Based in Asheville, NC, Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work have been mainstays in the SouthEastern roots music scene for several years, and now the band is back again with the release of Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work, LIVE. In collaboration with Sound Lab Studios, the band recorded two nights at The Lexington Ave Brewery in Asheville in full Dolby digital surround sound in high definition on multiple cameras. Distilled now into both CD and DVD formats Pierce Edens and The Dirty Work, LIVE shows the band in their most raw, intense, and revelatory release to date and releases nationally on Tuesday, December 10, 2013.
Singing, performing, and recording for several years, the songs of Pierce Edens resonate from a calling sparked within him to share a story. It’s a story inspired by old-time tunes, a rock and roll fever, and the downright rural, gritty mountain life of his upbringing. It doesn’t seem to matter whether he is singing a haunting, foothill-influenced ballad with a modern Americana twist, or writing a 21st century stomp-and-clap that calls back to the Appalachian churches, it all gets entangled in his unique storytelling.
“There are few who can touch Edens as a singer or as a songwriter,“ says Bold Life’s Robin Tolleson. “He’s blessed with a soulful, resonant growl that seems to mix Johnny Cash, Eddie Vedder and Citizen Cope.” It’s an eclectic mélange of sounds exemplifying the fact that this man can’t be contained by any one genre; he’s an American musical anomaly.
“Pierce Edens heard old-timey mountain music until his teens; that’s when he was steeped in punk and grunge. Both inform his music. His shadowy baritone has a dark, jazzy canter reminiscent of Tom Waits, while the percolating strings below it veer from bluegrass to closing-time cabaret,” says Indy Week. “The punk manifests in the rebellious free-spirited nature of ‘Montana’ as Edens demands, ‘Don’t speak, don’t think, just take my hand and come with. We can work out the details later, if we work them out at all.’”
Along with Pierce Edens’ lead vocals and acoustic guitar, The Dirty Work includes Matt Smith (pedal steel and electric guitar), Jesse James Hongisto (upright bass), Dane Rand (drums and percussion), and Jim Aaron (Harmonica). Special guest musicians on the DVD include Jacob Rodriguez (saxophone) and Justin Ray (trumpet).
Sound Lab Studios is an Asheville-based media production company that is a partnership between More Chi Films and Golden Manatee Productions. The footage was directed and edited by Peter Lutz; produced by Adam Johnson & Peter Lutz, with audio recording & mixing by Adam Johnson and front of house sound by Sean Mack. Greg Herman for the album artwork and digital motion design. For more information about Sound Lab, please visit http://www.soundlabstudios.com.
More information about Pierce Edens and his tour dates can be found at www.pierceedens.com.
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