THE SKINNY
Pour yourself a stiff one – cheap bourbon, if you please – and prop your elbows on the bar while you take a listen to The Barstool Romeos. The Barstool Romeos – Mike McGill and Andy Pirkle on guitar, Eric Keeble on percussion, and Josh Sidman on bass – is a Knoxville, Tennessee, outfit that offers up its brand of countrified rock and roll straight with no chaser. These Knoxville honky tonk heroes are out and about sharing the sounds of their debut record, Twisted Steel & Sex Appeal.
FOR FANS OF
Merle Haggard, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The Jompson Brothers, James McMurtry
THEY SAID IT
“The Barstool Romeos are what great country music and rock ‘n’ roll is all about. Their music is fun, thoughtful and real. Mike McGill and Andy Pirkle sound like they were born in a honky tonk and bathed in beer every night. (They still kind of smell that way.) They harmonize like angels who fell out of heaven into a bucket of barbecue. These are guys who used the work of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Del Reeves and, maybe, the early Allman Brothers as their musical Bible and win converts every time they play. Twisted Steel & Sex Appeal is one of the best albums of 2013 and one of the best debuts I’ve heard.”
– Wayne Bledsoe, Knoxville Sentinel Entertainment Writer & Host of WDVX’s “All Over The Road”
ON STAGE
The Barstool Romeos just wrapped up a weekend opening for outlaw country songstress Elizabeth Cook in Maryville, Tennessee. Honky tonk fans can catch the band on April 19th at The Hummingbird Taproom & Stage in Macon, Georgia, on April 20th in Cowan, Tennessee, at Brown’s Pool Room, and at Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria in Knoxville on Apri 27th.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“We all come from an eclectic mix of musical backgrounds. I come from a country, bluegrass, gospel background. Andy was raised on country but ended up in a punk band. We love the blues and rock and roll and we have been influenced by everyone from Merle Haggard and The Louvin Brother’s harmonies to ZZ Top, AC/DC, and John Lee Hooker. In this band, it is all about the song. We love real music, just anything that has substance.”
– Songwriter/guitarist Mike McGill on The Barstool Romeos’ influences
ON THE WEB
For more on The Barstool Romeos, point the whiskey bottle in your browser to http://www.reverbnation.com/barstoolromeos for information on shows, music, and video clips. You can also check out “Cheap Bourbon Whiskey” on this month’s edition of Trail Mix.
