Friday November 6
Great American Taxi
at Pisgah Brewing
8pm
Great American Taxi is ready to charge into 2009 with a new album on the horizon and some new members in the 
cab.In December of 2008 founding members Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon) and Chad Staehly brought their new line-up and a few special guests into Backbone Studio in Loveland, CO to record the next evolution to their "Americana without borders" brand of music. Filled with electric folk, alt-country, a dash of bluegrass and good ol' rock and roll, Taxi has found their stride and sound.
The latest version of Taxi includes Jim Lewin on electric guitar and vocals, Edwin Hurwitz on bass guitar and Chris Sheldon on drums and vocals. Barry Sless is also considered a member at large adding pedal steel and guitar when he can get away from his other gigs and jump into the Taxi.
”Americana” is a broad term that tends to encapsulate much of what can be considered American folk music.
Bluegrass, folk, rock and roll and jazz are all considered Americana, and all are at the forefront of any Great American Taxi show.Chad Staehly, the Taxi's keyboardist and back-up vocalist, sees Americana as roots-oriented music.
”It's not a lot of fancy synthesizers and real slick production,” says Staehly. “Our sound is real bare-bones. I play keyboards, and I pretty much stick to piano and organ, and it's acoustic guitar and it's clean electric guitar. It's a real pure, organic sound that's rooted these American song traditions.
”I think you could easily describe Taxi as an electric folk band,” Staehly continues. “A lot of the songs are kind of story based and rooted in a storyline. I think it's kind of carrying on that tradition.”
The band has been led by Herman and Staehly since its inception for a Rainforest Action Group benefit show in March of 2005. Now approaching well over 400 shows, the band has kept a fairly busy schedule of 140 shows a year and has hit a lot of the premier music festivals along the way including High Sierra Music Fest, Wakarusa, Summer Camp, 10,000 Lakes Festival, Dunegrass, Nightgrass slots at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the list goes on. After a brief tour in fall of 2008 supporting Railroad Earth, the idea was hatched to have Tim Carbone (fiddle player from Railroad Earth) produce Taxi's latest album, and it proved to be a magical marriage.
Carbone also added some fiddle to a few tracks complimenting Taxi's big sound which includes Herman's acoustic guitar, Staehly's rock and honky-tonk piano and organ work, Lewin's west coast telecaster guitar assault, Hurwitz's funky bass lines and Sheldon's tasty percussive blend. Sless also added some pedal steel and guitar, and Carbone brought in a horn section and some gospel singers for a few tunes as well. This all supports Taxi's original song-writing, which is also complimented by 3 part harmonies and strong lead vocals from four of the five members.
Great American Taxi's sound has been compared to a variety of roots oriented bands including New Riders of the Purple Sage, a "Grateful Dead for the new millennium," Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, The Byrds and more. People will hear threads of the Leftover Salmon fabric propelled by an inspired Herman being supported by a cast of talented minstrels ready to follow Herman to the land of 'Festival!"
Herman's in-your- face, in-the-moment improvisation helps bring the party to Taxi's well-crafted songs. People from all backgrounds will be able to latch onto something in the band's sound. Great American Taxi is truly a melting pot of musical tastes and styles all rolled into their "Americana without borders." Look for Taxi's latest album to be released in March of 2009.
http://www.greatamericantaxi.com/
http://www.myspace.com/greatamericantaxi
http://www.pisgahbrewing.com/
