Woodbox Gang

Alternative Tentacles unearths the Woodbox Gang, yet another avant-Americana gem for their trophy case of stellar American roots acts. The Woodbox Gang sprang from Vulture Valley (we kid you not!) in Southern Illinois, a land of swampy forests, coal mines, and festering religious conservatism cradled by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. They combine the roots music tools of trade--guitar, mandolin, lap steel, and the fiddle--with unconventional instruments like the didgeridoo, or just jury-rig whatever's at hand (a saw, a suitcase) to make music out of it. While Drunk as Dragons is a sure bet for fans of Slim Cessna and our other Denver acts, the Woodbox Gang sound has a more desolate, outlaw twist: after all, Southern Illinois has a history as a gangster hideout and secessionist threat to Honest Abe. 
 
Drunk as Dragons began as a mini-album to be sold at shows, but it's been fortified (y'know, like finer wines) with re-recordings of eight classic songs from their seven-album discography to better spread the Woodbox gospel farther and wider. With longtime punks forming jug bands and creating fiery takes on traditional sounds, it's time Woodbox Gang ended their toil in relative anonymity. 
 
"A rare find among the ruins of rural America." 
--No Depression  
 
"It is the jug flat tire band whose power is good as though it is the mischievous raging horse!" 
--Hi-Fi Record Store, Japan