Photo by Scott Preston
CINCINNATI — Described as “foot stompin, whiskey spillin, old timey, psychedelic party music”, the Rumpke Mountain Boys (www,rumpkemountainboys.com) have taken the festival circuit by storm, garnering legions of faithful fans along the way with their signature brand of fiery bluegrass aptly named Trashgrass. Using banjo, mandolin, upright bass, and acoustic guitar, the Rumpke Mountain Boys have molded their own unique style and leave no genre of music untouched. Named after Rumpke Landfill, the highest point in their home of Hamilton County, OH, their remarkable energy and passion shine through in their live performances, their songwriting has won critical acclaim, and they’ve shared the stage with iconic artists such as Larry Keel, Leftover Salmon, Tim O’Brien, Ralph Stanley, Keller Williams, Yonder Mountain String Band and Del McCoury. According to Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, The Rumpke Mountain Boys are “high energy, hot licks, cool tunes – A party waiting to happen.”
Recorded in January at Royal Studios in Memphis, TN in January, the self-produced “Moon” is the follow up release to “Trashgrass”, which was released in late 2012. According to upright bassist JD Westmoreland, who spearheaded the project, “”Moon’ is a more mature album. There’s still a lot of the fun and joy that we are known for, but the songwriting is astounding. All four of us had great material to bring to the table, and it came together better than I could have dreamed.” “The recording gear we used on this album made a great difference in the vibe and tone. It was all acoustic and there were no amplifiers used on the record, no electronics except for the psychedelic compositionSomething to Say written by Ben Gourley, where he plays the electric mandolin and the band plays various sound experiments. I also play the Wurlitzer on Cincinnati Moon,” Westmoreland added.
Consisting of Ben Gourley on mandolin, Adam Copeland on acoustic guitar, Jason “Wolfie” Wolf on banjo, and J.D. Westmoreland on upright bass, Rumpke’s sound is refreshingly unique, drawing on influences such as the Grateful Dead, Ralph Stanley, Tom Waits, and Jimmy Cliff. They are a much sought after festival act, playing at venues across the United States, and they will be holding their own festival, called Snugglefest on October 14th at Sunshine Daydream Memorial Park in Terra Alta, WV.
The “Moon” release will be available at the bands shows, on Homegrown Music Network, and on I-Tunes in the near future.
CD RELEASE EVENTS
August 9th – Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY
August 10th – Miami Valley Music Fest – Troy, OH
For additional information including upcoming dates, go to Rumpke Mountain Boys website http://rumpkemountainboys.com/
