Q with Baby Gramps @ The Grey Eagle/Asheville, NC 6/19/05

Q sat in with the wonderful Baby Gramps the other night in Asheville...for those of you who don't know him already or recognize him from Phish tour we suggest you look into this Baby Gramps fellow....an ethereal old-timey trip at his vaudvillian best...


Worms For Sale...

Brass Lantern/Reading, Pa 5/20/5 -photo by MIM

Here's a review of "In The Tall Grass" from The Center Daily Times in State College, PA...

Posted on Fri, May. 20, 2005
Former poet's Lowdogs releases
its debut CD
By Cole Hons for the CDT
Artist: Lowdogs
Album: "In the Tall Grass"

Kris Kehr is back, with a new touring duo and a new record. Locals from in and around State College will remember Kehr as the soulful front man of the rootsy Americana outfit Stone Poets, as well as for his solo acoustic gigs. As one half of Lowdogs, the gravelly voiced singer-songwriter continues to mine introspective, alt-county musical territory, along with fellow North Carolina native Chris Q. The duo's first CD release, "In the Tall Grass," is a well-developed snapshot of their warm, jammy Americana style.

The two met while touring as members of The Recipe from 2001 to 2003, and started up Lowdogs last summer. Prior to playing with Kehr, Chris Q had toured and recorded extensively with the bands Hypnotic Clambake and Jiggle.

"In the Tall Grass" is the first official Lowdogs release, and it follows a pattern that the band has started on its Web site, where live tracks are regularly posted for free download.

This 100-percent-live disc was recorded during two nights at two clubs late last October.

The first five tracks feature just the duo, with Kehr on acoustic guitar and harmonica and Q on bass, performing at Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse in Bethlehem. The frantic acoustic picking and hypnotically thumping bass line of the opener "Doubt Love" sets the tone for a record that captures the breezy, laid-back style of seasoned, skilled, confident musicians sure-footedly jamming their way through a cycle of solidly constructed songs about the human heart and mind.

For the final three tracks, Lowdogs' sound is finely augmented by Scott Murowski on electric guitar and Greg Vasso on drums at the Century Lounge in Providence, R.I. With the support of these able musicians, the Lowdogs stretch out their arrangements, exploring Grateful Dead-like improvisations on "Alaskan Fishing Boat Blues," and the epic "To the Sea," which clocks in at just under 13 minutes.
Throughout the disc, Kehr's ragged, drawling vocals carry bucketloads of emotion, as do his journalistic lyrics. The combination is endearing, bringing to mind other greats of the genre, like Steve Earle.

As a whole, "In the Tall Grass" sounds a lot like an old pair of Levi's feels: well-worn, comfortable, and perfect for just kicking back and letting it all hang out.

This is a disc full of sturdy, frayed-at-the edges tunes that will never go out of style.

Telescope, Pa 5/22/5

Q w Jiggle-Harper's Ferry/Boston, MA 5/27/5

'Vines Creepin' in' - ashland, va 6/8/5

posted by LOWdOGS on Saturday, June 11, 2005