And
the storytelling. I honestly do not care **** about the money or the
fame. What I care about is making a music, telling a story, meeting new
people, telling their story, traveling from town to town, never
stopping, hopefully having food and a shower here and there. I want to
play music always and I want to bring sunshine to the world, exhume the
forgotten dreams.” Maybe you can start seeing why Jasmine is affecting
some bloke she has said “hi” to maybe three times.
Wonky Tonk released Super Holy Fantastic
in late January. The title of the album reminds me of how Jasmine views
the world in general: “I love people and the beauty within them. Too
often is everyone bogged down by routine and what society tells them;
complacency rots the masses and makes dreams invisible. I like to
travel and hear people's stories, and remind them that life is what
they make it. I will travel to the ends of the Earth spreading that
message... and music seems to be a nice medium.” Wonky Tonk not only
lures me in with their quirky yet authentic lyrics and astounding array
of folk genres, the band humbles and inspires me to use my activities
for purposes much bigger than little ole me here in Cincinnati.
Friday,
February 13th, starts Wonky Tonk’s tour. They are leaving from
Cincinnati to venture to NYC, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and who knows
where else. I’m not even sure Jasmine would know. However, what I know
is that when I hear a youngster like Jasmine talk about how determined
she is to use her abilities to bring others a sense of joy and
happiness in the world we all experience daily, I realize that each
strum of the guitar, each pluck on the mandolin, each story she and I
and we all tell... if it’s not doing something to sprout up another
crop of enriching nourishment, then no matter what the work or the
medium of art, it’s pretty much pointless.

Chris Green

http://www.tracermagazine...com/index.php?option=com_c..ontent&task=view&id=229&It..emid=1

- Chris Green/Tracer Magazine.

My evening started at Javier's for Wonky Tonk's performance. I've been
listening to her music since Michael Oliva from The Harlequins
introduced me to it about six months ago. Self-described as "Janis
Joplin buying Bob Dylan at Walmart", Jasmine Poole means something
completely different to me. Her musical influences are outshined by her
sincere energy, soulful voice, and incredible stage presence. Certainly
as colorful as Joplin, Wonky Tonk is Kentucky's very own Bjork. I also
hear some Modest Mouse influence but Poole's sound is certainly her own.

http://adjustyoureyes.blogspot.com/ - Adjust Your Eyes

Wonky Tonk – Get On The Train
Wonky Tonk makes sweetly naive Folk music that has the off kilter lilt of Bjork raised in the Midwest and brought up on Woody Guthrie songs. She says she sounds like “Janis Joplin buying Dylan at Walgreens.” That could be every bit as right. (BB)


http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-16884-the-year-in-cincy-recordings.html - City Beat

Friday night, after spending the evening riding car shuttles up and down Main Street for four hours, I returned home and searched around online for some MidPoint Music Festival feedback.

I’d just been blown away by the turnout and quality of music I’d seen and wanted to make sure I wasn’t being biased because I happen to work for CityBeat, which has taken over MidPoint for this, its seventh year. After checking some music message boards and discovering that a lot of people were having the same experience, I came across an article in the Northern Kentucky University student newspaper about a young local singer/songwriter named Jasmine Poole, who has been playing around town for the past several months as Wonky Tonk.

In the article, Poole enthused about the festival and being chosen to perform. In a video clip, Poole’s enthusiasm was even clearer.

“To be able to say that I played a festival with those people,” Poole says in the video, with genuine wide-eyed awe, “… I can die now.”

It’s the kind of enthusiasm that, as organizers of the event, we dreamt about when putting it together. (Poole, by the way, played a great acoustic set at Mexican restaurant Javier’s to a very receptive audience, despite the early start time.) While CityBeat added signed, more widely known artists this year, the festival was still mostly about new,unsigned acts eager to participate in, learn from and have fun at MidPoint.

Local and regional music fans also seemed to have an amazing time at the event; thousands flocked downtown and to Newport over the fest’s three days. While the Southgate House hosted big-shot shows by Robert Pollard and Mates of State, the festival was mostly based in downtown Cincinnati, a part of town that has seen many ups and downs, in terms of entertainment, over the past seven or so years. By concentrating on venues a little further in to town, on and around Main Street, the obligatory panhandling feeding frenzy of past MidPoints was largely eliminated.

Scion, one of the event’s biggest sponsors, provided a fleet of “shuttles” that allowed fest-goers to quickly dart from one end of the festival to the other, making it easier for fans to catch more acts. The shuttles — inspired by the proposal for a streetcar system in Cincinnati — were a huge hit.

The quality of music at this year’s MidPoint also seemed to be at an all-time high. Part of that was the addition of nationally-known acts, but many of the independent, unsigned artists — from both Cincinnati and out of town — provided highlights.

While Robert Pollard debuted his new band, Boston Spaceships, at the Southgate House Thursday, a five-piece Indie Rock band from Cleveland called Scrimshaw was crammed into a corner at downtown restaurant Buddakhan’s Classic Rock Café, playing some intense, visceral Afghan Whigs-inspired sounds that sucked in a few of the small but faithful crowd (including, of course, the obligatory drunk couple stumbling around the front of the “stage” in an effort to “dance”).

This scene repeated itself all weekend: Popular bands drew massive crowds and less popular ones drew well, too (every venue was at or near capacity the whole weekend), bringing their A-games so perhaps they could do the same next year. Not that there weren’t complaints.

Non-U.S. bands like Lonely China Day (from China) and The Mocks (from Mexico) received mixed reactions. On Thursday especially, time slots had to be shifted around due to last-second cancellations, meaning fans were waiting around certain venues for bands that weren’t showing up and other artists had to play earlier, confusing the matter even more.

At The Subway, the amazing Punk Funk trio The Read played a short, blazing set almost an hour early, due to a car wreck on the way to the fest by Columbus’ Blastronauts (they’re OK; their van is totaled). A small crowd saw The Read deliver another typically intense set, but most of their fans showed up at 10 p.m., missing them by about a half hour. Suggestion for next year: sandwich boards outside every venue with the updated schedule posted. Maybe smoke signals?

