Video Description:

Entire set from Mississippi Studios performance.

Performance date: 07-06-2011
Created on: 07-09-2011
Venue: Mississippi Studios

Band Biography and Information:

Genre: pop
Sounds like:
Hometown: Portland

Biography:

We’re a pop band from Portland, Oregon. Sometimes people call us bluegrass because we make extensive use of banjo and indulge in straight shuffle grooves. Sometimes people tell us we’re like a punk band because we bring it live. We call ourselves “whiskeystomp” for no good reason. Welcome to our cyber-home!

We formed a few years back when Kali Giaritta (voice, glockenspiel, keys, percussion) and Matt Harmon (voice, guitar, keys, percussion) moved cross-country from Boston with a VW Jetta full of songs, recording equipment, and clothes. Graham Houser, banjoist and beard-sporter, turned up on a street corner in SE Portland. Stephen Colvin, drummer and band doctor, jumped in from the punk/dance/unabashed-pop diving platform. Cole Huiskamp rounded us out on bass and filled the position of the “encouraging guy who calls himself a pessimist.”

In 2008, we self-released a debut album (One Shoe Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) that Matt and Kali had recorded before moving, and then started playing as many shows as possible. Since then, we’ve been playing to excited, drunk congregations all over the Northwest and, occasionally, other places. Our live shows often entail audience hand-percussion participation (we provide the percussion, you provide the hands) and lots of dancing and general volume.

On November 16th, 2010, we unveil our brand new (also self-recorded) album This Cage Has No Bottom for the whole world to hear. We think it features much more collaborative, band-oriented arrangements and a rawer energy than our previous outings, plus a kickass new batch of catchy songs.

Websites:

Stagedive Page: The Ascetic Junkies
Website: http://theasceticjunkies.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheAsceticJunkies
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theasceticjunkies