Right off the top,
one of the biggest reasons this SF-quartet is so good is that
they stretch the limits of what you'd expect from roots rock
at every possible opportunity. Sure they have the slow burning,
folky acoustic side, but they aren't afraid to turn it up the
heat and hit you in the mouth with some down and dirty punk and
blues. From the opening guitar riff and simple cymbal tap of
Through to the End, the band paves the way for Pete Frauenfelder
and Andrew Kerwin to play off each other. They sound great together,
but more importantly, they seem to know exactly when Pete's vocals
need complimenting, and when it's best left up to his bluegrass,
squeaky voice to carry the load. The band jumps into Your Sister
and Your Sister's Friends, a feverish floor stomper, that channels
the energy of some of the punk outfits the SF bay area is famous
for, but instead of simple power chord guitar riffs, Trainwreck
uses country-fried guitars to push the song along. It's about
now you should be really taking an interest in this record. Somehow
it's like everything you've loved before (uncle tupelo and early
modest mouse for example), but at the same time, shockingly different.
From the old-time country goodness of Wine Stains, the big bass
lines of In & Out of Love, to the harmonized balladry of
To the Grave you feel at home listening to the record. Thoughts
of leaving home for the open road and heartache run deep, as
is expected, but let's be honest. That's why you listen to this
type of music. It's the subtle risks and underlying energy the
band delivers that is so refreshing and, for lack of a better
way to describe it, kick-ass. Not a note on this record seems
too polished or too rehearsed and what could be perceived as
a lack of focus, is actually why it's so good. They keep you
guessing, like tossing in a huge face-melting solo in the middle
of In the Wake of it All or unleashing beautiful strings on the
sincere ballad, To the Grave, but never leave you unsatisfied.
- Herohill.com _____________________________
TRAINWRECK
RIDERS on DAYTROTTER _____________________________
Christmas
Time Blues video on Spin.com _____________________________
Top 10 Moments
of SXSW 2007 1. The Trainwreck Riders
set at the NY2LON party on Saturday. Absolutely my favorite set
of the weekend. Andrew Kerwin plays at a frenetic pace. - HearYa
_____________________________
"Album Of
The Week (11/13/06) / Added to Rough Trade Record Club (December
'06): A brilliant album of garage filled Americana - bits of
Dinosaur Jr., Meat Puppets, Creedence in there, but distinctly
their own sound." - ROUGH TRADE RECORD STORE UK
_____________________________
In the airless underground
of the Lower East Side's Cake Shop, Trainwreck Riders and Illinois
shared the stage Monday evening, picking up where their stint
at SXSW left off. Trainwreck Riders brought an element of San
Francisco jam to their alt-country stylings, and within one song
were able to channel a dozen moods and hopscotch through just
as many genres. Fans hit the low ceiling along with the beat
as "Through Till the End" and "Your Sister and
Your Sister's Friend" both got the crowd skanking and shaking
to the punk hoedown. The cinder block that braced the mic for
the bass drum refused to stay upright and by the end of the set,
frontman Pete Frauenfelder decided it was better suited as a
jumping post. - Spin
live review
_____________________________
It would be a shame
if people let the "Americana" tag scare them away from
this low-key charmer. In fact, the package art, a bit of fiddle-even
one of the song titles-suggests a label even further removed
from the indie rock crowd (or mainstream country fans, for that
matter): "old timey." For too many that phrase is restricted
to white-bearded geezers with banjo in one hand and skillet in
the other. But there's a spirit of music made for sheer joy in
Lonely Road Revival that could've come straight out of The Bristol
Sessions. (...) I don't listen to nearly as many new releases
as most of the pundits proffering year-end best-of lists, but
even if I did, this irresistible CD would surely make my Top
Ten for 2006. - John Hagelston / Rhino
_____________________________
This splendidly
named band is fittingly a mess, a trainwreck in the best since
of the word. Like a locomotive bound for destruction around the
next bend, when these guys work up a good head of steam they
charge ahead, doors flapping, sparks flying till the wheels fall
off and they plunge through the "bridge is out" sign
and into the abyss. Other times they can kick back and play nice
country/folk/punk ballads like it was Saturday night on the porch
passing around the intoxicators and showing off for the crickets.
