The Vultures unique blend of dirty L.A. punk and Chuck Berry guitar have created quite a buzz. As local radio personality Bob Reuter (Bob’s Scratchy Records, KDHX) says, they “capture the spirit of what rock n’ roll is all about.”
The Vultures debut self-titled album has been a top seller locally ever since it was released on Big Muddy Records in November of 2005. Positive album reviews from legendary DIY magazines like Under the Volcano and Maximum Rock n’ Roll have only helped. Rockabilly Magazine called their blend of punk and rock n’ roll one “of cacophonic tenor and with endearing drive.” Punk Planet claimed they were "heavier than even the Cramps." No Brains called their debut album a "masterpiece."
The Vultures have successfully embarked on three national tours, making stops at prestigious rock n' roll festivals like the Heavy Rebel Weekender and the Drop Dead Festival in New York. With both an EP and 7 inch under they're belt, the Vultures are currently hard at work in the studio recording a full-length LP set to be released spring of 2008, with two tours soon to follow!
No Brains Zine - July 2006
It's not very often to hear a band who creates its own style by mixing different old styles like 50s r'n'r, rockabilly, surf and garage. Vultures did it really good and they deserve a place in your record collection next to Cramps and Fuzztones. This CD, I guess their 1st one, is a small masterpiece that saw the light thanks to Big Muddy Records. Vultures are trio with girl on bass. Music is very primitive and there are few covers. It's all done so great, that you can't help it but love this band from St. Louis. They sent a DVD with 2 live clips - it only proves how super great and extraordinary this band is. I really hope to hear more from them and see them in Holland soon.
garagepunk.com
"One of the best new bands to emerge from St. Louis in years! Young, energetic, and fun as hell!"
Punk Planet 74
Ultra raw, super grungy, rockabilly three piece from Missouri. Shit, they cover the Sonics's "Strychnine" and make it sound heavier than even the Cramps's version! Both bassist Ashley Hohman and guitarist Ryan Koening take turns screeching into the microphone while pounding away on this mix of covers and originals. The band has a cathartic style that sounds like they're getting all the heebie-jeebies out via the joys of three chord rock 'n' roll. Killer stuff.
Rockabilly Magazine - MarchApril 2006
Garage punks who mine three-chorders and surf safaris with shockingly cool results. "Throwaway" in a good sense. Of cacophonic tenor and with endearing drive. They mean each note. Listening, you understand.
-Playback STL
"Their debut LP, The Vultures, captures some of that live power. The tunes include a slow rockabilly burner called “Shock Therapy Blues” and a stomper with an aggressive guitar part from Ryan Koenig called “Strychnine.” “Drunk Weekend” is an instrumental barn-burner that conjures images of greasers gettin’ loaded. It’s the band’s cover of the Misfits’ “Attitude,” though, that reveals the secret weapon: Ashley H.’s voice. When this gal screams, she really wails. Her angry caterwaul is like a woman yelling for her man to come in offa the porch, put down the bottle, and help me with the baby, goddamnit. AND I MEAN RIGHT NOW, LESTER!! She’s ain’t gonna be ignored. When the Vultures do this one live, they really pound out that punky, rebel rock, and the crowd just has to jump up and down. Joey the drummer keeps the train on track, and the whole band’s bright-eyed enthusiasm is a revelation."
Riverfront Times
"Few young bands have caused the type of stir that the Vultures have produced over the past year. Barely legal but fully styled, these three south-city kids mix their love of raunch & roll with elements of Motown, surf-rock and rockabilly. On "Don't Stop Lovin Me," bassist/vocalist Ashley Hohman lets loose an unholy howl of greaser-chic love and fidelity, while chipper male voices harmonize behind the din. It's a perfect union of rage and restraint, all under the unrelenting beat of loose-limbed, pre-Beatles rock & roll."
RIVERFRONT TIMES BEST OF 07':
Best Garage Band (2007)
The Vultures
www.myspace.com/thevulturesmusic
In a few short years, the Vultures have grown from three scrappy, underage rock & roll acolytes into one of the leading lights of this city's garage-band community. The trio's sets have moved from charmingly shambolic to drum-tight, plying audiences with primal screams, twangy guitar runs and a soulful, rubbery backbeat. The Vultures keep the needle moving by touching on rockabilly, swamp rock and gritty blues with little nuggets of pop bliss thrown in for sweetening. What's more, bassist and singer/shrieker Trashley spreads the dirt-rock love on her radio show, Talkin' Trash, on KDHX (88.1 FM) from 2 a.m. til 4a.m. on Tuesday nights, playing first-generation punk, blue-eyed soul and rockabilly into the wee small hours. The Vultures are a band whose mission is the music, and the trio aims to win converts by any means necessary.