On Saturday night, Know Theatre grew more and more packed in anticipation of a “secret show” at midnight.

Superb Hip Hop artists Yoshi (Ann Arbor) and God Made Me Funky (Canada) kept the venue hopping. Even Funk legend Bootsy Collins stopped by. When Radio 4 was announced as the secret band from the stage, there was a mixof “Who?” murmurs and instant recognition. Even those disappointed that the secret wasn’t quite special enough had to admit that Radio 4’s Go-Go/Gang of Four/Clash-like take on Funk and Dance music was a great way to close out the fest. But the highlights definitely outweighed the lowlights.

Without further ado, here’s this year’s edition of the MPMFYs, spotlighting some of the best moments from MidPoint’s seventh year.

Best Immigration Reform Commentary
It was quick and cute, but The Mocks — an Electronic duo featuring a bassist, laptop beats and singer Ely Mock — introduced themselves as “from Mexico,” and then Ely added with a smirk, “We come in peace.” Don’t worry, Ely, you’re always welcome in Cincinnati (Butler County might be a different matter).

Best Pre-Fest Press
Despite some internal worries about being a media outlet trying to get the attention of other media competitors, Cincinnati’s TV, blog and print media were fantastically supportive of the festival. All four local TV networks did coverage and even our fellow weekly paper, Cin Weekly, did a giant spread previewing the event. But the best sign that CityBeat is going in the right direction with MidPoint? Over at the Neus Subjex message boards — the most snotty, Punk Rock message boards in the land — a thread was started that was titled, “MidPoint actually decent.” We have officially arrived (even if someone did humorlessly say that the festival was “like the Mad Frog exploded all over Cincinnati”).

Best Nightlife Juxtaposition
Because of the deficiency of live music venues in downtown Cincinnati, several unexpected clubs took a chance on MidPoint. At the Inner Peace Center, the smell of incense made for some nice aroma therapy throughout the event, while Javier’s provided delicious burrito relief. But at dance club The Lodge and party-bar Cadillac Ranch, the clubs’ regulars made for some bizarre culture clashes. At the Ranch, a bachelorette party (complete with giant inflatable penis) gathered around the club’s mechanical bull while bands from as far away as Israel did their best to ignore the mayhem just a few feet away. Alas, it was all quite peaceful, and both clubs should be commended for supporting the event.

Best Place to Escape
The “black box” theater at the Aronoff Center, as it was often referred to, was properly nicknamed. A small black box with a stage. When the lights went down and artists like Wussy, The Purrs, Why? and Headlights played, the back of the crowd was lost in the darkness. Someone could have been making a hydrogen bomb in the back of that place and no one would have known.

Best Marathon Set
Bob Pollard loves the Southgate House (his favorite venue in the country!) and he always brings the Rock when he plays there. Despite debuting a brand new band, Boston Spaceships, he still managed a two-hour-plus show that lived up to the Guided by Voices legacy (he even played a couple of GBV faves for the faithful at the end). Why this didn’t sell out I’ll never know.

Best Improvised ’80s Cover
Knoxville MPMF vets The Rockwells were impressive at the New Stage Collective on Thursday night. The band — known for their perfect Pop Rock and slaying sense of humor — were setting up their gear when Men at Work’s “Overkill” came over the P.A. One by one, the members started playing along, ending with a full chorus before returning to soundchecking.

Best Touching Moment
The members of Chicago's Oh My God haven't been in Cincinnati since they were involved in a near-fatal car accident last year on the way to a show here at The Gypsy Hut. During their anticipated set Thursday, the feeling of "Ain't it great just to be alive" pervaded the band's fiery performance. At one point, singer Billy O'Neill reached over and grabbed the hand of a super-fan who had been standing close and singing every song. A spine-tingling testament to the healing and uplifting powers of music.

Best Working Title
At Wussy's Saturday night set at the Aronoff Center, the band played a few new songs on their new album (which will be out locally by the end of the year). Singer Chuck Cleaver announced one new song as "CEA, Here We Come," jokingly referencing the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (the band has won several).

Best Kept Secret (Mostly)
Some were in heaven and some were bummed about the "secret show" band being Brooklyn's Radio 4. The secret was kept pretty well (some fun guesses: Gang of Four, MGMT, Does it Offend You, Yeah?) but by Saturday word had spread. There were a few people shocked (for better or worse), but it's hard to keep a secret like that in this crazy cyber age. The secret show will be back next year!

Best Adaptive Band
The U.K.'s Spectrum played Thursday at the Blue Wisp and, knowing the band's connection to Spaceman 3, many were eager for a wall of sound shoegaze set. But the Blue Wisp is a Jazz club and the owners weren't too keen on a loud blast of PsychRock. So Spectrum simply turned it down, turning their trippy soundscapes into trippy little muted Pop songs. Maybe not the best thing for newcomers to the band, but fans truly got a rare experience.

Best Reason to Do This All Again
Where to begin? Let's just say, from my completely unbiased perspective (wink), MidPoint is the best time of the year for music fans. The party will be back in 2009, bigger than ever.

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-16130-thats-a-wrap.html - Mike Breen

Music from 22 states and six countries will invade Cincinnati Sept. 25 to Sept. 27 for the Midpoint Music Festival and one of Northern's own will be playing with the group.

Jasmine Poole, known as Wonky Tonk in the music world, will be playing the festival.

According to her Web site, Poole describes her genre as folk/indie/bluegrass. She began using the name Wonky Tonk in March and is the sole member of the group. Quickly attaining many shows and achieving much notoriety, Poole sees this opportunity as a dream come true.

"It's like I could die now, it's a dream come true," Poole said.

Midpoint music festival, sponsored for the first time by "CityBeat," a Cincinnati entertainment weekly, is an independent music festival that's coming to Cincinnati for its seventh year. Bands, whose sounds range from hip-hop to country to electronica, play in a wide variety of venues throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, such as the Southgate House and Cadillac Ranch (in downtown Cincinnati). The festival attracts many record label representatives as well.

Poole said the opportunity to play with such a diverse groups as an honor.

