The UpSouth Twisters are not a new band but a group of seasoned veterans who have been playing together for years under the name Lucky 7. The decision to change the name coincides with their first full length CD release in over a decade. The album, self titled, was officially released February of 2008 on UpSouth Recordings and features the band’s signature sound including accordion, electric and acoustic guitars, upright bass, harmonica, mandolin, drums, rubboard, timbales and other percussion, piano and organ plus the guest appearance of Levon Helm’s horn players Erik Lawrence and Steve Bernstein on several tunes.
UpSouth Twisters c/o PO Box 286655, New York, NY, 10128
Photographs by Chris Marksbury, © 2008 All Rights Reserved
E-mail: ust@upsouthtwisters.com
E-mail: ust@upsouthtwisters.com
Music critics have had a field day trying to describe the band’s music, dubbing it Cajun rockabilly, Rockin’ Zydeco, roots rock with a squeezebox and a New York mix of Zydeco and rockin’ roadhouse Americana. Just about the only certainty is that no two-or three-word label fully encompasses the range of the band's musical gumbo. By drawing from Elvis-era Rock’n’Roll, Cajun, Zydeco, delta blues, classic country, and even Latino salsa plus Tex-Mex, this New York based quintet has challenged the descriptive talents of the music press, while at the same time earning its praise.
The UpSouth Twisters are based out of upstate NY but their music wins listeners across the heartland, as Austin American-Statesman critic Michael Point observed at a Texas show, “The group's seamless set was solid and substantial, full of prime party-time dance music underpinned by a resilient rhythmic thrust that pushed and pulled the music in consistently interesting directions."