Best of 2014 In The Media

Well, we’re not ones to boast, but we’re very fortunate to have been included in some of the finest “Best Of” columns to wrap up 2014!

BeBopified – Pamela Espeland (http://www.bebopified.com/2014/12/our-two-cents-in-2014-twin-cities-music.html)
“Because button accordionist Patrick Harison (Patty) is always worth watching. His music is both old-timey and fresh, and this album of all original songs made me laugh out loud and want to dance. The band: Harison on accordion, vocals, steel guitar, washboard and uke; Keith Boyles on bass; Tony Bailuff on clarinet; Mark Kreitzer on guitar.”

Hymie’s Vintage Records – Dave Hoenack (http://hymiesrecords.com/hymies-favorite-local-albums-of-2014/)

“Fifteen years ago, when PBS aired Ken Burn’s nine-part documentary, Jazz, we were appalled by its rigid, neo-classicist attitude. Eight episodes were devoted to the history of America’s greatest art form up until 1960, and only one to the extraordinary works written and recorded since. Watching Wynton Marsalis and Gary Giddins describe something so vibrant and inspiring as though it were a lost relic turned us off to traditionalism for years — It took local musicians like Patrick Harison, who we recently described as a muppet (here), to remind us that traditional music is not a museum piece but an ongoing communication between the past and the present. Patty and the Buttons‘ second full-length disc, The Mercury Blues,  adds to the conversation by introducing several new numbers which fit beautifully with songs nearly a century old. The album also introduces Patty’s pedal steel work and the band’s interest in the role of Hawaiian music in the first half of the last century.”