The Bottoms Up Blues Gang from St. Louis
celebrate a decade of playing together with their third release
“Handle It.” The album features a perfect patchwork
of
original music in the band’s eclectic blend of St. Louis
Blues
and New Orleans Jazz, with instrumentation ranging from guitar and
vocals up to a full band with organ and New Orleans horn section. The
band, based around a nucleus of guitarist Jeremy Segel-Moss and
vocalist Kari Liston, have surrounded themselves with a phenomenal gang
of legendary local musicians to support a wide range of new
sounds and influences. The album also includes an outstanding version
of “Drown In My Own Tears” recorded with St.
Louis’
legendary blues guitarist Bennie Smith, recorded before his death in
2006.
The Bottom’s Up Blues Gang is
known for being
a hard-working touring act, performing no less than 225 shows a year
across the country. Currently time is divided with roughly 1/3 spent in
St Louis, 1/3 spent in New Orleans, and the rest touring across the
country. They’ve opened for acts such as Chuck Berry, Robert
Earl
Keen, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Robert Randolph, and George
Clinton’s
Parliament Funkadelic – in the 10 years they’ve
been on the
road. Vocalist Kari Liston says, “You don’t work
music, you
play music. If you’re not having fun doing it,
you’re doing
something wrong.”
Quotes
"If you haven't come across the
Bottoms Up
Blues Gang yet, you must be either dead or in
jail.“
—Christian Schaeffer (Riverfront Times, St. Louis)
“...phenomenal new album...commands repeated listens, so go
check it out.“ -KWUR
“And like all great blues bands, no matter what the decade,
they
succed wildly in making you feel anything but
blue.“
-Seattle Weekly
Awards/Accolades
2008 Best
Blues Act - Riverfront Times People's Choice (St. Louis)
2008 Most Votes Received - Riverfront
Times People's Choice (St. Louis)
2007 Best Blues Act - Riverfront Times People's
Choice (St. Louis)
2006 Best Acoustic Duo - St. Louis Music Awards
2009 Contestant at International Blues Challenge in
Memphis, TN
2007 Contestant at International Blues Challenge in
Memphis, TN
