Listen To First Single >>'No Show':
Vancouver, BC - Vancouver-based country rockers the Real Ponchos are independently releasing their sophomore full-length album To The Dusty World on February 10th and the band will celebrate the release of the album with a rip roarin' hometown show at Wise Hall on release day. See below for full show details.
Real Ponchos’ music is subtle, yet revelatory. Deep grooves buoyed by rugged vocals and burning guitar. Songs inspired by human suffering with a folk sentiment at the core that opens the heart wide with luscious and spacious improvisation, while keeping feet on the floor with tight, soulful rhythm. The band - Ben Arsenault (lead vocals/guitar), Emile Scott (lead vocals/guitar), Emlyn Scherk (drums) and Michael Wagler (bass) - works in the lineage established by those before them, following those who have taken folk traditions into the modern age. And with 2 different lead vocalists, the Real Ponchos are able to embrace non-duality to create sincere and distinctive music that draws many different musical comparisons.
"The most common comparisons we get after shows are probably the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers," says Ben Arsenault. "We try to take that classic live sound and couch it in more modern tones, with a spaciousness and rhythm that comes from jazz, Brazilian and African influences."
Real Ponchos released their debut, a self-titled EP, in 2013. They followed that up a year later with their first full length, Since I Let You Go, which received warm reviews from music critics across the country and earned the band a place amongst The Georgia Straight’s Top 10 Vancouver Bands of 2014.
To The Dusty World was recorded at Vancouver's Afterlife Studios in late 2015 by John Raham. The decision to record the new album was instigated in part by drummer Emlyn Scherk’s relocation to Scotland. The band felt they needed to get in the studio to record the material they'd been working on over the past couple of years, before he left the country. The record is, in many ways, a continuation of the sound the band developed and captured with the previous release Since I Let You Go. Whereas that release focused on matters of the heart and loss, To The Dusty World is more inwardly focused on the self and that is especially evident on the first single 'No Show'.
"'No Show' is a transition song," Arsenault explains. "It's about seeing the aimless path of your self-centered life, and longing for something more solid."
To The Dusty World will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers/streaming services on Friday, February 10th. Real Ponchos have plans to tour throughout Canada later this year, for more info and the most up to date tour listings, please visit: realponchos.com
REAL PONCHOS >> VANCOUVER ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
When: Friday, February 10th
Where: The Wise Hall + Lounge (1882 Adanac Street)
Doors: 8:00PM, Openers: James Green Band
Tickets: $15 at the door
Facebook Event Link: http://bit.ly/RealPonchosShow
REAL PONCHOS - TO THE DUSTY WORLD TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 10th, 2017 (Independent)
1. No Show
2. Cherchez Les Femmes
3. Flatline Rose
4. Passing Through
5. Still The Same Fool
6. Stillness
7. To The Dusty World
"From the unlikely urban core of Vancouver comes the next best thing to happen to country-rock, Real Ponchos." - Vivascene.com
"..you’ll be hooked, especially if your iPod includes everything ever recorded by the Gun Club, Waylon Jennings, the Sadies, Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, and, well, anyone else famous for pushing country forward while respecting its past." - Georgia Straight
FOR MORE INFO: www.realponchos.com
Twitter: @realponchos
Instagram: @realponchos
FB: facebook.com/realponchos
MEDIA TOOLS
STREAM/POST Real Ponchos - 'No Show' here
WATCH/POST Real Ponchos - 'Flatline Rose' live video here
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: Tayu Hayward)