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Banditos (band)

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Banditos
Banditos at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Fall 2015
Banditos at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Fall 2015
Background information
OriginBirmingham, Alabama US
GenresRock and roll, garage rock
Years active2010–present
LabelsBloodshot Records
MembersTimothy Steven Corey Parsons
Stephen Alan Pierce II
Mary Beth Richardson
Randy Taylor Wade
Jeffery Daniel Vines
Jeffery David Salter
Websitebanditosband.com
Mary Beth Richardson
Stephen Pierce

Banditos is an American six-piece rock and roll band led by singers Corey Parsons, Stephen Pierce, and Mary Beth Richardson with honky tonk, country, soul and garage rock influences.[1] The band originally hails from Birmingham, Alabama, but is currently based out of Nashville, Tennessee.[2] Formed in 2010, Banditos toured the United States for four years before they signed to Bloodshot Records.[3][4]

History

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Banditos began in 2010 when singer/guitarist Corey Parsons and singer/banjo player Stephen Pierce starting playing acoustic music in Birmingham's local indie/rock scene.[5] They busked around the city and were eventually invited to play a show at their favorite local saloon.[6] They added Mary Beth Richardson on vocals and percussion, Randy Wade on drums, Danny Vines on bass, and Jeffery Salter playing lead guitar.[7] Pierce's non-traditional banjo playing throughout their music adds to the honky-tonk and garage elements of their sound.[8] Lead guitarist Salter, who grew up with Parsons and Vines in Hueytown, Alabama,[9] is trained in jazz and classical guitar from University of Alabama at Birmingham and works as a luthier, building custom guitars as part of his company, Pyrose Wood Works.[10] The band's name comes from the idea of a band of friends getting together. The band's name is not associated with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, although Bandidos members have come to see the band play a few times.[9]

From their early days in Birmingham, the band lived together in the Crestwood neighborhood, writing songs together, and touring heavily.[11] While on tour, the group found themselves constantly playing shows in Nashville, so after about two years in Birmingham, they decided to relocate to East Nashville.[2] Over the next three years Banditos played over 600 shows, and in 2014, the group played South by Southwest, where they caught the eye of Bloodshot Records, and were signed to the label soon after.[12][13] Marah Eakin of The A.V. Club says "The perfect soundtrack to a rowdy hang, the band blends traditional instruments like banjo and pedal steel with modern sensibilities, resulting in something that’s both uniquely now and uniquely American.[14] In March 2015, Banditos played at Rachael Ray's 8th annual Feedback in Austin[15] Banditos have played Scandinavia, winning a place in the competitive Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg.[16]

Banditos (2015)

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On May 12, 2015, Banditos debuted their self-titled album that was produced by Andrija Tokic, whose work includes fellow southern rock artists Alabama Shakes and Hurray for the Riff Raff.[2][7] The record was recorded almost all live, and was recorded at Tokic's the Bomb Shelter studio in Nashville. The initial record, made around 2013, was not officially released, was just sold on tour as merchandise, so the Banditos went back into the studio to rework much of the road-tested material, adding a bunch of new songs, which resulted in the official 2015 Bloodshot release.[10]

After the album was released, the band was featured in Taco Bell's Feed the Beat campaign,[17] a program that helps feed touring musicians and allows fans to discover new bands.[18] Banditos debuted their music video for "The Breeze" via Rolling Stone's website in the summer of 2015.[19] Rolling Stone writer Andrew Leahey said the record is "Equal parts alt-country twang and garage rock bang, the album wears its influences proudly, recalling everything from ZZ Top's greasy boogie to the Alabama Shakes' coed soul."[19] NPR listed the song,"Waitin'," on its Favorite Songs of 2015.[20][21]

Banditos are working on their second album follow-up, which will incorporate a psychedelic feel.[22] It will be released in 2016.[23]

The band released a third album, Right On, in May 2022. Its lead single is "Here Tonight".[24]

Discography

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Albums

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Singles

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Vincent (14 August 2014). "Banditos didn't expect to be a fulltime band". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Hight, Jewly (28 May 2015). "Birmingham-hailing boogie-rockers Banditos talk communal living, relocating to Nashville, multiple lead singers and more". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  3. ^ Bledsoe, Wayne (19 December 2014). "The Banditos draw from a big musical pot to create their style". Knox News. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  4. ^ Maxwell, Emily (12 November 2014). "Banditos Sign To Bloodshot Records". American Songwriter. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. ^ Henry, Dusty (31 March 2015). "Banditos share new song "Still Sober (After All These Beers)"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  6. ^ Hendrickson, Matt; Portman, Jed (April 2016). "The New Outlaws: Young Guns -- Banditos". Garden & Gun. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Banditos - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  8. ^ Conaton, Chris (12 June 2015). "Banditos - Banditos". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  9. ^ a b Watts, Mike (12 April 2016). "On-Air Guests Corey + Jeff from The Banditos". The Watt from Pedro Show. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  10. ^ a b Von Bader, David (21 July 2015). "Banditos' Jeffery Salter: Let It Flow". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  11. ^ Cook, Sarah (March 2016). "Banditos band grew out of Birmingham, is now popular nationwide". Birmingham Magazine. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  12. ^ Blackstock, Peter (4 March 2015). "SXSW Spotlight: Banditos". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  13. ^ Woody (20 May 2015). "Banditos – s/t (album review)". Hear Ya. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  14. ^ Eakin, Marah (4 May 2015). "Crack a beer and listen to the new album from Banditos". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  15. ^ Team Rachael (9 March 2015). "16 Jaw-Dropping Reasons to Attend Rachael Ray's Feedback 2015". Rachael Ray. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  16. ^ "Banditos Come to Sweden". Nöjesguiden. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Banditos". Feed the Beat. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  18. ^ "About Feed the Beat". Feed the Beat. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  19. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew (10 June 2015). "Watch Banditos' Rowdy, Riverside 'The Breeze' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  20. ^ "The Complete List: NPR Music's Favorite Songs Of 2015 (So Far)". NPR Music. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  21. ^ Powers, Ann (3 March 2015). "Songs We Love: Banditos, 'Cry Baby Cry'". NPR. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  22. ^ Harris, Vincent (20 January 2016). "Ragged honky-tonkers the Banditos get psychedelic". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  23. ^ Duguay, Rob (15 January 2016). "Interview: Banditos bring their Birmingham-born honky-tonk rock to the masses". Vanyaland. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Banditos Show off Their Sonic Evolution with 'Here Tonight' [LISTEN]". The Boot.
  25. ^ Wake, Matt (2 September 2014). "Concerts on the Dock: Banditos, from Paste Magazine's '12 Alabama Bands You Should Listen to Now' list, to open fall season". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  26. ^ Terry, Josh. "Banditos' scorching roots rock is a riot on debut album". RedEye. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  27. ^ Richards, Chris. "Banditos embraces the look and owns the sound". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
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