Since forming a few years ago, Vancouver, BC's Petunia And The Vipers have made five trips down the West Coast--and they're thrilled to be doing it again! The band just released their s/t record on vinyl & CD in addition to a limited-edition 45 (http://www.petuniaandthevipers.com/all-albums/ ), and they also had a video come out last spring: directed by Morgan Carrier, it aired many times on Bravo Television. It's a stop-motion/live action tale built on the narrative of "Cold Heart Breaker" (http://petuniamusic.com/ ).
ABOUT PETUNIA AND THE VIPERS:
With a piercing gaze, Petunia looks into the collective soul of the audience, then launches into some high and lonesome vocals that conjure up the ghost of Jimmie Rodgers. Not content with mesmerizing the crowd, Petunia's tapping boot propels the band into a snarling fire and brimstone rave-up as a wave of frantic jitterbuggers compete for space on the hardwood dance floor. He loves to keep you guessing--often throwing a Spanish Ballad or Chanson a la Edith Piaf into the set. Petunia defies convention, and yet there is some conservancy to his music. His honest, cut-to-the-heart songwriting and mutli-syllabic narratives would leave a lesser singer tounge-tied and breathless. One of the many themes running through Petunia's lyrics relates to living life on one's own terms--fearlessly and without regret.
TOUR DATES:
02.07.12 - Cottage Grove, OR @ The Axe and Fiddle
02.08.12 - Philipsville, CA @ The Riverwood Inn
02.12.12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Redwood Bar
02.13.12 - Burbank, CA @ Joe's American Bar
02.14.12 - Burbank, CA @ Joe's American Bar
02.15.12 - Fullerton, CA @ Big's Grill
02.16.12 - San Diego, CA @ The Shakedown
02.17.12 - Santa Monica, CA @ Harvelle's
02.18.12 - Oakland, CA @ The Vitus
02.20.12 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
02.21.12 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
02.22.12 - Zigzag, OR @ The Skyway Bar & Grill
02.23.12 - Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond's
02.24.12 - Portland, OR @ The Spare Room
02.25.12 - Bellingham, WA @ The Green Frog
“Sometimes Vancouverite, fulltime yodellin’ cowboy Petunia often presents, live and on past CDs, as offering a stripped-down take on roots music, dark and lonely as a telephone pole on a stretch of highway with no streetlights, with the obvious musical references being to Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. His new LP – his first full-length to come out on vinyl (with bonus tracks on the CD) – blows away these preconceptions and vastly expands his domain, with energetic rockabilly rave-ups (“Maybe Baby Amy,” replete with Jerry Lee Lewis yelps) and lush, complex arrangements (with lapsteel guitar, horns, kazoo, piano, horns, and deft drumwork by Marc L’Esperance). There’s also a couple of absolutely fantastic bits of songwriting in evidence – like “Mercy,” which yokes a swingin’, revival-tent atmosphere to half-growled lyrics about guilt, sin, redemption, and gambling, which Petunia delivers with a vocal fire and fury previously unheard on his solo CDs. Impressive stuff – this may well be the Vancouver roots music release of the year."--The Georgia Strait
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