"I have respect for all these bands, and to play with them is an honor," she said. "Although I don't fit in, which is what makes Midpoint the incredible festival it is. It brings in all the outsiders, the deviants, the folks who are talented but haven't had a chance to showcase their talents."

Not just anybody can play Midpoint. Bands must submit their music with a strong press kit for themselves through "CityBeat's" Web site. Once received, a panel of judges scores the music and press kit. The highest scoring bands get in. Judges, however, do make exceptions for bands who are outrageously good but don't have a strong press kit.

Since "CityBeat" runs the show, there have been some changes to the festival, according to Dan Bockrath, general manager and co-publisher for the weekly independent paper.

"Past festivals have focused exclusively on independent, unsigned bands," he said. "One of the changes we've made is adding notable regional and national bands to the showcase lineup." A notable regional band is Robert Pollard's Boston Spaceships.

Bockrath sees the festival not as a huge chance to get a band signed to a record label, but more as an "opportunity for a band to come to town and get in front of an enthusiastic crowd of music lovers primed and ready to be fans."

Wonky Tonk plays at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Ink Tank, located at 1311 Main St. Cincinnati.

For more info on Midpoint, a complete schedule, and tickets visit their website at MPMF.com, or Citybeat.com.

http://media.www.thenortherner.com/media/storage/paper527/news/2008/09/24/ArtsEntertainment/Student.To.Perform.At.Midpoint.Music.Festival-3448705.shtml - Mark Payne

Last to play was Wonky Tonk. Originally Jasmine Poole’s solo act, she’s
added a few new friends to share the stage. A week after their album
release party at the Southgate House, Wonky Tonk’s live show is like an
eclectic Woody Guthrie concert that a few indie rockers decided to
revamp with melodica and xylophone, alongside guitar, mandolin and
upright bass.

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/entertainment/bearcast_puts_on_show-1.1320640

- Sean Peters

Jasmine Poole, 20, is a graduate of Highlands High School and a student majoring in political science at Northern Kentucky University. She performs under the name Wonky Tonk and spent last summer perfecting her craft by performing in clubs in New England and along the east coast with two other musicians.

Her songs are folk like but difficult to categorize. “I write verses in my notebook, and usually around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning start playing little ditties on my guitar,” she said. “When I like something, I pull out my notebook to see if any verses fit the rift I’m playing. It can be very therapeutic.”

Jasmine plays guitar and banjo on stage and has recently added a fiddle player and other musicians to her band. The focus, however, remains on Jasmine. She has a unique voice and her songs are sweet and clever. She stands out on stage in her country/western outfits, cowboy boots and large sunglasses. Her mannerisms and small talk between songs are worth the price of admission alone.

Jasmine says she sounds like “Janis Joplin buying Dylan at Walgreens.” We can’t argue with that.

She also works as an independent contractor for producers of commercials and music videos. Recently, she worked on music video shoots for Feist and Death Cab for Cutie. Jasmine has also worked on commercials for KFC, Speedway and Kroger.

Jasmine has recorded an EP of her original music. It can be purchased at Slow Owl Recordings, Amazon and Napster. Copies are also available at any of Jasmine’s live performances. She’ll be at Arnolds in Cincinnati on January 2 and at the Southgate House in Newport on January 24.

In her spare time Jasmine works out as a member of the boxing team at Northern Kentucky University. Needless to say, she is totally unique.
- Fort Thomas Living

Wonk, the New Punk
Fresh Folk Rock/Bluegrass/Indie trio hits the road like true warriors
By C.A. MacConnell
. . . . . . .

Once upon a time she had a Chuck Taylor collection. Now, cowboy boots. Around seven pairs, less than $5 apiece.

This day, Wonky Tonk (acoustic guitar, vocals, banjo) wears white, fringed boots. Her clothes are littered with mismatched stripes and stars. She has a crooked pierced lip, a pierced nose and some tats to brag about.

She chews fruity gum. Hates mint. A flower hangs from her straight, edgy hair. Vibrant and vegan, she often eats pretzels and Oreos on tour.

Wonky grew up here, yeah, but she stumbles over the answer: "It's been alright singing and all. People are pretty nice, but I can't stay here. Let's find a way to get out. Music. Keep on keepin' on."

Only 20, still in school, she's studying political science.

"I wanna write songs like John Lennon," she explains, "and fill the more folky side of Wonky Tonk with some sort of political undertones."

Wonky taught herself guitar a few years ago, but banjo is her baby.

"If you're a musician, there are some instruments you pick up and you're like, 'This is home,' " she says. "I pick up banjo and I can't play it traditional Bluegrass style, but it just makes sense. I'm like, 'OK, I know exactly where to go.' "

She does. A natural songwriter, Wonky's solo performances quickly earned her a 2008 Cincinnati Entertainment Award nomination for New Artist of the Year.

In her free time, Wonky freelances in the film business; her credits include work on music videos for Feist and Death Cab for Cutie. At one wrap party in Dayton, Wonky coincidentally met Moriah Lawson, who happened to be hanging out there with a friend. Grabbing their instruments, the two jammed at a hotel, and they've been playing together every since.

"She's badass," Wonky says.

Lawson (fiddle, mandolin, vocals) lives in Jacksonburg, Ohio, a town "with like 43 people and 20 cows," Wonky says. Apparently Lawson hates shoes.

Of Lawson, bandmate Nick Mitchell says, "She's amazing. Since she was like 8 she's had banjos, fiddles, everything just lying around her house. She can pick up anything. She plays in her family's Bluegrass band (The Lawson Reunion).

"She can play acoustic guitar like Tony Rice. She's a really good singer, too. You'll hear her all over that (points to CD). She dominates."

Mitchell (melodica, mandolin, piano, vocals) was a 2008 CEA winner in the Experimental/ Electronic category with his other band, Chick Pimp Coke Dealer at a Bar. With moppy hair and a kind, oval face, Mitchell always wears flip flops whatever the weather. The bare-toed one has a Rock star job: delivering pizza. Mitchell met Wonky and Lawson at a show at the Mad Hatter in Covington.
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Related to:wonkyhermusictonksomejanbanjopick

"Moriah and I were watching him play synthesizer," Wonky says, "and I was like, 'I love him. He's in Wonky Tonk now.' "

And then there were three. Since March of this year.

