J. Roddy Walston with Strange Vine

Table reservations $100, email [email protected] J. Roddy Walston is a force of nature. If his hits like Heavy Bells are a war cry, then the deep cuts like Boys Can Never Tell are a tac cal cosmic retreat. For some, his music is a form of religion, psychedelic in its intensity, transforma ve in its grip on the body, shaking loose something primal that’s been buried too long. It’s not about thinking, It’s about moving, feeling, surrendering. His influences are a riot of contradic ons: Kurt Cobain’s fury, Nilsson’s fractured sweetness, Zeppelin’s power, and somewhere in there a perverted nod to William Onyeabor’s lonely calculator funk. Cri cs try to box him in, but Walston can’t be contained—he does chaos, and his live shows do damage, but fortunately his songs can pay the tab. Catch him and his band before he burns it all down again. Strange Vine’s earthy, energetic music is a fusion of blues, psychedelic, and traditional American rock. It’s a sound born of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, from two men who were raised there. Ian Blesse plays drums and Rhodes piano (simultaneously), while Toby Cordova fleshes out the songs with a rotating arsenal of guitars (including one made from a cigar box). Both contribute vocals toward a rich, layered sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts. SV has supported/toured with acts like Cage The Elephant, Los Lobos, Cold War Kids, Robin Trower, Delta Spirit, B.B. King, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lord Huron, Band Of Skulls, The Record Company, Kurt Vile, Cedric Burnside, Meat Puppets, Matt and Kim, FUZZ (Ty Segall), The Growlers, The Bones Of J.R. Jones, Bob Log III, Jackie Greene, The Mother Hips, Nick Waterhouse, White Denim, Reignwolf….. Press: “Moving from bluesy riffs, sudden tempo shifts, White Stripes-esque guitar stabs and runs, on through lurching classic rock headbanging material and even stopping for a waltzing piano solo. It‘s compelling stuff, delivered at the sure hands of very talented musicians.” ~Weekly Volcano “They aren’t just the best band to come out of Fresno, Calif.; they are contenders for underground cult status. Strange Vine has mastered an oddly menacing mix of abstract rock with blues undertones, and listeners could lose themselves in the band’s combined vocal talent.” ~Eugene Weekly SV is proudly endorsed by Evans Drumheads, Promark drumsticks, D’Addario guitar strings & Lollar guitar