LESTER T. RAWW FROM ARKANSAS STARTED THE PINE BOX BOYS in 2003, originally planning to perform new renditions of old murder ballad classics like The Knoxville Girl, and Fair Eleanor. Soon, however, he found he was composing his own murder ballads, taking many liberties with the form. This lead to their first album, Arkansas Killing Time.

“In my mind, I wanted something that sounded like Willie Nelson in a punk band. I even tried to play a nylon-string guitar hoping it would sound like Trigger. This did not work. At all. So, I switched to a Martin; we sped up the tunes to bluegrass velocities and, well, here we are.”

None of this explains the emphasis on murder, misery, and zombies. Lester blames this on his mother:

“She grew up real, REAL country—outhouse, Sears catalog, if you catch my drift—so she raised me on all those old songs. Before bed, she would sing me to sleep with such murder ballads as Pretty Polly, Skin and Bones Lady, and The Knoxville Girl. She must know ten more verses to that song than anyone ever sings. And she liked horror films. Not so much now, but back in the day . . . whooo, we watched some scary stuff.”

Lester fashioned all of this into his unique brand of music: not exactly bluegrass—more like “bloodgrass.” Bassist Colonel Timothy Leather and drummer Steven “Your Uncle” Dodds joined him in those early days having played with Lester in The Zag Men, a group specializing in performing live soundtracks to old silent horror films.

Somehow the sound just wasn’t twangy enough. Uncle Dodds suggested that they bring banjo-picker Alex “Possum” Carvidi into the group. These four became the core of the band and entered the exciting world of itinerant musicianship, traveling the States and parts of Europe.

STAB! was their second release. While Arkansas Killing Time included many slower numbers, this new album was the result of playing faster songs for thirsty audiences and remains their best seller to date. These first two albums, combined with their third release Child of Calamity, tell the disjointed narrative of a fictitious killer named Willie and his many victims.

They are currently working on their fourth album, Tales From The Emancipated Head. They can also be seen in Dr. Astronaut Body’s 2009 concert film Good Evening, Folks. We’re The Pine Box Boys.

THE PINE BOX BOYS are:

Lester T. Raww: guitar, vocals
“Possum” Carvidi: banjo, vocals
Col. Timothy Leather: upright bass
Steven “Your Uncle” Dodds: drums
with special guests Jason Kleinberg and Yoon-Ki Chai on fiddle

This summer Fried Bourbon will be teaming up with Gene Taylor (USA) at the Gentse feesten and playing some festivals in Belgium and The Netherlands.

You can join them during one of their gigs filled with low down blues, some jump-blues, wild boogie woogie, full-throated juke joint stomp and they will try to save your soul with sinners gospel. The group is inspired by the blues ‘n’ boogie music from the 50s and early 60's. Fried Bourbon manages to mix old and modern sounds, colours and rhythms with a recognizable and unique sound. Their music can be described as a mixture of swinging, danceable jump blues and harmonica-oriented Chicago blues.

Don't be afraid of the high cholesterol content ! If you feel like having a strong shot of genuine blues ’n boogie music, have some FRIED BOURBON! (and feel the boogie in your bones)

http://www.myspace.com/friedbourbon