Search - BEAT CIRCUS :: RINGLEADERS REVOLT

The Beat Circus?s Ringleaders Revolt, is a great album. Imagine if you will an amalgam of circus music, funeral dirges, music for burlesque, tangos, and marches, with a serious edge. This is more than retro; it's much cooler than that. This is music from a fiction of the past, a crazy burlesque circus that would make Salvador Dali feel at home. Using accordions, banjos, samplers and turntables. It's music that would be as comfortable around the Squirrel Nut Zippers as it would be around Tom Waits. The Beat Circus is chock full of great musicians. Really great musicians. Guys like drummer Jerome Deupree who was also the original drummer for Morphine, and the Either/Orchestra; Brandon Seabrook plays banjo/sampler and is also the guitarist of the critically acclaimed post-klezmer band Naftule?s Dream (also on Innova); Jim Hobbs rocks the alto saxophone and leads the Fully Celebrated Orchestra (hey they?re on Innova too). Of course it's all ring-mastered by Boston stalwart, documentary filmmaker and slide trumpet player Brian Carpenter. Instrumentalist Ron Caswell played with the Flying Karamazov Brothers. And last, but by no means least, accordion daredevil Alec K. Redfearn who is also led the infamous Amoebic Ensemble for ten years. Oh yeah did I mention they're from Boston? Like I said this is a great band, and the album? Well it's great too. Seriously. If you buy one circus- burlesque-tango-klezmer-improv record this year make it this one.