Friday, July 11, 2008

HA HA TONKA TO ROCK LOLLAPALOOZA 2008 Sunday August 3rd - Grant Park, Chicago

Buckle in the Bible Belt In Stores Now!

HI-RES PHOTOS, MUSIC & MORE: http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/press/145/145.html
HA HA TONKA PLAY A DAYTROTTER SET: http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1344/ha-ha-tonka

HA HA TONKA PERFORM FOR MY OLD KENTUCKY BLOG: http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2007/11/ha-ha-tonka-live-on-mokb-sirius-blog.html


Ha Ha Tonka kicks out Southern-tinged indie rock with the surefire assurance of a band beyond their years. Specializing in disarming and effortless anthems that owe as much to high and lonesome Ozarks mountain music as rock n’ roll, Ha Ha Tonka wowed fans and critics alike with the band's Bloodshot debut Buckle in the Bible Belt, which was named in Popmatters' Top 20 albums of 2007 and praised by the likes of Spin Magazine and CMJ. Topping critical acclaim and rapturously-received tours supporting the likes of the Violent Femmes, the Meat Puppets and the Old 97's is no small feat, but 2008 is shaping up to be an equally auspicious year for the band. Following national tour dates with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Ha Ha Tonka will perform at the 2008 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago's Grant Park on Sunday, August 3rd.

Roaring out of the Ozarks with a bottle in one hand and a bible in the other, Ha Ha Tonka mix sanctified four-part harmonies and blistering rock, carving out songs that evoke the dichotomies that define their home. The Springfield, Missouri natives dubbed their new album Buckle in the Bible Belt in homage to their hometown, so named for its position on the dividing line of the Ozark states. Their dark view of the realities of socio-economic hardship, backwoods prejudices and drug abuse is leavened by wry humor and a deep appreciation for regional storytelling traditions. Buckle in the Bible Belt was recorded, fittingly, in an old church in Union, Missouri, with a control booth where the pulpit had once been. Augmented with piano and organ, the band brings to mind southern bands like REM and Kings of Leon as well as classic artists such as The Band and Bruce Springsteen.

PRAISE FOR HA HA TONKA AND BUCKLE IN THE BIBLE BELT

"It’s the best rock record I’ve heard this year. There’s nothing on the White Stripes’ recent Icky Thump as convincingly roots-rockin’ as “Caney Mountain,”...Power-pop hook kings the New Pornographers couldn’t manage a track as infectious as Ha Ha Tonka’s “Falling In” on their latest, Challengers—and they’ve got Neko Case! Trust me, folks, this is really strong stuff." PopMatters

"A precocious, stammering rock record that bridges sweet-water gospel folk with sweltering Southern rock." CMJ Essentials

"Blasting from our offices: rich with personal stories and people eager to pound the floorboards to crunchy, sun-soaked roots rock." SPIN Magazine

"Sharing a soft spot for delicate harmonies amid rowdy saloon rock tunes, they also show off some impressive lyrical smarts and the same whiskey-and-Marlboros-for-breakfast vocal rasp as DBT's Patterson Hood." Portland Mercury

“…a confident set of rootsy indie-rock combining a variety of well-crafted songs with excellent harmonies. At times the band’s sound recalls Kings of Leon, but other influences poke through, from backwoods gospel to the Replacements." KEXP Seattle

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