Banditos
Sounding like a top-shelf honky tonk band running through their favorite songs with furious abandon before last call, Banditos are a group who throw together a little bit of everything that might be called "roots music" -- blues and country of several eras, garage-seasoned rock & roll, soul, and gospel, among other things -- along with a big spoonful of hard rock and psychedelia, and serve up a healthy portion of sweet-and-dirty roadhouse stomp. The group's wide range of influences belies how focused their best work is; this is a band that fuses many different styles without letting the seams show, and their first two albums, 2015's Banditos and 2017's Visionland, made the most of their wide-ranging tastes. They added even more flavors for 2022's Right On; in particular, 1960s R&B and pop, while giving vocalist Mary Beth Richardson a new prominence in the mix.
Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, Banditos were the brainchild of Corey Parsons (guitar and vocals) and Stephen Pierce (banjo and vocals), two local pickers who knew one another from the city's punk/indie rock scene. Parsons and Pierce had eclectic tastes, and mixing up their interests in country and blues, the two began busking together, making enough of an impression that they were invited to play a show at one of their favorite saloons. The duo decided they needed a larger cast of musicians for a proper gig, and they invited three friends to join them -- guitarist Jeffrey David Salter and drummer Randy Taylor Wade, who were music students studying jazz and classical styles, and Mary Beth Richardson, a vocalist whose previous experience came from singing in church. The show was enthusiastically received by the audience, and after the addition of bassist Jeffrey "Danny" Vines, the Banditos lineup was complete.
Banditos soon made a name for themselves in Alabama, and began hitting the road, criss-crossing the South and playing any venue that would have them. They found themselves playing Nashville, Tennessee often enough that they relocated to Music City, though declaring it their new hometown was something of a stretch; over the space of three years, Banditos played more than 600 shows, so wherever home may have been, they didn't spend much time there. In 2014, Banditos played the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, and representatives of "insurgent country" label Bloodshot Records caught their show; the folks from Bloodshot were bowled over by the band, and they soon struck a deal with the group. Banditos' self-titled debut album was released in May 2015. The band supported the release with extensive touring, stopping long enough to visit Dripping Springs, Texas to record their second album, 2017's Visionland.
After several rounds of touring, and bassist Jeffrey "Danny" Vines' departure from the group, Banditos returned to the studio with producer Jordan Lehning to work on their third album. (Lehning would play bass on the recording sessions, as well as contributing keyboards.) However, it would be three years before the LP would see the light of day. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down their touring plans, and they opted to wait on releasing the new set until they could properly play out to promote it. While Banditos were biding their time, Bloodshot Records was struggling with a variety of internal problems that led to the label shutting down operations in October 2021. Once touring opportunities began to open up again, Banditos struck a deal with another indie label, eggHUNT Records, and Right On was released in May 2022. The LP featured a more polished production that added '60s pop and soul sounds to Banditos' formula, with keyboards and horns filling out the arrangements, while also putting Mary Beth Richardson's vocals up front, rather than having her share the spotlight with Parsons and Pierce.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
Diskografie
15 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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Digital Egg
Techno - Erschienen bei Quadbyte Records am 07.06.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Tonight
Country - Erschienen bei Egghunt Records am 08.03.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fondation
Techno - Erschienen bei Quadbyte Records am 28.02.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Banditos on Audiotree Live
Rock - Erschienen bei Audiotree Music am 12.05.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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On My Way
Country - Erschienen bei Egghunt Records am 01.02.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visionland
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Bloodshot Records am 23.06.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Metatron Ep (Original Mix)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Komod.O Dragon Records am 10.07.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Healin' Slow
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Bloodshot Records am 31.05.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fine Fine Day
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Bloodshot Records am 09.03.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Untitled (Original Mix)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Komod.O Dragon Records am 25.07.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fun All Night / I Put A Spell On You 7" Single
Country - Erschienen bei Bloodshot Records am 08.07.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo