Freakwater is an American
alternative country
Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
band from
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, with one co-founding member living in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic dissonant country-folk that is reminiscent of the
Carter Family.
History
Thrill Jockey
In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean (of rock band
Eleventh Dream Day) and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of
Califone (2005 ''Thinking of You'' tour). Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of
Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band. They released their records on Chicago's
Thrill Jockey label.
From 2006 to 2013, Bean and Irwin worked on other projects. A reissue of 1993's ''Feels Like the Third Time'' as a 20-year anniversary restarted the duo playing together as Freakwater.
In 2014, the band went out on the road, touring and playing the record as their main set.
Bloodshot Records
In February 2016, Freakwater released the record ''Scheherazade'' on
Bloodshot Records. In advance of the full-length record—-the duo's first record since 2005-—Freakwater released a single called "The Asp And The Albatross".
Freakons
In 2013, and again in September 2017 and July 2021, Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin of Freakwater joined with
Jon Langford and
Sally Timms of the
Mekons to be the Freakons, performing original and cover songs about
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
in
Appalachia
Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, to support the non-profit organization
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Each time, the Freakons performed at the
Hideout in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and elsewhere in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. In 2013, they also performed at
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
's
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. In 2017, they were accompanied by violinists
Jean Cook of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and Anna Krippenstapel of
Louisville (
The Other Years,
Joan Shelley, etc.), and, only in Chicago, by Chicago/Louisville guitarist
James Elkington (
The Horse's Ha, etc.). In 2021, the same line-up, without Elkington, performed, and they released the live album ''Freakons'', recorded at the 2017 Chicago performances.
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Artistry
Hilary Saunders of ''
Paste Magazine'' assessed the band's musical style: "''Old Paint'' musically looks backwards. It has the jauntiness of
barn dances, complete with
fiddles,
dobros, and
tambourines. Yet, Irwin and Bean’s voices, content in their different
ranges, somehow meld to tell
country tales that still sound ahead of their time."
Collaborations
* The band makes an appearance in the 1994
cult road movie
A road movie is a film genre, genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the the ...
''
Half-cocked''.
Discography
Albums
* 1989: ''Freakwater'' (
Amoeba Records)
* 1991: ''Dancing Under Water / Freakwater'' (Amoeba Records)
* 1993: ''Feels Like the Third Time'' (
Thrill Jockey;City Slang)
* 1995: ''Old Paint'' (Thrill Jockey; City Slang)
* 1995: ''June 6, 1994'' (
Glitterhouse Records
Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American la ...
)
* 1997: ''Dancing Under Water'' LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
* 1998: ''
Springtime'' LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
* 1999: ''
End Time'' LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
* 2005: ''Thinking of You...'' (Thrill Jockey)
* 2016: ''Scheherazade'' (
Bloodshot Records)
Singles
* 1990: "Your Goddamned Mouth" / "War Pigs" (1 1/4 York Records)
* 1993: "My Old Drunk Friend" / "Kentucky" (Thrill Jockey)
* 1995: "South of Cincinnati" / "Cut Me Out" (Thrill Jockey)
* 1999: "Hellbound" / "Lorraine" (Thrill Jockey)
* 2015: "The Asp & The Albatross" / "Fullerene" (Bloodshot Records)
Compilations
* 1993: ''Keep On The Sunny Side: A Tribute to the Carter Family'' (Amoeba Records)
* 1999: "Picture in My Mind" - ''
Alt.Country Exposed Roots'' (K-Tel Records)
* 2019: "Sway" - ''Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots'' (Bloodshot Records)
* 2021: "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" - ''The Closing Time 2020'' - Janet Beveridge Bean &
Sally Timms with the
Pine Valley Cosmonauts (
Virtue Cider)
Catherine Irwin solo (partial)
* 2003: ''Cut Yourself A Switch'' (Thrill Jockey)
* 2012: ''Little Heater'' (Thrill Jockey)
Janet Bean solo (partial)
* 1992: ''Jesus Built A Ship To Sing A Song To'' - Jeff Lescher & Janet Beveridge Bean (released under the name "Jeff and Janet") (Megadisc)
* 2004: ''Dragging Wonder Lake'' (Thrill Jockey)
Freakons
* 2021 ''Freakons'' (
Fluff & Gravy Records)
[
]
References
External links
Freakwater
Freakwater
at Bloodshot Records
Freakwater
at Thrill Jockey
Freakwater
at Grunnen Rocks
*
{{Authority control
American alternative country groups
American musical trios
Musical groups established in 1989
Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky
Country music groups from Kentucky
1989 establishments in Kentucky
Bloodshot Records artists
Thrill Jockey artists
Glitterhouse Records artists
City Slang artists