A bionic string band? Fire breathing traveling-gypsy-circus-indie-grass? Absynth Quintet is a group of pickers purveying a truly unique brand of high energy acoustic music. The band's sound, born and cultured in the fertile hills of Humboldt County, Ca. melds a reverent treatment of time honored American music with a reckless, virtuosic and often zany approach to innovation. There's something Django-esque, something distinctly Eastern European that saturates many of the songs, but always present is the foot-stomping influence of the bluegrass roots.

The year 2008 saw Absynth Quintet break onto the national scene with the release of 'Indigo Shoes', their stellar debut full-length studio album. Jazzmando.com calls the album, "fierce acoustic energy that never betrays a carefully crafted sophistication." Gratefulweb.net immediately placed the group in their Band of the Month slot. Motivated by the response to 'Indigo Shoes', AQ quickly raised the money needed for their second album by pre-selling it on Kickstarter. Promptly, they began work on their latest album, 'IOTA', which was released in 2011. Michael Dronkers, program director for KHUM and KSLG radio said "...their semi-nerdy songwriting and brilliant virtuosity don't overpower the melodies that overrun Iota. This record succeeds at every level."

Matt Ekle of the Grisman Quintet said of IOTA, "The AQ hit a home run! Great original material, some of the tunes sound like they were written at the height of the bluegrass era, 60 years ago, but about modern subject matter. VERY COOL!"

While touring to support their latest release, the band has shared the stage with such greats as Hot Buttered Rum, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Railroad Earth, Devil Makes Three, Rushad Eggleston, Fareed Haque and Matt Ekle of the Grisman Quintet.

Absynth Quintet walks with ease the line between street corner busking, sit down concerts at The Freight And Salvage and all night laser light shows. The AQ taps into its diverse musical roots and teases out something fresh, original and relevant to today's music scene.

The Absynth Quintet is:
Bird Jowaisas - Mandolin and Lithuanian Party Bugle
Ryan Roberts - Guitar
John Ludington - Bass
Ian Davidson - Electric Banjo and Nose flute
Tofu Schwartz - Drums, Percussion, and first chair kazoo

PRESS QUOTES :

"Bring Your Own Psychedelic Liqueur - The Absynth Quintet certainly isn't averse to classic bluegrass comparisons, they just want to make it clear their musical range doesn't stop at the Kentucky border. Mixing it up somewhere along the spectrum of acoustic-improvisational-gypsy-jazz, their sound is plucky and tight à la David Grisman, but adds a dash of Eastern European exoticism that puts you in a smoky, understated hash bar kind of mood. Hailing from Humboldt County, Calif., the band is picking and strumming their way up and down the West Coast, leaving a warm buzz in its wake. The Absynth Quintet's debut album, Flying Baby Swing, is pleasant and unobtrusive enough to serve as background music for an afternoon potluck, but to relegate them to acoustic "easy listening" status would be a disservice to artists and listeners alike. Tracks like "Playa Requeson" feature mandolin player Chris "Bird" Jowaisas evoking straight-up jazz trumpet with a stringed instrument typically played with lightening-fast percussive fury. The subtle interplay of various harmonic layers is also deserving of a close and contemplative listen; the quintet is so polished that their sound, as one fan put it, can seem like it is coming from one instrument. Lucky they're coming to a small, string-friendly bar near you where their old and new world qualities can be appreciated over a glass of red wine (they don't serve absinthe)." - Eugene Weekly, 10/07

"The Absynth Quintet's proclivity for weirdness would be tarnished if one were to simply pigeonhole them as connoisseurs of alternative bluegrass. Their music takes the concise, humorous and poignant findings of David Bromberg melded with the catchiness of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and parlays them into what would happen if NIckel Creek meets Zappa on a field trip in Eastern Europe. You might not get "Orange Blossom Special", but there is enough Grismanesque picking to keep the traditionalist's palette unburdened." -Good Times, 8/09

"That night, I gorged enjoyably at Tomo, a first-rate sushi restaurant on the ground floor of the Hotel Arcata. Because it was the last evening of the year, it seemed important to have a night on the town. Up the street, at the Arcata Theatre, a gypsy jazz band was getting under way. The band was very good, but the crowd was going in for styles of West Coast whimsy irksome to a peevish East Coaster like myself. People in the throes of air-palming jam-band dances kept revolving in my personal space. Someone dressed in a dark shroud with a spray of foam swimming-pool noodles jutting from the top exhibited his or her liberty from hangups by painfully whacking the noodles into my and everybody's face. Soon, it was necessary to go." -NY Times

"Some bands record amazing studio albums, but can't recreate the brilliance live. Others are incredible live, but their studio work doesn't measure up. The Absynth Quintet pulls off both." -Indigo Shoes Cd Review in Northcoast Journal, 9/08

"Conjuring the spirit of smoky Parisian bars Django Reinhardt once frequented, Humboldt's Absynth Quintet trades in an intoxicating distillation of bluegrass, lezmer-tinged gypsy music and hot jazz rags. The five-piece excels at the sort of nimble fretwork that befits the genres, performing with wild, ebullient abandon. After supporting the likes of Vagabond Opera, the David Grisman Quintet, and Hot Buttered Rum, the Absynth Quintet is stepping out on its own with this headlining tour. It's not a leap to suggest that the five-piece will be a big deal on the West Coast string band circuit in short order." -Santa Cruz Metro, 2/09