"It's fresh and going strong," Wonky says. "It's happening fast, but it's quality still. We recorded Super Holy Fantastic in two nights and it's awesome if I must say so myself. I think it's pretty badass for us to come together and just be like, 'Let's get it done.' Every day, we live in Neverland.

"We all sleep in my queen size bed together."

After Mitchell and I bond over our dislike of Chipotle, Wonky admits her crush on Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock.

"He is the essence of me," she says.

Throw in some Johnson Mountain Boys, Björk, the Avett Brothers and Mirah, and Wonky Tonk is somewhere in the mix.

"'Wonk' is the new word for Punk, so we just use it all the time," Mitchell says. "Moriah has a Bluegrass background, but I think we (he and Wonky) have more Punk and Rock influences. We just happen to like the sound of these instruments.

"Didn't really see it coming. I like our sound and stuff, but we've already talked about electronic sounds. She wants me to bring my synthesizer. I don't know how we're gonna make it work, but I know we will."

"We're phasing into this stage," Wonky adds. "The way that I view it is, if we wanna play something, let's do it, even if it doesn't sound 'Wonky Tonk.' We don't have to create another project for it."

She says songs will still be guitar- and banjo-based, but they'll mess around within the limits. Get on the Train was Wonky Tonk's first full-length CD. After a slew of local shows, the band will hit the road in February, promoting Super Holy Fantastic, the brand spanking new four-song EP recorded at a bought-out church, aka Soap Floats Recording Studio.

With New York gigs booked and other out-of-town shows in the works, Wonky says, "We're trying to go to South By Southwest 'cause I applied. Even if we don't get in, Austin is still gonna be bumpin' at that same time with music going on, so we're taking the tour out there. That's kind of the ultimate goal."

The hope is to tour year-round.

"If we could stay on the road playing music … I don't care about the rock star part," Wonky says. " I don't care about money. I just care that we get a shower and food sometimes. Musical transients. And if somebody's gonna help us with that via some sort of contract or anything else, alright."

"She's a road warrior for sure," Mitchell states.

The plan from here? Wonky smiles, her eyes shining.

"The stars, baby." ©

WONKY TONK plays Rohs Street Café Jan. 23. The Super Holy Fantastic CD release party is Jan. 24 at the Southgate House Parlour. Info: myspace.com/wonkytonkmusic - City Beat

As brash and vulnerable as Lydia Loveless, her musical compatriot from across the Ohio River, Kentucky’s Wonky Tonk may bear more of an indie polish on her debut single “Montague Road” but she’ll just as quickly spit in your eye as kiss your cheek.

Stuff We Leave Behind, the freshman LP from one Jasmine Lorraine Poole, is dotted by locales in Kentucky’s border states, the western reaches of the US and a Nordic country. From the mountain a cappella of “I’ll Turn My Radio On” to the fuzzed-out torch song of “One for the Juke,” Wonky Tonk mixes country touchstones with chamber pop, bestowing a Keroucian restlessness to each of the album’s songs, none more so than “Montague Road” which features a contribution from Bucket Full of Nails alumnus Mark Utley of Cincinnati’s Bulletville.

Stream/download “Montague Road” below and purchase Stuff We Leave Behind via Amazon or iTunes. - Bucket Full of Nails/Magearwig

Wonky Tonk is Jasmine Poole. She has been playing for about 7 years now. She has seemingly blended country and folk into a raucous good time, and a time to make you think. Her debut album is titled Stuff We Leave Behind. The players that she enlisted to be on the album is a who’s who of Cincinnati local talent whom are: Rachel Rose, Amy Cluxton, Laura Linville, Abby Hine, Brian Olive, Royal Holland, Eric Cronstein, Andy Cook, Ricky Nye, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Mike Ingram, Mark Utley, Jeff Meeker, Sharon Udoh, and as Jasmine put it “maybe a whole other village of people.” What shines through is Jasmine’s voice, and you can hear it in the songs this was the culmination and now it is time to leave it behind. Jasmine and I had a conversation about the record and few other things and I’ll let her take it from here and give my opinion of the record at the end.

Moose: How did you get your start playing music?
Wonky Tonk: I started playing tunes in high school with a punk rock band called "The Green Angels" with Alex Duckworth (Daap Girls) and Jude MC. At the same time, I wrote some funny tunes for a high school chemistry project which somehow developed from living room Against Me! and Moldy Peaches jams into cowgirl boots and the stage.

Green Angels > Wonky Donkeys > Wonky Tonk

I took "guitar lessons" from this guy rick who had an impressive bald/long red mullet which consisted of a bunch of music theory played on an unplugged red electric ESP (classy). I still have no idea what he was saying.

Moose: whom has been your biggest advocate or supporter or both?
WT: Biggest supported: Law Daddy. The King of Covington. Matthew Robinson. My dad. I have had a world of support but there is something about Wonky Tonk that makes my dad glow and that in turn makes Wonky Tonk grow (ha-ha, see what I did there?!)

Moose: What drew your ear to this style of music?
WT: I have no clue. I love punk and mosh pits. I started playing and people said "you play folk." I was like what the heck is that, so I googled "folk" and started listening and well, the rest is in the songs.

Moose: Not delving into each song in particular, but from where could you say you got most of your inspiration for the album?
WT: The album is about all the things that meant the world to me at one point which are no longer pertinent and now have become stuff that is taking up too much space and needs to be left behind. You know when you go through your keepsake box and there is a napkin with a note scribbled or a nondescript show wristband and you are like, I have absolutely no idea what this is - but when you put it in there it was this thing that meant everything, a milestone. It is now stuff. Let it go.

Moose: Who played on the record with you, and where was it recorded?
WT: Are you asking this to torture me?

Holy moley.

Rachel Rose, Amy Cluxton, Laura Linville, Abby Hine, Brian Olive, Royal Holland, Eric Cronstien, Andy Cook, Ricky Nye, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Mike Ingram, Mark Utley, Jeff Meeker, Sharon Udoh - and maybe a whole other village of people. It was not me who made this record, it was us - Cincinnati's amazing community of talented and gracious musicians. It was recorded in Mike Ingram's living room, Eric Cronstein's Tone Shoppe, Orangudio in Columbus, and Brain Olive's The Diamonds.

