Churchwood is an avant-blues quintet from

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

known for its poetry-driven lyrics, high-energy performances, and eccentric approach to making blues-based rock and roll. The lineup consists of Bill Anderson (guitar), Joe Doerr (vocals, harmonica), Adam Kahan (bass), Billysteve Korpi (guitar), and Eric Bohlke (drums).

Musical and lyrical style and influence

Churchwood's musical influences are wide-ranging. The band's self-proclaimed "dystopic blues" style belies its reverence for the likes of Howlin' Wolf,

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, Bo Diddley, and other blues masters; however, many critics suggest that musical risk-takers like

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, and

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

are of equal importance to Churchwood's sound. Much like his published poetry, Doerr's lyrics reflect an interest in French Symbolism,

Literary Modernism Literary modernism, or modernist literature, originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing, in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented ...

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, and

Beat Poetry The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatione ...

. His themes are largely existentialist in scope: absurdity, anxiety, alienation, passion, individuality, and authenticity are his primary concerns.

History

Churchwood formed in 2007 in Austin, Texas and signed with Saustex Records in 2010. Churchwood has released five records on the Saustex label: the eponymous LP ''Churchwood'' (2011), an EP ''Just the Two of Us'' (2012), the band's sophomore LP ''Churchwood 2'' (2013), ''3: Trickgnosis'' (2014), and most recently ''Hex City'' (2016). In 2016, original drummer Julien Peterson left the band to pursue other interests; he was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Eric Bohlke of Austin's Khali Haat in the spring of 2017. In 2011, Churchwood placed "Rimbaud Diddley" on

Season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

, Episode 4 ("Una Venta") of AMC's "

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Discography

Churchwood
(Saustex, 2011)
Just the Two of Us
(Saustex, 2012)
Sample This: Saustex 2012 Sampler
(Saustex, 2012)
2
(Saustex, 2013)
The Saustex Variations
(Saustex, 2014)
3: Trickgnosis
(Saustex, 2014)
Hex City
(Saustex, 2016)
Plenty Wrong To Go Awry
(Saustex, 2020)
The Boule Oui
(Saustex, 2022)

Musical and lyrical style and influence

History

Discography

References

External links