O’Death U.S. Tour

“The New York band O’Death draws from the bluntness and spiritual purify of Appalachian folk, the menace of punk and the rowdy theatricality of Tom Waits, jumbling sacred and profane.” -The New York Times

Watch O’Death on VBS.tv

O’Death

Five guys, maybe three shirts between them, take to the stage. There’s a banjo, a fiddle, a drum set littered with gas cans, chains, and broken cymbals. Then they all start howling, stomping; it’s an anachronistic jug band party in a junkyard with sing-along hooks and weathered vocals from another time. Their fans, an ever-expanding congregation, sing along and follow the band with an almost religious fervor, and as vocalist Greg Jamie‘s eyes roll back into his head there’s a sense that something almost sinisterly spiritual has overtaken everyone in the room. This is the world of O’Death.

Originally formed in 2003 while the members attended SUNY Purchase, the band – with Jamie on guitar and vocals, Gabe Darling on banjo, David Rogers-Berry on drums, Jesse Newman on bass, and Bob Pycior on fiddle – self-released their first album in 2004. They quickly took to the task of stirring up a wholly original scene of NY musicians with their reverently twisted take on Americana filtered through a wealth of musical influences as divergent as Bill Monroe, Dock Boggs, Neil Young, The Microphones, and The Misfits via a series of the shows the now defunct Apocalypse Lounge.

With the re-release of Head Home (out now on Ernest Jenning Record Co.), the critically acclaimed NY act has created a perfect companion to their spellbinding live show. Part southern gothic spiritual, part moonshine fueled hoedown, these recordings, now presented with new mixes done by the band and Billy Pavone are a timeless addition to the canon of weird old America.

O’Death Live!

08.29 | The Spiegeltent in NYC w/ Death Vessel!
09.05 | Washington DC | Black Cat w/ Rock Plaza Central
09.06 | Oberlin, OH | Oberlin College w/ Rock Plaza Central *
09.07 | Champaign, IL | Void Room w/ Rock Plaza Central
09.08 | Chicago, IL | Hideout Block Party w/ Andrew Bird, The Frames
09.09 | Minneapolis, MN | 7th Street Entry w/ Rock Plaza Central *
09.12 | Seattle, WA | Neumos w/ Rock Plaza Central
09.13 | Portland, OR | Dante’s w/ Rock Plaza Central *
09.14 | Vancouver, BC | Pat’s Pub w/ Rock Plaza Central
09.19 | San Francisco, CA | Rickshaw Shop w/ Rock Plaza Central
09.20 | Los Angeles, CA | The Echo w/ Rock Plaza Central *
09.22 | Claremont, CA | Pomona College w/ Rock Plaza Central
+ more tba soon! (* denotes O’Death headlining)