The Rubber Knife Gang
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2007 | SELF
Music
Press
The Rubber Knife Gang (from the album Broken Lines) - Broken Lines matches frenetic gypsy rhythms with solitary picking and strumming opening on a jam bass driven dreamscape in “Gone Away”, tunes up back alley buskers jazz as it suggest walking the “Straight and Narrow Line” and stirs up a Folk breeze with acoustic windmills and three-part harmony to give wings to “Birds in Flight”. RKG is a three-piece band that uses an incredible amount of strings for a trio. Their music is acoustic, and that is what the songs share. The style, twists of melody and varied rhythms on Broken Lines fulfills on the promises in the bands break-through sophomore album effort, Drivin’ On, and particularly the online success of “Tennessee Mountain Girl”. The Rubber Knife Gang gather as a united force to string together a seafaring reel calling for a “Siren Serenade”, scratch a sandy groove to “Draw the Line”, rush the rhythm to offset coming New York City cold in “Damn Your December”, and gently layer riffs and weaving strings that float the title track over the album." - The Alternate Root Magazine
"Broken Lines" is inspired and worth relishing. It proves that The Rubber Knife Gang can write profound material, have a wonderful vocal rapport and can play in an exemplary manner. The band members have their fingers on the deep pulse of genuine folk/Americana/traditional roots music. - No Depression
"Assuming that the fans are not afraid of experimentation, the Rubber Knife Gang could very well be the future of bluegrass. Of course, that is a lot to ask of bluegrass fans who tend to cling too heavily to tradition. But even if they don't become bluegrass stars, they will remain one of the best underground bands in the Americana scene and this will remain one of the best albums of the year." - No Depression
see link - City Beat.com
"It strikes you as a record you’ve been listening to for years even before you finish the first pass. I wish this had come out closer to Memorial Day than Labor Day as it would have stayed in my CD changer all summer." - Twangville (Shawn Underwood)
"they present something new, fresh, bold and original, making them stick out above your typical bluegrass band." - Cincy Groove Magazine
"Listening to "Drivin' On" really amazed me. It's a re-freshing, new sound, which did not gives you the feeling to be set back away out in the mountains (except for "Hole In Your Sole" and "Drink Up John", where you can imagine to be on an ol' barn dance) but is very modern as well as often thought-provoking and happy at the same moment. The most promising and innovative bluegrass/americana/folk album I have ever heard." - Mellow's Log Cabin
Photos
Bio
In twilight hours we gather, in a circle, at the edge of the firelight, amidst grainy visions of ball caps and braids, boots and buttons, bottles and butane, sparks and shadowy theater. Our work is done for the day, and the setting of the sun has eclipsed much of the sport of the evening hours. Our business here is always social and celebratory. The tools are conversation, refreshment, and music. The gang varies in age, dress, and ancestry, but we share a common appreciation of the moment. Someone calls for music from across the fire-lit void, and a trio, within the ranks, obliges with an assortment of wooden, stringed instruments and igneous smiles. The methods are age-old. The sound… somewhat modernized, but always original. Upbeat and timeless notions of life, love, and risky pursuits are conveyed in song as wide-eyed tales of the thrill of the chase, the art of seduction, crimes of passion, and redemptive gospel. The stories are driven by three-part vocal harmonies, and instrumentation that’ll make your heart leap in time with the tapping of your toe. For a moment, you forget about the world outside, and the challenges of yesterday or tomorrow. And there are those that would recognize that wondrous gleam in your eye, bolstered by the warmth of white embers and good company, and say... "You've just been Rubber Knife'd"
The three “knifers” led offset parallel existences over the course of the last few decades, finally fusing on similar musical interests. Hank, a self-taught guitar-toting country boy, with an affinity for history and literature, singing and writing songs as a release from the everyday worries. Johnboy, a fiery personality on the five-string banjo, who later scored a bass on eBay, like a mail-order bride (but with less paperwork). Having played with both Hank and Willy on separate occasions… Johnboy had hopes of bringing them together. Willy, the wildcard, fit, like the last piece in a musical puzzle. The addition of his soulful vocals and rhythmic mandolin resulted in a passionate, earthy, celebration of roots, with each of the three pulling a common freight in slightly different directions, but ending serendipitously at the right destination.
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