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DEMOLITION STRING BAND BIO -
Demolition String Band is not string band per se, although it started out as one.
The Hoboken/NYC based outfit led by Elena Skye and Boo Reiners incorporates
the sounds of folk, country rock, bluegrass, hillbilly, and even pop in their music
which is played and sung with heartfelt sincerity and inspired musical fire. Since the release of their first album a decade ago, followed by tours of the States and Europe, numerous TV and radio appearances and rotation on terrestrial, internet and satellite radio around the world, The Demolition String Band continues perfecting their mix of Americana flavors, a blend that is near 100 proof.
Elena (Chicago, IL) and Boo (Richmond, VA) met in a Hoboken, NJ bookstore and soon formed The Demolition String Band, named after the demolition going on
as the town was changing from an affordable artist-friendly enclave to a high-budget bedroom community for upwardly mobile professionals.
Demolition String Band has shared bills and tours with an eclectic roster of groups
and artists that easily reflect the range of their own musical tastes including Roger McGuinn, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Avett Brothers, Charlie Louvin, Railroad Earth, John Herald, Mary Gauthier, Tim O'Brien, Ollabelle, Laura Cantrell, Southern Culture On The Skids, Bottle Rockets, Patti Smith, Joan Osborne, Ricky Skaggs, Donna The Buffalo, Freedy Johnston, Asleep At The Wheel, Dale Watson, Marshall Crenshaw,
Blue Highway and the Legendary Shack Shakers.
Skye and Reiners co-hosted the Sunday School For Sinners bluegrass jam at Coney Island High on St. Marks Place in NYC's East Village. They were founding members
of the wildly popular Alphabet City Opry, a packed, sweaty, smokey gig that convened at a little place on Ave. C called 9C every Monday night. 9C soon became a bastion for deep country music in NYC, drawing in vistors and guests like Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, Rosie Flores, David Byrne, Rodney Crowell, Kenny Vaughn and Hank III. In 1998 the Demolition String Band signed with Vermont label North Hollow Records and released their first album "One Dog Town," an album partly influenced by those magical Monday nights.
In 2001 Demolition String Band signed on with the Okra-Tone label who released "Pulling Up Atlantis" in 2002. The included their twangy cover of Madonna's "Like
A Prayer" which put the album and the band on radio across the country. The album was released in Europe that same year by Continental Record Services/Rounder Europe and the band toured clubs and festivals in the England, Scotland, Holland
and Germany.
"Where The Wild Wild Flowers Grow: The Songs Of Ola Belle Reed" was released
by Okra-Tone in 2004. Featured on the all acoustic disc are guest bassist Mike Bub (Del McCoury Band, Vince Gill) and fiddler Lisa Gutkin (Klezmatics, Richard Shindell). The critically acclaimed album made 2005 Top Ten lists in Rolling Stone, Chicago Tribune and The Nashville Scene.
In November 2007 the versatile NYC indie label Breaking Records released
"Different Kinds of Love," DSB's fourth and most rocking effort to date. Recorded
at Kudzu Ranch, the studio and headquarters of Southern Culture On The Skids
in Mebane, NC, with additional tracks recorded at Eric Ambel's Cowboy Technical Services in Brooklyn, the album is a potent mix of their rural roots sounds fused
with their electric urban sensibility.