This is great and oughta put a smile on the sourest of pusses
not to mention a lilt in their step. - The Big Takeover
_____________________________
Although their name
sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, this San Francisco-based
quartet have produced a debut album that is anyhting but. Like
Bright Eyes and Two Gallants, their country-infused punk is packed
with such raw musical emotion that it's sometimes easy to forget
how clever their lyrics are. - Dazed (UK)
_____________________________
East Bay Express
- best album of 2006
Trainwreck Riders rule for anyone who loves country rock but
can't bear Two Gallants' literary lyrics and extended tomes.
The two bands are close friends and frequent tourmates (hell,
they got Tasered and arrested together by Houston police), but
the likenesses end there. The Riders are all spit and whiskey,
playing music cleverly -- and tellingly -- dubbed cowpunk. Lonely
Road Revival could soundtrack a moshpit or a hoedown; both
Southern soul and showy solos have their place, but neither emerges
victorious. - East
Bay Express
_____________________________
Trainwreck Riders'
debut album offers 11 almost traditional-sounding tunes, played
with the ragged edge, crashing chords and bleeding battery-acid
lead guitar of a great garage-rock band. Lonely Road Revival
suggests an old-time Appalachian porch hootenanny gone electric.
As the alt-country movement of the 1990s becomes just another
prêt-à-porter style, this San Francisco quartet
rekindle the punk-rock belly fire the genre had in the hands
of its progenitors, Uncle Tupelo: the vocalist hollers; somebody
blows a harmonica over clattering percussion and Andrew Kerwin's
skinny guitars. Trainwreck Riders are taking faltering steps
towards greatness. (rating=3 stars). - Stewart Lee / The
Sunday Times - UK
_____________________________
Trainwreck Riders
play twisted Americana, with a hint of madness and lots of goodtime
energy, that ensures the songs rock along with vigour and purpose.
Highlights include the wonderful "Your Sisters And Your
Sisters Friends" filled with great guitar, the Johnny Cash
stomp of "Wine Stains" or the violin soaked ballad
"To The Grave". Fans of The Band Or Buffalo Springfield
should check this album out. - Simon Lewis / Terrascope
Rumbles
_____________________________
Interview with Andrew
on SFist.com
_____________________________
Trainwreck
Riders feature in Mesh - PDF file
_____________________________
The young men in
Trainwreck Riders are equally adept with the weepy balladry of
"Christmas Time Blues" and "To the Grave",
ragged around the edges excursions consisting of cracked vocals,
acoustic guitar, and violin, as they are with rockers like "Old
Timey Feeling" (Credence Clearwater Revival beaten to within
an inch of its life) and "Your Sisters and Your Sisters'
Friends" (think Long Ryders and early Uncle Tupelo). If Lonely Road Revival doesn't charm you by simple virtue
of its energy and passion alone, you may be too far down the
road of cynicism to be saved. But if you can still remember how
great an imperfect country/rock record made by a band dripping
with potential and energy can be, then Lonely Road Revival
is a refreshing slap in the face. - Peter Funk / Pop
Matters
_____________________________
At the forefront
of the band is lead singer and rhythm guitarist Pete Fraudenfelder
and lead guitarist Andrew Kerwin. Kerwin effortlessly picks and
plucks his way throughout the album, never missing a beat throughout
the numerous tempo changes. Fraudenfelder's delivery and down-on-your
luck lyrics work perfectly with the frantic energy brought forth
by the music, and his harmoninizing with Kerwin will have you
reminiscing of Tweedy and Farrar. Highlights include "Your
Sisters And Your Sisters Friends," "Christmas Time
Blues" and "In and Out Of Love". - Hearya
Blog
_____________________________
Following the old
trail set by their friends and fellow San Franciscans, Two Gallants,
Trainwreck Riders emerge on the scene with a raw country-blues
sound with a punk rock edge. Lonely Road Revival is country music,
the way it's supposed to sound-with Johnny Cash's swinging rockabilly
bass lines, rustic vocals and good ol' fashion storytelling.
The words "Take that noose and set it loose" from the
harmonica-heavy "Christmas Time Blues" define everything
the current country music lacks. - Jonnyleather.com
_____________________________
Songs of great riffs
such as the one in 'Through Unto The End' pleasures our ears
into listening further - whilst we're treated to a finger picking
explosion in 'In The Wake Of It All', which turns into a kind
of country-rock ballad. "Rocks At Your Window" is a
bit 'hillbilly' with Pete's vocals set to simple country-folk/bluegrass
arrangements, whilst "Alemony Wildlife Refuge" is more
speedy punk in its essence. It's a smooth mix blending the old
with the new, which will see yet another band jump in popularity.