Moose: With the album complete what is next for you? And why did it take so long? (this second question is mainly for me)
WT: The album is finished, now that it is finished everything can begin. Relentless tour and more albums! I am working on a new music video for "Denmark" with Dave Morrison as well as a new single from the upcoming album. Why did it take so long? Wonky Tonk started, well, I have no idea why it started. I decided I needed a new hobby so I started emailing all the Cincy venues saying I had a 30-minute set and would like to play. At that point I had no song written. When I got my first booking, was when I wrote my entire set and from there it grew. Somehow people liked it and I was propositioned to record. This was never a reality in my world, the music was kind of a joke too. So with multiple sessions of 6 years I learned to record. Finally. It took so long because until now I had been faking it and I couldn't release a fake because it is forever. It took 6 years to understand what my heart already knew and now it is real and now it is left behind.

Moose: The question I like to ask everyone I interview is: of all things to do, why this? why music? You can do anything; why did you choose music?
WT: The music chose me Moose. It's the way all things good and bad fall out and become something more than "stuff." Music means pain. community. love. loss. suspension. connection. It's what happens when I stop trying and just be.

Wonky Tonk released this album a month or two ago, and she along with all the players and the help made a really great record. Her voice longs for love, but is okay with leaving all this behind and going forward. The feeling from the album I get is one that makes you want to move on and the struggle that lies beneath that. Jasmine’s voice draws you in the way in which the lyrics wrap around the melody is what she does so well. Cannot leave this alone without mentioning all the players on it who took simple songs (voice and acoustic guitar) and helped mold and shape these tunes into something more. The album rocks at times and slows things down with some ballads a mixture that is like a tasty salad with all kinds of goodness. You listen one time through and you get the idea, but that second or third or fourth time different sounds pop or lyrics ring or touch you a little harder.

Wonky Tonk and her brand of folk music will be on a stage near you some time soon. Check her out on Facebook and stay up to date on her live shows. If you see her out, make sure to pick up the album. Wonky Tonk‘s Stuff We Leave Behind is an album worth listening definitely more than once and is an album that has soul. Support local music and check her out. - Cincymusic/Moose Gronholm

Greater Cincinnati’s Jasmine Poole is the first to admit that she’s hardly the life of any party. She’s the quiet girl who finds an equally quiet corner and loses herself in the pages of the book she brought along for company. On the other hand, Wonky Tonk, Poole’s Country-music alter ego who has been compared to Lucinda Williams and Lydia Loveless, takes a stage like an occupying army, storming in with purpose, confidence and conviction.

But don’t mistake the division between Poole’s personal and professional personae as some first-year psychoanalytical Jekyll/Hyde disorder. She’s no shrinking violet who requires a stage in order to bloom. Poole has led a fascinating life, moving to far-flung locales with an insatiable desire for new and exotic experiences, and making friends and connections by virtue of her eccentrically infectious personality.

Although Poole, the niece of legendary Cincinnati Jazz pianist Kenny Poole, has been tearing up stages as Wonky Tonk in and out of town for years, she has only just now released her first album, the stellar Stuff We Leave Behind. It certainly doesn’t seem like a calculated maneuver to wait until fans clamored for a release. In conversation, Poole seems incapable of that level of calculated deliberation, preferring to live in a moment that is perpetually new and unexpected. When asked about the evolution of her career in general and the new album specifically, Poole’s first inclination is to laugh.

“Do you have enough tape for that?” she asks.

After a fairly rugged Kentucky upbringing, Poole began songwriting and playing guitar mostly as a joke for a high school chemistry project. But when people responded to her work, she chose to take it seriously. Upon graduation, Poole drifted from place to place, landing briefly in California before returning home.

“I’m pretty shy, believe it or not, and Wonky Tonk was a really great person to get people to talk to me so I didn’t have to go out and talk to anyone,” she says. “One day, I was fed up with not having any friends, so I decided to tell people I had a 30-minute set. No songs. I waited until I got booked and I wrote a 30-minute set. It picked up and evolved, and CityBeat loved it. Who knew?”

Early on, Poole played in a duo with friend Annie Stephens as The Wonky Donkeys.

Poole acquired her stage name from an out-of-town duo that found the Donkeys on MySpace and came to play with them, asking upon arrival, “Which one’s Wonk and which one’s Donk?” Poole accepted “Wonk,” which soon morphed it into Wonky Tonk.

In 2009, Wonky Tonk’s debut EP, Super Holy Fantastic, was released. Her fanbase was growing and the EP was well received, but it was also a document of a turbulent period.

“The difference was the EP happened and then I fell in love, and that was a long, treacherous path that led to (the album),” Poole says. “It was Neverland and Peter Pan and Kit Kats and candy, then it was ghosts and heartbreak and the road. The loss of innocence, for sure.”

By that point, Poole had expanded her sphere of influence, which laser-guided her musical direction from then on. Her avowed inspirations are a laundry list of the best of Country and Americana.


“I was inundated with Guy Clark, John Prine, Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris — my heroes, and I can’t believe I lived without them,” Poole says. “But I had relied on the fact that I could play guitar and make things up for my frivolous, fun lyrics. Then it got to this album, where it was more meaning-based. Show not tell, but also with your words.”

Six years ago, Poole was approached by guitarist Eric Cronstein with an offer to record. She was still treating her “music career” less seriously and was both chagrined and intrigued.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? This is all a joke, but sure,’ ” Poole says. “So we tried. But as anyone knows, recording’s a whole different beast. I got overwhelmed and it didn’t work. I don’t understand click tracks and it’s very glaring when it’s in your ears; you can’t wing it like you do on stage.”

Shortly thereafter, Poole moved to Denmark and, just before relocating to Montana, she decided to revisit the songs with local guitarist Jake Tippey behind the board. When Poole returned from Montana, she connected with Mike Ingram (of late Indie Pop band The Seedy Seeds), who agreed to help her with the record. Poole then went back to work with Cronstein and finished the album with local musician/producer Brian Olive.

