The Cold River Ranters combine an American-rootsy feel with dashes of third world seasonings… The melodies reflect various cultural traditions – Appalachian, Irish, Celtic Brittany, African, even South Asian – but the band’s original lyrics are one-of-a-kind. Blood ‘n’ guts vocal stylings fuel the band’s high energy repertoire, balancing original inspirations with traditional roots…
DETAILS about specific RANTERS:
- Skillet Ranter plays a 1932 National Steel Guitar that famed-studio-engineer Mitch Ewerphat plucked out of a dumpster in Niagara Falls in 1962 when he was but a lad. The guitar had purportedly been pitched there by the jilted girlfriend of a philandering blues musician living in the same projects. Skillet doesn’t remember playing at the Keene Public Library.
- Marek Bennett plays the banjo bass harp, fretless banjo, fiddle, and toy piano. When he’s not Ranting, he’s drawing comics, playing antebellum banjo tunes, and tending his kale patch in Henniker, NH. [ www.marekbennett.com ]
- Nattie Carroll plays accordion, washboard, and bodhran. She also provides all our poultry sound effects. She lives in an old museum in Keene, NH.
- Tom Jawbone plays banjo, bagpipes, jawbone, wooden spoon, and about a zillion other musical implements… He’s a teacher and novelist from Keene, NH.
Some of the places we’ve played:
- Mole Hill Theatre
- Roots on the River
- Popolo
- Pleasant Valley Brewing
- Keene Public Library
- Hopkinton Town Library
- Henniker Community Market
Cold River Ranters 