It won't be long... - Paul Meggs / Velvet
Grooves
_____________________________
"Lonely Road
Revival" is a terrific distillation of Trainwreck's idiosyncratic
vision and the chemistry forged during the band's high school
years together, when brothers Andrew (lead guitar) and Steve
Kerwin (drums) met the budding singer Frauenfelder (...) The
three bounded over a mutual love for West Coast music, ranging
from the weird acid-punk of the Meat Puppets to the swampy, roughhewn
rock 'n' soul of Creedence Clearwater Revival. They also devoured
the traditional country, blues, and folk they had discovered
in the extensive record collection amassed by the Kerwin brothers'
dad, Rob, who contributes fiddle to 'Lonely Road Revival'. -
Jonathan Perry / The Boston Globe
_____________________________
Just how is it that
San Francisco has become such a major player in the roots rock
scene? As improbable as it was that the Bay Area would produce
the ramshackle, blistery blues rock of Two Gallants, another
band from the Bay, the Trainwreck Riders, have stepped onto the
scene and have transformed American roots rock, once again. On
their Alive Records debut, Lonely Road Revival, the Trainwreck
Riders, meld twang, folk, the guitar heroics of Neil Young or
J Mascis, and hints modern indie bands like Modest Mouse or Built
To Spill, in order to craft their distinct, yet comfortingly
familiar sound. It's hard to highlight a few tracks when there's
just so much to like on Lonely Road Revival. "In and Out
of Love" combines the shuffling rhythm of an old time country
song with rock and roll guitar pushed out front in the mix. Add
in a little steel guitar, and the right amount of twang, and
you've got one helluva rocker. "Christmas Time Blues"
is a bar room tear jerker in the traditional sense. "Wine
Stains" is a good ole country rocker that makes me want
to get all liquored up and stomp my feet as my drink sloshes
over its glass. Finally, consider "Find Your Way Home"
and "Alemony Wildlife Refuge, " two fine slabs of cowboy
punk with the down home fiddle track, "Rocks At Your Window"
sandwiched in the middle. It takes some skills to pull that sequence
off flawlessly. Sh*t, it takes serious musical skills to pull
of this album, and those Trainwreck Rider boys sure damn have
it. - I
Rock Cleveland
_____________________________
I am a Britpop kid.
One of my favorite bands is Radiohead, and I read the NME religiously.
No doubt I like the melodic guitars and the soft vocal wailing
and the piano and all that jazz - sometimes literally, sometimes
figuratively. Yet, every so often there is a band that comes
my way that challenges me to think outside my box and surprises
me by hooking my ears into infectious tunes. Trainwreck Riders
is one of the those bands. They are both obnoxious and rhythmic,
abrasive and slow, but never letting an ounce of skill and talent
spill out unnecessarily. On their full length LP Lonely Road
Revival, the guys in Trainwreck crank up the dual guitars for
a country twang inspired folk anthem and succeed at making you
tap your toes as well. "Wine Stains" offers a simple
but powerful guitar hook, an anthem well suited for Saturday
afternoons and chilling with a beer in one hand, while "Find
Your Way Home" is a raucous song needed to be fully experienced
at high volume levels for maximum appreciation. Trainwreck can
also compose the background music for a stroll through your local
park, such as "Christmas Time Blues," which pulls some
harmonica and acoustic guitar action. My favorite track, "In
& Out Of Love," delivers a softer sound to the listener,
with singers Peter Frauenfelder and Andrew Kerwin harmonizing
together about the concept and pitfalls of relationships and
girls. - Jenn Hernandez / The
Tripwire
_____________________________
The Trainwreck Riders'
music may be pure rootsy fire and stomp, but their harmonies
have all the sweet glide of The Byrds at their most melodic.