With six years and four engineers behind the project, perhaps the most amazing aspect of Stuff We Leave Behind is its cohesion. The album hangs together as a tight collection of disparate songs — either Country-tinged Indie Rock or Indie Rock-tinted Country — but nothing seems out of place or forced.

“I just knew the hearts of the songs were meant to be together as part of Stuff We Leave Behind and what it’s all about,” Poole says. “You know how you can collect all these souvenirs and you go through a box and there’s this little piece of paper that meant the world to you and now you have no idea? You’ve got to throw it away. It was more of that emotional realm of the stuff I’m holding onto, and I have to let it go. These songs all comprise that. I don’t know how it became cohesive except that I was the one constantly working on it and developing it. We basically have all of Cincinnati playing on it and they added their flavor to it, but I was in there going, ‘What about this?’ and putting the sprinkles on.”

Poole didn’t need to overthink the running order of Stuff We Leave Behind — the song titles are largely a travelogue of the places she’s lived. She arranged the order almost spontaneously.

“I thought about it for maybe five minutes, then I wrote it down and listened to it, and it’s the perfect order and exactly the story and journey that needed to happen,” Poole says. “I couldn’t believe how it started with the a capella song (‘I’ll Turn My Radio On’) and finished with the suitcase song (‘Keri On’). I did not mean for that to happen, it was just the feeling. I went on heart alone; maybe that’s why it took so long.” - CityBeat

Welcome to September. Wake me up when it ends. I’m so, so sorry for that callback. Your Tuesday edition of Pick Your Poison features some fun and interesting tracks from the likes of Clearance, Dirty Chocolate, Harrison Brome, Killa Karma, Wonky Tonk and more. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Alice Cohen, Animal Collective, Chad Valley, Dreamcrusher, Phil Cook (ft. Justin Vernon), Rick Ross, Tiesto & The Chainsmokers, plus a couple of dynamite remixes. - Faronheit.com

Wonky Tonk, "Montague Road"
Wonky Tonk is the alias of Kentucky-bred musician Jasmine Lorraine Poole, and using it as a musical badge of honor, she channels her heartland history into music that has its roots in the homespun sounds of country, folk and bluegrass. But also among these storied sounds is a more modern indie rock heartbeat—she balances the bucolic nature of her past with the determination of her future. Keeping one foot grounded in her influences and one confidently placed ahead of her, Poole manages to lay claim to all these genres without pausing to take a breath. She’s set to self-release her debut record, "Stuff We Leave Behind," Nov. 13.

Across the length of the album’s lead single, "Montague Road," she details exactly how she combines and reorganizes these sounds into something that definitely has ties to her past but doesn’t rely on those influences in any derivative manner. It’s a country rocker that evinces a decidedly blithe nature and a strong aptitude for getting to the heart of what’s on her mind. The guitars twang and churn against her inimitable voice, a lone visible star in the night sky. And as much as you could possibly compare her to artists such as Lydia Loveless and Angel Olsen, she has her own distinct bravura, and brings an innovative, inspired perspective to this kind of rural rock landscape. - Nooga.com

Album Reviews | November 13th, 2015

Artist: Wonky Tonk

Album: Stuff We Leave Behind

Label: Self Released

Release Date: 11/13/2015
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They say you shouldn’t judge an album by its cover, but that was the first thing that drew me to Wonky Tonk’s Stuff We Leave Behind. On the cover, Jasmine Lorraine Poole, known as Wonky Tonk, holds up a card with the album title, exposed to the point that only her skeleton is shown, sporting platinum blonde hair reminiscent of an early Lady Gaga. The cowboy boots she wears are the only clue that this is a country album. Wonky is Jasmine’s alter ego, a blue cowboy boot wearing cowgirl who steps in when independent but shy Jasmine needs a little bit of added edge. This album is perfect if you’re a sucker for cool girls who sing country music. She is similar in style to artists like Kacey Musgraves, who write meaningful lyrics with a hint of humor. Wonky Tonk’s songs are filled with sweet, thoughtful lyrics that touch your heart in all the right places. She doesn’t try to be pop, and keeps true to her country roots without sounding dated. Each track is catchy, filled with colorful instrumentals.

The first track on the album, “I’ll Turn the Radio On,” is quirky, just her singing with some background vocals. The off-key vocals have an endearing quality that makes you want to listen to track number two. “Cleveland” opens up with the quippy line, “well you say that I’m just a minor/but you, you’re not getting much younger” showing off Wonk’s playful side, which is then emphasized by the catchy, repetitive chorus of “Let’s run, we’re going home” that is accompanied by a melody that gets stuck in your head far too easily. But, not all of the songs show a happy, funny Tonk. In “Keri On,” she beautifully sings “staying in love is harder than falling apart” in a way that just breaks your heart. Setting the lyrics aside, even the instrumentals are wonderful. “Montague Road” starts off with a more rock sound, but ends up being an indie-country track, and “Saffin Avenue” has a guitar thrown in the end that has its moment to shine.

Wonky Tonk has a voice that’s sweet like syrup, adding a kind of cuteness to the album. Everything about the release is charming, from the cover art to the melodies. However, she does have moments of reflection that are enchanting both lyrically and musically. This Kentucky Troubadour is guaranteed to steal your heart. Wonky Tonk finds herself in the “Indie-Country” category with this album; she’s the kind of country-star that hipsters wouldn’t be embarrassed to say they like, while still keeping deep rooted country fans happy. After listening through each track, you’ll feel enchanted by this off-beat, blue cowboy boot wearing cowgirl.

– Claudia Arnoldo - Elmore Magazine

Jasmine Lorraine “Wonky Tonk” Poole grew up in the hard scrabble portion of the American heartland. Kentucky, to be precise. Her world of loss and longing is familiar terrain for lovers of country, bluegrass and folk music but, just as Kentucky can be viewed as a bridge between north and south, Wonk’s music blends elements of Indie/Alternative rock with old school country. It’s hard to separate the wonk from the tonk. Nor should you try.

