Had Nickel Creek not introduced me to modern bluegrass, I probably would have taken one listen to Leadfoot String Band and not have made them my choice of music for my 8-5. However, their entertaining string performance blended with historical vocals created great background music perfect for getting a day worth of work done. In fact, I listened to their six song Space catalog four times through before deciding I had enough – for now that is.
The five member Chicago band, which sounds much like the disbanded Nickel Creek with an up-tempo mixture of Chicago-bluegrass and modern lyrics, seems to be on a steady path to building a grassroots following with slightly under 1,000 friends. In fact, the Smokin’grass Records band has multiple local dates booked to increase their following – starting with a 10 p.m. stop at Kinetic Playground this Saturday.
What I like most about LFSB’s music is that it is a cross-culture sound – one that could ring catchiness in multiple demographics ears. Old or young, there is nothing that will stop your feet from beating the ground, especially with songs like “Sly” (2,413 plays), a song that extends an active solo far into music bliss. While “Cannonball” is the band’s No. 1 Space song with 6,257 plays, I am quite fond of the recently posted “Other Side of Town” – the perfect breakup song.
Many MySpace bands limit their exposure to only four songs, but with new technologies popping up my the second, I think other Chicago bands, especially those with under 1,000 fans, should take a page from LFSB’s model – plaster the page with music. Sure, we are in a world of digital theft and a sinking music industry and more and more labels fight to go virtual, but putting six, eight, ten songs on your page will create most exposure and more opportunities for browsing fans to catch onto your cause. With a simple design and a plentiful amount of music, Leadfoot does the perfect job at building a landing page for their grassroots growth plan.
Other songs on the site are “Deisel” (105 plays); “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (99 Plays), a song that exemplifies the versatility of the band with the vocals of the long female, Bridget Cavanough; and “Thrown’ Stones”. The diverse Space catalog will soon reach highlight as more and more Chicagoans and world music fans lean on bands like LFSB to fill a much wanted gap left by Nickel Creek.
With Steve Haberichter, Jake Cullen, Pat Otto, Eric Howell, and Cavenough – LeadFoot String Band should be on its way to at least a steady Chicago-base with enough fans to fill random bars across the state. While not my normal go-to cup of tea, these guys put great sounds on MPEGs and I am sure their live show is something to be reckoned with.
So be sure to come out and catch them this Saturday at The Kinetic Playground. For a listen and view, visit www.myspace.com/leadfootmusic
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woohoo!
Written by Guest on 2008-02-18 15:14:29
Go Leadfoot! |
Bluegrass is alive in Chicago
Written by Guest on 2008-02-18 16:03:36
Can't get enough of that hard drivin' bluegrass music. Nothing like bluegrass to get you on your feet and movin. Can't wait to see more of LFSB! Great show Saturday @ Kinetic Playground. ~B |
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