That being said, the momentum on their sophomore album Lonely
Road Revival relies on the juxtaposition of the rough and
the smooth and the results are decidedly winning. With a satchel
that runs deep with twangy versatility, here you'll find everything
from jangling rockers ("Through unto the End") to melancholy
ballads ("To the Grave") to bluegrass-tinged toe-tappers
("Rocks at Your Window"). But as good as it all is,
the highlights here, like the furiously paced "Find Your
Way Home," which benefits from a wicked battle march backbeat,
or the Uncle Tupelo thrash of "In The Wake Of It All,"
both warrant gushing praise. But who are we kidding? It's all
good. The fact of the matter is this San Francisco band's
secret weapon is the interplay between singer/guitarists Pete
Frauenfelder and Andrew Kerwin, who, in the midst of a song,
not only harmonize beautifully, but have an almost preternatural
sense of the where the other one is. Not much ground is broken
here in terms of content, as trains and broken hearts and the
bluesy stupor of leaving home are typical faire of alternative
country, but the Trainwreck Riders give the genre a welcome and
traditional shot in the arm. - Alex Green / Amplifier
_____________________________
Drummer Magazine
Zero Mag Pick
Of The Month : A lot
of good music melding blues, country, and punk has come from
San Francisco in the last few years, and this is the absolute
best. The current champs of the scene are Two Gallants, who are
good friends with the Trainwreck Riders (they're even touring
together). But the Riders have the stuff to beat them. Sure,
Two Gallants write great songs with excellent lyrics. They're
intense as hell, and for a duo, hard to beat. But as far as pure
listening enjoyment goes, Trainwreck Riders have more to offer.
Listening to Two Gallants makes you think, "Damn, these
guys are awesome." You'll tell your friends about them,
play a couple cool songs off the record, and feel good about
it all. But listening to Trainwreck Riders really makes you feel.
It makes you get up and dance, sip some whiskey, fire a rifle,
and throw elbows in the mosh pit. While Trainwreck Riders' lyrics
can't match Two Gallants' literary quality, their music has much
more life to it. Where the Gallants have grit, the Riders have
spit. It's alt-country pulled out of the box, old-fashioned punk
rock. It's grey, it's old-timey. It's San Francisco on a silver
disc. - Nate Seltenrich / Zero
Mag
_____________________________
Trainwreck Riders's
debut album Lonely Road Revival shows the San Francisco scruffy
busker-ish quartet to a legion of new fans who may not have been
able to see their edgy punk sensibilities in person. With quirky
and "old-timey American" music mashed with old-school
punk they are building a core audience for DIY music purists.
My picks: "Your Sisters And Your Sister's Friends,"
"In The Wake Of It All," "Old Timey Feeling,"
"In & Out Of Love" and "Alemony Wildlife Refuge." - DJ Pusspuss
/ SF Bay Times
_____________________________
This is a cracking
debut from this San Francisco act and a band I´ll be keeping
an eye on in the future. What´s so good about this album
is how this Garage band have managed to blend in the old timey
sounds of America with some modern day Punk Rock. It shouldn´t
work but it does and for that you only give these guys plenty
of applause. There´s some great songs on here such as ´Your
Sisters And Your Sisters Friends´, ´Christmas Time
Blues´, ´In The Wake Of It´ and ´Find
Your Way Home´. Not only do you get a great slab of music
but thrown in is the passion too. - Steve Diy / Full
Frontal Recorings
_____________________________
7x7 San Francisco
Open a paper,
dial up a pundit, and you'd believe this country was so polarized
that even the Berlin Wall was more easily crossed than the cultural
chasm that now divides this nation. So wide is the divide it's
swallowed whole regions and even engulfed music, with genres
now color-coded red or blue. Punk, of course, is the latter,
country the former. Trainwreck Riders make a nonsense of these
notions, being as they are a rocking in their chair, guitar-pickin'
on the porch, non-political punk band from San Francisco. Stick
that in your Pew poll and smoke it. Their debut album Lonely
Road Revival harkens back to a golden age of Americana, when
folk, country and blues musically intertwined (even if the musicians
themselves rarely did). The band draw inspiration from all three,
particularly Andrew Kerwin, whose finger-lickin' good guitar-pickin'
is the soul of Trainwreck Riders' sound. With twangy country,
blues, rockabilly, and pop-inflected passages that bring to mind
the Byrds or even the Beatles, Kerwin effortlessly picks his
way through them all, spinning out melodies and riffs, never
missing a beat or putting a finger wrong. Singer/rhythm guitarist
Pete Frauenfelder is an equally adept frontman, whose folksy
vocals gives all the songs a unique flavor, even the driving,
punk-studded numbers like "Find Your Way Home," which
work as an equal showcase for the band's fabulous rhythm section.
