Sea Note and Palace Records join hands and forces to welcome Chivalrous Amoekons to our rowdy collective stable! Here we have one of the hottest road-leathered bands in recent memory, laying it all on the line for a joyous Fanatic Voyage to the center of the never-ending enigma of The Mekons. Pouring out from the bars of the opening number, the soulful strut of "Curse" makes us realize that we are in the hands of a fiendish and indomitable force - but ain't we always been?
Bonny 'Prince' Billy's Will Oldham is one such listener. In fact, Drag City first heard him singing a song called "For the Mekons, et al" in the company of the Palace Brothers back in 1992, and that right there was enough to get the ball rolling. The Mekons inspired optimism in this young man that accepted the course of all paths and all fates in life, so long as they could be righteous. And the path from there has never been less than that!
Equipped with a variety of voices, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's band of 2012 (Ben Boye, Van Campbell, Danny Kiely, Emmett "The Cairo Gang" Kelly, Angel Olsen) was ideally suited to the multi-headed attack of The Mekons, and literally prepared too - they were packing a whole set of Mekons material in addition to the extensive Bonny catalog and, in the midst of a European tour, they dropped it on an unsuspecting audience in Zurich! Fanatic Voyage was mixed in homage to Lou Reed's Street Hassle, removing all aspects of the live event beyond the musical performance. In the spirit of The Mekons to pay forward with all efforts to the next generation, proceeds from the sale of these recordings will go to The Roots of Music in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Roots of Music empowers local youth through music education, academic support and mentor-ship while preserving and promoting the unique music and cultural heritage of their city.
Oh there was a day that heroes walked the earth. It was today. Come on the Fanatic Voyage on September 16th and learn what you should know!
JOIN THE CHIVALROUS AMOEKONS ON A FANATIC VOYAGE
posted July 26th, 2016
Artists in this story: Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Chivalrous Amoekons