Wonk’s influences, John Prine, Guy Clark, Modest Mouse and Loretta Lynn among them (especially Loretta), are apparent but her music is not derivative. Loretta, Skeeter Davis, Iris Dement and Jenny Lewis come to mind but none of her comparables quite pin her down. Wonk is her own cowgirl. “Cowgirls get up in the morning, decide what to do and do it”, she was told as a child. Fiercely independent but naturally shy Jasmine uses her alter ego and blue cowgirl boots to deal with the notion of impossibly cruel but equally exhilarating existence.

Her eleven song debut release Stuff We Leave Behind deals with the necessity of moving on at critical points in your life. Stuff that once seemed important must be cast aside, ex-lovers relegated to the shadows. “Heartbreak makes the jukebox play”, she was once told. Her song titles reflect her wandering spirit and a fascination with time and place. “Cleveland.” “Denmark.” “Tennessee.” “Montague Road.” A veteran troubadour at such a tender age, Wonk has toured Europe with the same restless drive as her native Northern Kentucky.

Tom Robbins told us that even Cowgirls Get the Blues but all is not remorse and regret. Jangly sunshine pops through the clouds unexpectedly, such as in “Parkland Avenue” (arguably the best track). Though softly. Without the glare.

Wonk’s lyrics are worth a read even without the music. The album tracks her evolution as an artist and a person. The gravel, rutted road to an emerging wisdom.

Tennessee didn’t you hear
Money’s not real and neither is fear

Pay attention to Wonk. Not just because she is talented and beautiful. Pay attention because she has an important purpose. To help you remember. To help you forget. Or to help you remember why you chose to forget.

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
http://www.wonkytonkmusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/wonkytonktunes
http://www.twitter.com/wonkytonk
http://wonkytonk.bandcamp.com/ - Jammerzine

www.wonkytonkmusic.com
WONKY TONK/Stuff We Leave Behind: Just what can you make of an Americana art chick from Kentucky? Maybe it's something in the water below the Mason Dixon but I think she's Mother Maybelle for the 21st century. Hard to pin down and willing to take chances, the Tonkster looks a things through her own prism and you're nuts not to follow along in her wake. Like nothing you've heard before, it's amazing how she found something new to say in the pop universe and say it so well. Check it out. - Midwest Record

"Montague Road" by Wonky Tonk

This selection from up-and-comer Wonky Tonk, also known as Jasmine Lorraine Poole, captures of the whimsy of Halloween like no other song on the list. More befitting of a sunset trick-or-treat trip with the kids than a late night party, the music video for "Montague Road" features Poole morphing from skeleton to metallic body suit wearing superhero.

In fact, Poole admits on her website that "Wonky Tonk" is a cowgirl alter ego she uses to overcome her shyness, a message we can all relate to on a day filled with costumes. - Cincinnati Enquire

Covington resident Jasmine Poole found her musical passion and talents by saying yes to performing live before she knew how to play.

Taking that risk propelled her career into forming the musical persona Wonky Tonk and now she has a brand new LP called Stuff We Leave Behind that took six years to make.

“I will say yes to about anything for a new experience so I tried it,” Poole said of making the album. “Recording is a very tumultuous process where you have to look inside yourself which was really hard to do since I had just learned how to play an instrument. I took a very long time and I felt like a faker early on if I would have put something out at that point, so it took about six years, four sound engineers, and a whole lot of life experiences to finally be able to take charge and own the songs enough that I was comfortable putting them out there.”

Poole grew up moving often with her family from one place to another. She didn’t make a great number of friends when she was younger and considered herself shy. She found herself agreeing to make music as a way to be social without having to talk as much.

“I play guitar and banjo. I grew up with punk rock, The Clash, Anti Flag, Bad Religion, etc. When I started playing music after I told people I could play, others started telling me that I am a folk musician, which I had never heard the word folk in my life.”

She was immediately influenced by folk and country greats like Loretta Lynn and allowed her sound to grow strong enough to carry the 11-track album throughout. Once the album was finally in order and ready for release, Wonky Tonk needed to be promoted which was easier than expected for an admitted shy person.

“If I were to promote Jasmine Pool, I would find that difficult, but Wonky Tonk is a product. I work in commercial photography and video and so I know the way marketing works and being able to separate yourself from the emotional aspects of it and seeing it as a business, is really beneficial,” she said. “It’s not all about me. I give so much credit to the other musicians. When I started playing and putting myself out there before I had the skill set, it was the actual promoting myself that got me out there and not my skill at all, but I had the means to make everyone listen so I think that’s the easy part. The hard part is the performing and staying true to yourself.”

By saying that she could play and perform before she actually could, the artist put immense personal pressure on her to learn and follow through on her promise. Poole said that it is her way of moving ahead in life and reaching new heights without psyching herself out.

“I feel like that’s the only way you really get things done, especially the way I grew up and being really shy and not having much of a social experience, if I don’t put that extreme pressure on myself, my head takes over and can think myself out of anything. If I put something out there, and I say I am going to do it to a bunch of people, then I have to do it because I am accountable to them.”

Besides learning on the fly and making new relationships with other musicians, another reason Stuff We Leave Behind took so long is because of how much Poole traveled during that stretch. She said that the process has been a grind but has brought a lot of talented local people together onto one project.

“Probably 10 to 15 local musicians played the album with their multiple engineers just because I moved to Denmark in between recording, I moved to Montana, Miami, Santa Monica, so each time I was pushing the restart button and building off of something that we already created. Everyone was really nice about picking up from someone else’s work but there was concern about the cohesiveness of the sound and the quality. I think it really turned out quite magical and is a great portrait of what I was meaning to do even though it took so long.”

Wonky Tonk performs her new songs from the album at The Southgate House Revival in a free show on November 16. Now that the album is finished, she is already looking ahead to the second one since she has written so many songs over the last six years.

“I have transitioned into more of a Billy Bragg thing with an electric guitar that I found in the basement of a bar that I’m playing through an acoustic amp which has a really interesting sound. It’s cool how transitioning to an electric instrument not only makes you louder, but now when people come up to me they will talk with me more about the stuff that really actually influenced me. The might say that this reminds them of Modest Mouse rather than this reminds me of Taylor Swift because of the boots and acoustic guitar.”

