I realize this is mostly a self-reliance/urban homesteading blog, but I shall be speaking of something mostly unrelated to those subjects, unless you consider music to be good for your mental health.

Over the weekend, I happened to go out to support a local band, The Gravel Kings, since I knew the drummer from my work circles. The music was described as “Indie style funky-bluegrass-folk thing”. A friend of mine let me listen to their debut video (here on Youtube, or see below), and I was hooked about 15 seconds into the music as I realized they had a banjo 🙂

Being a Hillbilly, the sounds of banjos are dear to me, and Deliverance jokes aside, are a memorable part of my mostly non-musical upbringing. Growing up in the hills of West Virginia, one of my earlier memories after moving there was when Harley Gregg, who lived across the creek and down the dirt road, would break out his banjo. On certain cooler summer evenings as the sun slipped behind the hills, he would start playing and as the notes of his plucky banjo started to echo across the “holler“, I would stop whatever I was doing and stand mesmerized by its almost magical sound.

To me, even now, a banjo is the sound of the heartbeat of the hills I so dearly love.

Fast forward 35 years, and you would have found me in Oceanside Pub in Jensen Beach  last Saturday night, somehow in the very front of the stage as the music started up. I was entranced as the music started with its clear, crisp sounds and upbeat tempo. Toe-tapping and clapping, I was a little kid again as I soaked in the show.

The show consisted of seven or eight songs (sorry, I lost track). As their set ended, I picked up a copy of their self-titled debut CD for a mere $5. As we drove home, we listened to the clean studio tracks of the same music we had just heard.Good stuff. VERY good stuff. I’m no music critic, but I know what I like…this worked for me.

When I got home, I had to hit their website, GravelKings.com, where I read about their climb into the local spotlight, and was impressed with how they’ve used technology to get started.

It seems they needed $600 in seed money to help them cut a decent first CD, after overwhelming local support. In an effort to raise the funds, they opted to use Kickstarter.com, a unique online social media method of raising funds for unique independent projects.

Using Kickstarter, the Gravel Kings were able to accumulate the needed funds within a month, all for local supporters. Last Saturday was the CD release party, and I was fortunate enough to have attended.

They now have their full album available at Amazon, GooglePlay, ITunes, and Rhapsody.

If you like music, give these folks a listen. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, and who knows, you may start tapping your toes. I know I did.

Take us home Gravel Kings….

Peace,
db