12 Golden Bluegrass Greats:
The Dead South Announce Easy Listening for Jerks, Parts I & II

“You Are My Sunshine” arrives October 8, 2021

Photo credit: Kiriako Iatridis.

Carter Family meets Addams Family in Easy Listening for Jerks, two new covers EPs by gold-certified prairie pickers The Dead South.

The source material for the EP two-pack sees The Dead South trace very different musical lineages: one a beloved folk songbook and the other a set of volatile modern outsider anthems. Always playing against type, The Dead South flip traditional bluegrass and hard rock conventions upside down, drawing out an ominous, lurking unease in the bright innocence of Bristol Sessions-era sound, and pulling moments of absurdity from the hardcore bluster.

Part I includes the Sun belt-meets-black belt take on “You Are My Sunshine,” in which The Dead South dig below the surface layer lullaby to levels of deep desperation. In a minor key, “Keep On The Sunny Side,” changes from sweet to sinister. “Matterhorn,” a gallant adventure tale that sees four friends set off to climb a mountain, also works on the level of The Dead South’s origin story. “It’s closer here to heaven than it is back to the ground,” goes the song, now also a fitting encapsulation of the band’s feelings of anxiety and exhilaration about returning to life on the road.

Part II is inspired by the band’s own pre-show playlist, and will include songs by System of a Down, The Doors, Cold War Kids and The Misfits. Easy Listening for Jerks are the first releases that see all four members taking lead vocal turns.

Rich with quality finger picking and replete with harmonies, Easy Listening for Jerks offers many new moods of songs we think we know so well. Under a title that recalls the songwriting humour of Roger Miller and Steve Martin’s comedy stylings alike, the EPs offer a surprising and compelling mix of gravity and levity. From Earl Scruggs to Serj Tankian, the two parts of Easy Listening for Jerks find surprising common ground between traditional bluegrass and hard rock in the selection of songs of alienation, misanthropy and adversity. Foggy Mountain Boys, but make it Beetlejuice.

Easy Listening for Jerks, Parts I & II arrive in full on March 4, 2022. Look for the first song from Part II in November. PRIVATE MEDIA ADVANCE STREAM HERE.

SERVED COLD TOUR DATES
Presented by Live Nation Ones To Watch

Ventura, CA: Majestic Ventura Theatre, Dec 7~
Las Vegas, NV: Brooklyn Bowl, Dec 8~
Grand Junction, CO: Avalon Theater, Dec 9~
Denver, CO: Mission Ballroom, Dec 10~
Aspen, CO: Belly-Up, Dec 11~
San Francisco, CA: The Fillmore, Dec 14~
Los Angeles, CA: Belasco, Dec 15~
San Diego, CA: House of Blues, Dec 16~
San Luis Obispo, CA: Fremont Theatre, Dec 17~
South Lake Tahoe, CA: Montbleu, Dec 18~
Portland, OR: Crystal Ballroom, Dec 20~
Spokane, WA: Knitting Factory, Dec 21~
Seattle, WA: Showbox SoDo, Dec 22~
New York, NY: Irving Plaza, May 21, 2022

~w/ The Ghost of Paul Revere

Twin Tangler Tour (USA 2022)
FARGO, ND: Sanctuary, Jan 14 & 15
OMAHA, NE: Slowdown, Jan 16 & 17
IOWA CITY, IA: Englert Theatre, Jan 19 & 21
BLOOMINGTON, IL: Castle Theatre, Jan 22 & 23
NASHVILLE, TN: Exit/In: Jan 24 & 25
KEY WEST, FL: Mile 0 Fest, Jan 27 & 28
PENSACOLA, FL: Vinyl Music Hall, Jan 30 & 31
SAVANNAH, GA: Victory North, Feb 2 & 3

Full tour dates and ticket details here.

ABOUT THE DEAD SOUTH

With banjo, mandolin, cello and guitar, The Dead South certainly look the part of bluegrass traditionalists. But, as outsiders to the bluegrass world by circumstances of geography, they’re from the Canadian prairies, and by influences, equal parts finger-picking and punk, there are few comparisons to be made for the four-piece acoustic band. With a global following sparked by YouTube, early success in German rock clubs and now, sold out shows at iconic venues in many continents, this is no country for old-time string purists.

A brotherhood first and foremost, formed in university and forged on the road, The Dead South are quite comfortable in their role as a total anomaly most everywhere they go. Their progressive, tightly-constructed approach to acoustic music that favours intricate solos and harmonies has brought two JUNO Awards for Traditional Album of the Year, the most recent for the Muscle Shoals-made Sugar & Joy (2019). The Dead South followed up in 2020 with Served Live, a double live album that celebrated and supported the live music industry in a time of crisis.

With their newly-announced double EPs Easy Listening for Jerks, Parts I & II, The Dead South find their own balance between their punk origins and the bluegrass world of their sound. A strong statement about identity, influence and inspiration, the new EPs show a band stepping out into new musical territory while also staying true to themselves.

For more information, please contact:
Emily Smart
Six Shooter Records
emilysmart@sixshooterrecords.com