Hotcha! East Coast Via Rail Tour!!, August 13, 2011

WHO: HOTCHA!
WHAT: Toe-tappin’ old timey fun
WHERE: Ashton ON – Maitland NS
WHEN: Saturday, August 13 – Saturday, August 27
TICKETS: See specific show details below
 
Hillbilly swing duo HOTCHA! will be hitchin’ a ride on the train and touring the East Coast for the first time! The duo were selected for the VIA RAIL onboard entertainment  program and will hit cities and towns in Eastern Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI. 

HOTCHA!‘s short span performing has been filled with many prestigious Toronto festivals and events, such as Canadian Music Week, NXNE, Toronto City Roots festival, Winterfolk Festival and Festival on Bloor. They were selected for the Home Routes House Concert Circuit in 2010, to tour northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba…in February no less! And now the duo’s been selected for the VIA RAIL program to play for guests aboard the train from Montreal to Halifax. From there they are headed for a complete Atlantic Canada tour from August 13 to August 27.
 
MORE ABOUT HOTCHA!… Born in the swamp. Raised on the mountain. Work in the mines. Play on the porch. Well, that’s only true metaphorically. They don’t actually have a porch. HOTCHA! (Beverly Kreller and Howard Druckman) nonetheless feel as though their music fits the description: Rustic, rural songs of work and faith, delivered with a vintage vibe and the energy of a runaway train. HOTCHA! creates a distinctive musical blend of old-time western, bluegrass, early swing and country gospel. If you could take a picture of HOTCHA!’s music, it would be a grainy, sepia-toned portrait of depression-era musicians with nothing but an old Sears-Roebuck guitar and a nickel in hand for the jitney dance. If you listen to HOTCHA!’s music, you’ll hear a unique combination of accordion and bodhran (Celtic drum) alongside gritty guitar, wailing harmonica and soaring vocal harmonies. Their debut CD Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression is intended as a true tonic for the times we live in.
 
Highlights:

• OCFF Alternate artists for Official Showcase
• Hamilton Music and Film Fest 2011
• Via Rail selected artists 2011
• Included in the Penguin Eggs 10th Anniversary issue as “New Discoveries” by both Mike Regenstreif (SING OUT! Magazine) and CFMU radio host Jim Marino.
• 4 features in the Toronto Sun
• 4 star (out of 5) review in SING OUT! Magazine
• 4 star (out of 5) review on Amazon.com
• Top 40 CBC Galaxie Folk/Roots Year end Chart 2009!
• Three months in CBC Galaxie Folk/Roots Top 10 charts peaking at # 4
• CBC, Campus radio airplay and print media across the country
• CBC Fresh Air featured disc of the month with Mary Ito & Mark Rheaume
• Home Routes House Concert Circuit MB / SK Feb 2010
• CMW (Canadian Music Week Showcase) 2010
• NXNE Festival 2008 & 2010, 2011
• Indie Music Week (Toronto) 2010
• Junction Arts Festival 2010
• Toronto City Roots Festival 2006-2010
• Winterfolk Blues & Roots Festival 2008 & 2009, 2011
• Barrie New Music Festival 2009 & 2010

UPCOMING DATES:

August 13 @ 2 pm  – Ashton, ON – Ashton Pub – Brewery Launch w/John Allaire
August 13 @ 10 pm – Ottawa, ON – Elmdale Tavern w/ The Sin Sisters (burlesque) $10 cover
August 14 @ 9 pm – Montreal, Le Divan Orange w/TBA
August 16 @10 pm – Halifax, NS – The Company House – Feature PWYC
August 17 @10 pm – Charlottetown, PEI – Baba’s Lounge – Feature PWYC
August 18 @ 8 pm – Pictou, NS – Carver’s Cafe  – PWYC
August 19 @ TBA – Moncton, NB – Plan B w/ Ol’ Savannah
August 20 – Sunseekers Festival – Chance Harbour, NB
August 20 @ TBA – Hampton, NB – Vintage Bistro
August 21 @ 1- 4 pm – Bear River, NS – Farmer’s and Artist Market
August 24 @ TBA – Shelburne, NS – The Seadog Tavern – $5-6 cover
August 25 @ 9 pm – Halifax, NS – The Carleton – $5 cover
August 26 @ 6 pm – Maitland NS – Bing’s Eatery – $4 cover 

“HOTCHA! does a really fine job of evoking the music of the Great Depression by combining period pieces like Louis Armstrong’s “Ol’ Man Mose” with very cool in-the-tradition originals like ‘Mines Went Down’… that’s very effectively set to a Gene Krupa-like drum pattern. [Their] original songs are very well crafted.” ~ Mike Regenstreif (Folk Roots/Folk Branches and Sing Out! Magazine)
 
“This debut is sure to bring a smile to your face and a rumble and shake to your legs that’ll make you want to dance around the parlour with a properly chilled mint julep.” ~ Chris Burland (ChartAttack.com)
 
“HOTCHA! bring something new to the table — namely, original songs that actually stand up to the likes of Irving Berlin and Louis Armstrong, both of whom they cover here…[they] jump between hot jazz and bluegrass… they sound vivid and fresh…” ~ Michael Barclay (K-W Record, Guelph Mercury)
 
“…genuine enthusiasm and infectious energy… if time’s all you’ve got to spend, listening to HOTCHA! is a fine way to spend it …! ~ John Taylor (thelivemusicreport.com)