Site search
sponsored by
sponsored by
33°F 
Monday December 1st
Monday December 1st 
| Welcome, Guest |
|
| LOGIN | Become a Member | What's This? |
Please enter the following information:
| Email or Screen Name: | |
| Password: | |
| Remember Me | |
|
Forgot Password?
Become a Member |
Close Window |
Classifieds
ENLARGE
Howling ghostly harmonies and the rock-solid foundation of true American music help define Ollabelle as a band, but does not contain them.
They have a wild abandonment in their souls. While their music sounds like a new wave of bluegrass infused country, it is in fact, a brand of music that flows through all of us born in the USA. It is the melody of farmers and their children, the patriotic feeling of standing in a meadow of crumbling civil war-era headstones at sunset or even the smell of rain on a freshly plowed field. These are our roots.
On August 28, Ollabelle gets the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival going at 3 p.m. with a liberal dose of gospel steeped, country-fed tunes that will surely make your spirit lighter and bring a smile to your face.
Hailing from all across this land and Australia, the band’s diverse musical background meshes harmoniously, bringing to the table a richness of flavor and freshness of variety while keeping loyal to their love of where it all started.
Glenn Patcha, Ollabelle’s pianist and accordion said about his musical influences: “We (Ollabelle) are rooted in North American music but my influences come from many areas. I grew up listening to my brother’s albums, from Led Zeppelin to Neil Young. I used to lay on my bed and stare at Young’s “Harvest” album and it was if I stared at it long enough, I could somehow step into it, become one with the scene on the cover.”
Later on, at the age of 18, Patcha would move from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to New Orleans to study under the likes of Ellis Marsalis and Harold Battiste, where he then got to play with the legends “young and old.”
Now it seems as if Glenn Patcha has tapped into his inner Richard Manuel. His vocal performance on The Band’s “Ain’t No More Cane,” along with vocals from bassist Byron Issacs and drummer Tony Leone, conjure up fightingly, familiar, haunting sounds from one of their biggest influence. The harmonies of mandolin player Amy Helm, Levon Helm’s daughter, and guitarist Fiona McBain send shivers up your spine.
“It (the song) is a real staple in American music and I love to play it with such high group energy. It’s like captured chaos, ” Patcha said.
With a complex stage set up and ample vocal abilities displayed from all five members, chemistry such as this hasn’t been seen since their predecessor almost 35 years ago. They have picked up what was left of that dying ember and have made it come ablaze with new life and a modern kick.
Borrowing their repertoire from their previous two albums, “Ollabelle” and “Riverside Battle Songs,” and with the upcoming release of their new album, JAS guests are in for a musical treat.
With songs like “High On A Mountain,” written by their namesake, Ole Belle Reed, “Heaven’s Pearls,” “Gone Today” and covers from others, it will be a day music lovers will remember for a lifetime.
“Amy won’t be at this performance, she just had a baby, but Martha Scanlan who performed on the new record will take her place. I like when she plays with us, because it adds to our sound. A little country rock,” Glenn commented on their upcoming band line-up.
Legendary producer T Bone Burnett summed it up best about this exhilarating band: “Ollabelle came together because of these musicians’ love of this music, without thought of success or career or any of the other trappings of the modern professional music business. It has great value to our culture, adding new life to a tradition that is an important part of who we are. But mostly, they sound great. They sing great and they play great, and they are wonderful people.”
They have a wild abandonment in their souls. While their music sounds like a new wave of bluegrass infused country, it is in fact, a brand of music that flows through all of us born in the USA. It is the melody of farmers and their children, the patriotic feeling of standing in a meadow of crumbling civil war-era headstones at sunset or even the smell of rain on a freshly plowed field. These are our roots.
On August 28, Ollabelle gets the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival going at 3 p.m. with a liberal dose of gospel steeped, country-fed tunes that will surely make your spirit lighter and bring a smile to your face.
Hailing from all across this land and Australia, the band’s diverse musical background meshes harmoniously, bringing to the table a richness of flavor and freshness of variety while keeping loyal to their love of where it all started.
Glenn Patcha, Ollabelle’s pianist and accordion said about his musical influences: “We (Ollabelle) are rooted in North American music but my influences come from many areas. I grew up listening to my brother’s albums, from Led Zeppelin to Neil Young. I used to lay on my bed and stare at Young’s “Harvest” album and it was if I stared at it long enough, I could somehow step into it, become one with the scene on the cover.”
Later on, at the age of 18, Patcha would move from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to New Orleans to study under the likes of Ellis Marsalis and Harold Battiste, where he then got to play with the legends “young and old.”
Now it seems as if Glenn Patcha has tapped into his inner Richard Manuel. His vocal performance on The Band’s “Ain’t No More Cane,” along with vocals from bassist Byron Issacs and drummer Tony Leone, conjure up fightingly, familiar, haunting sounds from one of their biggest influence. The harmonies of mandolin player Amy Helm, Levon Helm’s daughter, and guitarist Fiona McBain send shivers up your spine.
“It (the song) is a real staple in American music and I love to play it with such high group energy. It’s like captured chaos, ” Patcha said.
With a complex stage set up and ample vocal abilities displayed from all five members, chemistry such as this hasn’t been seen since their predecessor almost 35 years ago. They have picked up what was left of that dying ember and have made it come ablaze with new life and a modern kick.
Borrowing their repertoire from their previous two albums, “Ollabelle” and “Riverside Battle Songs,” and with the upcoming release of their new album, JAS guests are in for a musical treat.
With songs like “High On A Mountain,” written by their namesake, Ole Belle Reed, “Heaven’s Pearls,” “Gone Today” and covers from others, it will be a day music lovers will remember for a lifetime.
“Amy won’t be at this performance, she just had a baby, but Martha Scanlan who performed on the new record will take her place. I like when she plays with us, because it adds to our sound. A little country rock,” Glenn commented on their upcoming band line-up.
Legendary producer T Bone Burnett summed it up best about this exhilarating band: “Ollabelle came together because of these musicians’ love of this music, without thought of success or career or any of the other trappings of the modern professional music business. It has great value to our culture, adding new life to a tradition that is an important part of who we are. But mostly, they sound great. They sing great and they play great, and they are wonderful people.”
