The Five Points Band
Woodstock, New York, United States | INDIE
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In case you didn't know it folks we have a very hot one here!
A Blues/Roots trio that actually has fun deconstructing the whole idea, guitarist Robin "Hammer" Ludwig, bassist "Money" Mike Esterson and drummer Jason "J-Bird" [Bowman] aren't interested in burning another solo into our collective heads. No sir. These guys twist 'n twirl the old medium, lighting it up with a lil bit of cajun 'n country, creating a very listenable originality you and your CD player will be most thankful for.
Recorded right here in New Paltz, Five Points breathes fresh air into Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain" by bringing some Dixieland brass to the party. Mississippi John Hurt's elemental "Candyman" does a hard shuffle ala electric Hot Tuna. Blind Willie's "Nobody's Fault" and Skip James' "New Special Rider" are literally resuscitated.
Stick-to-the-rib original ticklers include the crackling "TV Preacher," "Call Me The Hammer," "Name of My Game," and "900 Miles."
There is so much great playing and playfull imagination on "Roots and The Spirit" that you'd only be cheating yourself and your heirs if you didn't pick this one up.
- Michael Jurkovic
- Rhythm and News
With its epic punkabilly slide guitar—courtesy of Robin the Hammer and recklessly powerful drummage from JBird Bowman—the Five Points Band like it rough and raw (like a combo of Tom Waits, Velvet Underground, and the Stones) enough to inspire the Red Hot Chili Peppers' own Flea to exclaim on their behalf: “Facing your demons is not a child’s job—it is scary work, and I wanna go to battle with the Five Points Band on my side.” Swampy, bluesy, and occasionally spinning a good yarn, this Woodstock-based family band keeps it simple, and almost all of the time get it just right. - Roll Magazine
“Rock ‘n’ roll is about facing your demons; it is scary work and I wanna go to battle with the Five Points Band on my side. This record gets inside ya and makes ya feel good. Rock on Five Points Band.”
-Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Elmore Magazine - Elmore Magazine
Discography
The Five Points Band 1999
Roots and the Spirit 2002
Ida the Spider and the American Dream 2006
Family ( to be released ) 9-22-2011
Photos
Bio
“Rock ‘n’ roll is about facing your demons; it is scary work and I wanna go to battle with the Five Points Band on my side. This record gets inside ya and makes ya feel good. Rock on Five Points Band.”
-Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Elmore Magazine
Read all of Flea’s Review
“Saw the most excellent Five Points Band in Woodstock tonight. I’ll sum it up. Most bands try to be what these guys are without trying! The real deal. One of my absolutely favorite bands.”
-Popa Chubby
“Imagine if Tom Waits, Johnny Cash and Robert Johnson were doing shots of moonshine in a some backwater shack in the bayou writing songs and playing music for weeks on end – that is The Five Points Band” -rocketChips last.fm
“…epic punkabilly slide guitar – like a combo of Tom Waits, Velvet Underground, and the Stones.” -Roll Magazine
“They’re a lot of fun, a somewhat bizarrely satirical, funny bluespunk band with good chops and good energy.” -Lucid Culture
The Five Points Band’s music is texture and insight into a world not always filled with happy endings, where outlaws can be heroes, where oddities are welcomed and monsters are friends. Formed in the Lower East Side of New York in the late 90's, The Five Points Band is a family spanning three generations. On stage the band creates an enchanted atmosphere, using three distinctive lead vocals which at times blend and soar in harmony.
Robin the Hammer, the paterfamilia, is the son of a tough Russian father and a cultured Jamaican mother. His musical center lies somewhere between Stravinsky’s The Rites of Spring, Muddy Waters, Frank Zappa and Slim Gaylard. An educated man, Robin has managed to carve out a living for himself as an artist of high caliber. As a Jeweler, he has worked for Billy Idol, John Entwhistle, Larry Blackmon, High Times and many others. As a musician, he has graced stages from Europe to LA, New Orleans to New York, solo or with bands, back-up or lead, and in front of 10 or 10,000 he always delivers. As a mystic and a philosopher he can amuse, confuse, bewilder and impress anyone smart enough to buy him a drink.
Miss Acacia is the daughter of Robin the Hammer and Sweetbryar. A child of NYC, she will let YOU know where it’s at and leave you with no doubts. Acacia has a style that is often copied, but never duplicated, and a voice that keeps audiences fawning over her long after she has left the building. Acacia has toured and recorded with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recorded with Jimmy Scott, performed with Porno For Pyros, and worked with Dave Navarro on his solo release.
Jbird Bowman is an accomplished drummer with a history as dark, scary and rotten as the inside of a scotch barrel. Not much of a conversationalist, Jbird’s wooing of Miss Acacia consisted of throwing a chocolate bar a day into her room then quickly disappearing. Eventually, the plan paid off and he was associated, in her mind at least, with chocolate and sweetness. What a coup. Since the birth of their son, Macky, Jbird has mellowed enough to actually produce the next Five Points Band CD entitled “Family” available in spring of 2011.
Mckinley Bowman is the son of Acacia and Jason. He started playing drums at the age of .33. At the age of 9, he is something to see. Macky has toured with the band to Norway and New Orleans, as well as many dates in New York. Past credits include being awesome, being grumpy, and playing the first bass note of “Under the Bridge” with the Chili Peppers in front of 25,000; he could care less.
Kirk Reinert both produced and painted the cover for “Ida the Spider & the American Dream,” Five Points’ third CD. An accomplished artist, Kirk has painted for Clive Barker, Creepy & Eerie magazine, KISS, and George Lucas to name a few. Kirk stayed on after producing to play bass whenever Acacia gets tired of it.
Sweetbryar is wife to Robin, mother to Acacia, grandmother to Macky. She is the spinner of webs and the bringer of faith. She is the breaker of dogmas and the enemy of falsehoods. She is the soul of funny and the truth of Love, all wrapped in a sweet, wicked little lady. Sweetbryar occasionally comes up to tell a story or to sing along.
The Five Points Band are sure to entertain, and being a family, they do it together, with style and grace. The intelligence, humor and raw power of their performance not only turns fans on, but is the reason the band itself does what it does…it just feels good.
Their fourth album, Family, is scheduled for release in Fall 2011.
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