Rambles.NET
review
by
Jerome Clark
4
October 2008
The
Buckerettes, The Buckerettes
One's
immediate -- and, all things considered, understandable
-- impression of this Asheville, North Carolina-based
acoustic trio is that it aspires to be a feminine answer
to the venerable Riders in the Sky.
The
Riders have been reviving Western-pop music (inspired
by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers)
for decades now. Like the Riders, the Buckerettes possess
both keen comedic skills and first-rank musical chops.
Though there is some undeniable resemblance, the Buckerettes
turn out not -- at least all, or even most, of the time
-- to be the Riders in skirts.
"Zen
Cowgirl," the opening cut, makes clear that these
three women are not reprising Gene Autry or even the Girls
of the Golden West. While the Riders play basically to
the Grand Ole Opry audience, the Buckerettes' is the broader
cultural perspective of the hipster or, more to the point,
of the liberal-arts major who falls in love with American
roots music. The Buckerettes have integrated a range of
grounded genres into a cohesive and tuneful language with
plenty of accents, including (most obviously) 1930s/'40s
country, plus vintage pop, folk, swing and gospel.
All
but one of the songs are originals written by one or another
member of the band. Each is expertly, often joyfully performed,
and a few express social satire and criticism subtle enough
to escape the comprehension of the not fully attentive.
Only those who listen closely to, for example, "Cowgirl
in Paris," about how once-loved "cowboys"
are now despised ("the Wild West gone astray"),will
learn how deeply unlikely it is that the Buckerettes voted
for George W. Bush -- though if you want to, you can also
hear the song as mourning the declining popularity of
the Western (something worth lamenting on its own). I
don't think, though, that the Buckerettes really want
you to hear it that way.
The
group consists of Deb Criss (guitar), Robin Cape (bass)
and Roberta Greenspan (fiddle). Their harmonies are warm
and pure, and there's plenty of good-natured humor. Most
of my favorites here, however, are the more serious songs,
particularly Criss's "Sweneo" (a Seneca word
translating as something like "the great mystery"),
imbued with awe and beauty sufficient to disorient you
and even, for the duration of its 5:08, encourage you
to see the world with new eyes. There are also, courtesy
of Greenspan's playing and compositional skills, a couple
of terrific fiddle tunes.
The
Buckerettes appear at first to be "a feminine answer
to the venerable Riders in the Sky" with their debut
CD, The Buckerettes, Jerome Clark says. "While the
Riders play basically to the Grand Ole Opry audience,
the Buckerettes' is the broader cultural perspective of
the hipster or, more to the point, of the liberal-arts
major who falls in love with American roots music. The
Buckerettes have integrated a range of grounded genres
into a cohesive and tuneful language with plenty of accents,
including (most obviously) 1930s/'40s country, plus vintage
pop, folk, swing and gospel."
Rambles.net
"Will-
So YOU'RE the one responsible for slinging this CowPunk
onto my desk! - Well...I just totally love it, dude! Very
good stuff... And thanks! That's JUST the type of stuff
I'm looking for these days..."
-Johnny Black
Music Dir. High
Plains Public Radio
"These
cowgirls have got the stuff! The Buckerettes add a fresh
new sound to our Western Music lineup at Heartland
Public Radio"
George Fair
The
Buckerettes make a name for themselves while having fun
Jaime McKee
Asheville
Citizen Times Sept 19, 2008
ASHEVILLE
— It’s difficult for most bands to make a
name for themselves in Asheville, but The Buckerettes
have done just that over the past four years. Robin Cape,
Deb Criss and Roberta Greenspan make up the group and
have been having a blast performing together. The band
will be playing at The Orange Peel for their CD release
show of their self-titled album (on Friday Sept 26).
Question: How did you guys get together, and when did
you guys form the Buckerettes?
Cape:
It was actually 2004. It was around the presidential election.
And Pasty Keever was running for an office, and we had
been playing music as just friends. Somebody asked us
to play for a political event. We were joking around that
we were “bucking” the political system, so
we were the Buckerettes. We kind of liked the image of
the cowgirl, too, because I think that so many people
resonate with the idea of a cowgirl.
Q:
When did you start working on the self-titled album?
Cape:
We actually went into the studio last fall. We knew we
wanted to do a second CD, and then we had some life happen.
Q:
Do you have any memories that stick out from recording
the CD?
Criss:
For me, the memories of recording it, one of the children
I had raised was killed in a car accident. One of the
songs is to her, called “Meta Rides.” Two
months later, her mother, who was my partner, got breast
cancer. This affected all of us, because we were all very
good friends. She has just passed away. So there are two
songs that are death-birth attributes. This whole CD was
this major birthing process. Plus, we were all going through
a lot of strange life situations that were just very intense.
Cape:
It was a very intense time and music was this place where
we could process losing these people we loved and this
creative energy that we shared. I don’t think there
are warm and fuzzy memories around this CD. It was a struggle.
Criss:
It kept making us reflect on how to go through change
in a balanced way, through total chaos. It’s kind
of psychology, spiritual, some comedy. You have to have
it all to make it through.
Q:
Describe your live show.
Cape:
It’s not boring. We mix it up so it’s not
just a bluegrass show and after four songs you think you’ve
heard them all. You don’t know what we’re
going to do next.
Even
cowgirls get the blues…
by sandi tomlin-sutker
Summer 2006
But these girls
just “wanna have fu-un!” And while they’re at it, they
want to break a few stereotypes, publicize a few local
issues, remind us all that we don’t have to be perfect
to get out there, and oh, at the same time, play and sing
some fantastic music!
Julie and I, along
with our summer intern Emily Perry, met with these cowgirls
(who call themselves the Buckerettes) to find out who
they really are. The Buckerettes (Robin Cape, Deb Criss,
and Roberta Greenspan) played at our Summer’s Eve Celebration
while the crowd danced their toes off. We, and the partygoers,
fell in love with these women and their music, so we looked
forward with great expectation to learning more about
the individual women and the group article.