Her video for "Montague Road" came together thanks to her professional career in the commercial video industry and the small crew she worked with on it found it refreshing to produce video work that more creative and artistic license than their standard projects.

“I do more art department in productions so we had a really tiny crew and we just went with it. It was really magical because we got to use all of the really expensive equipment but we all got to do something that we felt wasn’t so corporately directed. "Montague Road" was a direct result of working in that industry and the connections I’ve made. Also the kindness of those people for doing it for free and for jollies.”

Her songs are named after the places she’s lived, and the lead single "Montague Road" was named after the street in Covington.

“Covington is the spot. Crossing the river into Kentucky is definitely home.”

Written by Bryan Burke, associate editor

Photo provided

Follow Northern Kentucky's News Leader on Facebook and Twitter - River City News

Covington, Ky.’s Wonky Tonk will release Stuff We Leave Behind on November 13. Her new song is called “Montague Road,” and it touts a carefree, jaunty attitude on top of a bouncy country-tinged rock tune that’s a must-listen for fans of Laura Stevenson. Download the track below. - Magnet

Kentucky-bred singer-songwriter Wonky Tonk released her debut album Stuff We Leave Behind yesterday. Today, we are excited to premiere the video for her shuffling country-tinged single “Denmark.” Directed by David Morrison, the quirky video featuring Wonky Tonk armed only with a treasure map and suitcase. Follow her on her journey which leads her to a guitar and more! - Surviving The Golden Age

Wonky Tonk has a voice that’s sweet like syrup, adding a kind of cuteness to the album. Everything about the release is charming, from the cover art to the melodies. However, she does have moments of reflection that are enchanting both lyrically and musically. This Kentucky Troubadour is guaranteed to steal your heart. Wonky Tonk finds herself in the “Indie-Country” category with this album; she’s the kind of country-star that hipsters wouldn’t be embarrassed to say they like, while still keeping deep rooted country fans happy. After listening through each track, you’ll feel enchanted by this off-beat, blue cowboy boot wearing cowgirl. - ELMORE MAGAZINE

Covington, Ky.’s Wonky Tonk will release Stuff We Leave Behind on November 13. Her new song is called “Montague Road,” and it touts a carefree, jaunty attitude on top of a bouncy country-tinged rock tune that’s a must-listen for fans of Laura Stevenson. Download the track below. - MAGNET

Wonky Tonk is unlike any other country artist, current or past, breaking the mold with her witty and heartfelt lyrics and fiercely independent style. Her debut album “Stuff We Leave Behind” is amazingly filled with a genre-defying mix of delicious songs, some sad, some joyful and all unique. It perfectly reflects her punk cowgirl aesthetic. - JILLY POP

Today’s track leaves the modern at the door as “Bulleit” comes at you with the directness of Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson while still being fresh like Nikki Lane. You get the story and the strings as Lorraine sings “and I’ll drink to the morning; and I’ll sing through the night.” This track won’t sell you on her indie spirit but if like one ounce of her swagger here I guarantee that Stuff We Leave Behind will have you wanting more especially if Jenny Lewis or Kelly Hogan is something that is in one of your playlists. - THE FIRE NOTE

Wonky Tonk is the alias of Kentucky-bred musician Jasmine Lorraine Poole, and using it as a musical badge of honor, she channels her heartland history into music that has its roots in the homespun sounds of country, folk and bluegrass. But also among these storied sounds is a more modern indie rock heartbeat—she balances the bucolic nature of her past with the determination of her future. Keeping one foot grounded in her influences and one confidently placed ahead of her, Poole manages to lay claim to all these genres without pausing to take a breath. She’s set to self-release her debut record, "Stuff We Leave Behind," Nov. 13. - NOOGA

Greater Cincinnati’s Jasmine Poole is the first to admit that she’s hardly the life of any party. She’s the quiet girl who finds an equally quiet corner and loses herself in the pages of the book she brought along for company. On the other hand, Wonky Tonk, Poole’s Country-music alter ego who has been compared to Lucinda Williams and Lydia Loveless, takes a stage like an occupying army, storming in with purpose, confidence and conviction. - CITYBEAT

If you’re seeking something with a bit more originality behind it, then you’ve come to the right place with Wonky Tonk and the album, ‘Stuff We Leave Behind’. By holding a suitable moniker considering the wide array of influences skewered into the ‘Stuff We Leave Behind’, Jasmine Pool (aka Wonky Tonk) remains a fiercely independent artist willing to bend the rules when it comes to a number of genres by applying her own touches, and bringing out a largely country sound fused with elements of folk, indie and pop music. With her actual roots stemming from a love of punk music, the attitude of this genre goes some way to explaining the amalgamation of sounds making up Wonky Tonk’s latest album. With ‘Turn The Radio On’ providing a stirring entrance with it’s a cappella delivery, and then switching to the jaunty country-rock rhythm of ‘Cleveland’, complete with an audacious mix of 50s soda-pop backing vocals and a lead vocal that is definitely entrenched in the formerly mentioned punk roots, Wonky Tonk wastes no time in getting her influences across. The differing styles continue apace with ‘Billings, MT’ and ‘Montague Road’ possessing a 90s indie feel via Throwing Muses, Juliana Hatfield and The Lemonheads, before offering a reflective indie-acoustic number via ‘Denmark, which just happens to be one of the countries this Kentucky-bred singer songwriter has flaunted her music previously. Despite the various shifts in tone, ‘Stuff We Leave Behind’ works as a whole surprisingly well, and perhaps best illustrated with the honky tonk inspired ‘Washington Avenue’; gorgeous ballads ‘Tennessee’ and ‘One For The Juke’, and therefore making this album a rather essential acquisition. - FAMOUS LAST WORDS

WONKY TONK “SUITORS”

Last week Kentucky based songstress Wonky Tonk premiered her newest single “Suitors” on Folk Alley. The anti slut-shaming protest song was inspired by Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn’s no-nonsense flavor of country songwriting.

http://www.folkalley.com/archives/001499.php - SKOPE MAGAZINE