And from our good friend and wordsmith, Laureen
Harris:
Let me introduce my favorite wife and husband bluejazzgrass, alt-folk, countryclassical
musical duo, the Alltunators. These two marry powerful vocals and harmonies
to a diverse panopoly of instrumental arrangements, creating something both
lovely and new; something warm and biting as 20 year old Scotch in a chipped
rim china mug.
The duo alternate (hence the name!) between guitar, mandolin, fiddle and vocals, rusty and broken, polished and shining, beat down and lifted up; gypsy swing to old-time blues and bluegrass, contemporary singer-songwriter covers and original tunes. They allow influences by Tim O'Brien, Reinhardt and Grappelli, Gillian Welch, Split Lip Rayfield, Beth Orton, Chris Thile, Steve Earle, Jolie Holland, Madeleine Peyroux and Steve James. That and the sweaty smoky angels of jazz and blues from the roadhouses and juke joints and backyard stills of a Jim Jarmusch history of America.
Husband Andy Miller, a veteran of the touring & recording blues act Blinddog Smokin', once roamed the range in rural Wyoming, his native habitat. He started playing guitar and mandolin with family and friends as a young sprout, studied classical guitar at the University of Wyoming, then toured as the bass player with Blinddog for seven years before settling in Denver in 2000.
Wife Jessica Slater, grew up in the U.K., and her classically trained fingers began prancing along on the violin and piano at the tender tiny age of five. Her family made up a string quartet, as all good English families do, and she performed with local and national youth orchestras throughout the land. Fortunately she also grew up listening to blues and folk music and yearning for a different, less picturesque, way of life. When she drove to France in a VW bus in 1996, she took a guitar with her, and spent many hours singing and playing for passers-by on the Pont des Arts in Paris.
Jess moved to Denver in 1999, and she and Andy started cutting a swath in the local drinking and literary establishments as The Alltunators a couple of years ago. Drawing on a depth of tradition, a true musical partnership, and a sense of fun, they manufacture stardust and sawdust and poetry and plain old moonlight and broken dreams too.
The Alltunators reside in Denver, CO, but frequently lug their instruments as far as Nebraska, Wyoming, and even across the Atlantic. Music has always been a part of their lives, and there's nothing they love more than sharing it with all their friends, past, present, and future. And they sing a mean-ass cover of Eye of the Tiger. That's right, Eye of the Tiger, baby.
Go see 'em, you won't regret it, dear Web visitors!
Laureen
Be our friend! The Alltunators can be found at: myspace
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