Lyrically lovelorn, nerves raw, and emotions muddled, Trainwreck
Riders songs ramble down the briar-filled paths of confused interpersonal
relationships. The lyrics may be downbeat, but the music is not,
careening headlong into country hardcore (!), brawling rockabilly,
and punchy punk blues. But for every exhilarating, slam-bang
number, there's a corresponding one with a much more laid-back
rhythm, easygoing atmosphere and at times, even dreamy aura.
This is Americana for a new America, and as train wrecks go,
this one is a beauty. - Jo-Ann Greene / AMG - Billboard
_____________________________
The band's sound
is a throwback to the sixties with comparisons easily made to
the Flying Burrito Brothers who pioneered the idea of a rock
band playing country music. The album's high notes include "Your
Sisters and Your Sisters Friends" a track that features
telecaster finger picking and a chugging rhythm section deserving
of the band's moniker. "Christmas Time Blues" my personal
favourite makes use of simple instrumentals and strained, Neil
Young like vocals to tell a story about love and drinking, the
perfect soundtrack for wallowing in self pity. The band change
up the sound on "To the Grave" with the addition of
a fiddle. The song manages to sound modern while still holding
onto its country rock roots. The Trainwrecks finish things up
by paying homage to their hometown's punk sound on "Alemony
Wildlife Refuge". - Paul Borchert / Mote
MGZN _____________________________
Grab your moonshine
and shotgun. Bay Area good ole' boys, Trainwreck Riders, are
set to drown you in the raw, poetic anthems of punk and country.
Their sound is an exuberant blend of traditional American music
with old-school Bay Area punk rock. - The
Owlmag _____________________________
It doesn't
seem appropriate that Trainwreck Riders will likely get lumped
into the alt-country taxonomy. Sure, the telecaster pluck and
scrappy punk spirit calls to mind the genre's forbearers - certainly
the distorted smear on "Find Your Way Home" suggests
vintage Uncle Tupelo. But considering the color-by-numbers landscape
of alt-country, the Riders deserve better. The band's invigorated
vantage on the punk-country crossroads distinguishes it; after
opening "In the Wake of it All" with standard-issue
riffs and Highway 61 ethos ("It's late at night behind the
wheel ... ") guitarist Andrew Kerwin suddenly evokes the
snarl of Richard Hell's Robert Quine. The looping motifs and
wobbly vocals of "Through Unto The End" borrows from
'90s post-rock. Simpler tunes like "Christmas Time Blues"
are equally refreshing, and when on the chorus singer Pete Frauenfelde
begs, "Take that noose and set me loose," he may as
well be speaking about musical tags as much as anything else.
- Nate Cavalieri / SF
Weekly _____________________________
'Lonely
Road Revival' was Rough Trade Album Of The Week in November :
"out on alive records (home of two gallants), a brilliant
album of garage fuelled americana - bits of dinosaur jr, meat
puppets, creedence in there, but distinctly their own sound -
packed with banjo, harp and lap-steel. like their label mates,
they hail from san francisco and were also involved in the now
infamous brawl with a texas cop at a recent gig - vocalist andrew
kerwin was arrested - now that's what we call rock n roll!"
- the Rough Trade Shops
_____________________________
Down in the rustic
spots of San Francisco, there are dirty, gritty, alive and very
real shows being organized, not by promoters, but by the bands
and the fans themselves...these spaces include Balazo Gallery,
Cell Space, Dolores Park...and sporadic living rooms and basements
amidst house parties. The shows are crowded and people come to
kick back, brown-bag it, and simply have a good time. Having
developed a strong local following that has recently spread infectiously
to the Northwest states, Trainwreck Riders seem to prefer the
lives of buskers rather than standard rock club musicians. On
any given afternoon, Trainwreck might be found playing at a park,
sidewalk, rooftop party, or of course the old reliable garage
show, yet can take to a standard stage setting without flinching
at their surroundings. Trainwreck's members are young but don't
carry laptops, and if you spot a familiar riff, its source probably
died long before you were born. Following the growth of friends
Two Gallants, local kids like
Trainwreck Riders are eschewing pop posturing and allowing themselves
to indulge in what feels natural to them musically. That sound
just happens to be a very loud and exuberant blend of old-timey
American music with old-school Bay Area punk rock. From the streets
of San Francisco and the remnants of a few latter scenes, a new
sound has emerged.
