Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol add Fall US dates to Austin City Limits ACL Fest & Levitation 2024

Photo: Cam Kisel

"I guarantee you, it will be jammed firmly in your head for days on end." -- Metal Injection

“An instant earworm.” — Metal Sucks

“As ridiculously awesome as their big, dumb moniker would imply… churning out lumbering cascades of clobbering, trucker hat riffage that toe a slobbery line between Dinosaur Jr., Primus, Pantera and ZZ Top.” – Decibel Magazine

"Epically catchy... Imagine the ear-wormy fuzz-rock riffage of Dinosaur Jr. if it was played on an eight-string guitar with super heavy low-end." -- Revolver Magazine

Austin trio Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol today announce additional Fall 2024 US tour dates ahead of their performances at Austin City Limits' prestigious ACL Fest and Levitation 2024 with The Sword and Pentagram. The band continues domestic dates supporting their new album BIG DUMB RIFFS through the end of the year. See current shows below. Tickets are available HERE.

The band has also recently joined the roster of Doomstar Bookings for EU & UK touring beginning in Spring 2025.

BIG DUMB RIFFS is now available on limited opaque maroon & transparent clear vinyl variants, and Doom Wop is also now back in stock on clear vinyl. Orders are available HERE. 

“Our catalog has never been short on big dumb riffs, but the idea on this record was to really turn the screw,” says RBBP bassist Aaron Metzdorf. On Big Dumb Riffs, that screw is cranked incredibly tight. 

“We just wanted ‘the part’: The opening of Pantera’s ‘Primal Concrete Sledge’, the breakdown in Primus' ‘Pudding Time’ — the shit that makes you move and lose your mind. Just that part the whole time.”

Across 11 concise, taut songs — most clocking in around 2 minutes or less — Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol demonstrates their skillful ability to blend the merciless low end of Leo Lydon’s 8-string guitar, Aaron Metzdorf’s masterful chordwork on the bass, and Sean St.Germain’s driving drumming. 

Hot on the heels of their breakout 5th studio release Doom Wop (2023), Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol returns with Big Dumb Riffs: A whole new variant of the fuzzed out, overdriven, melodic, groovy music they have been making since 2016. While Big Dumb Riffs is decidedly more aggressive and rhythmic, it still retains the overtly melodic feel of Doom Wop. But Leo Lydon’s vocals are considerably more angry and negative (song titles like “1-800-EAT-SHIT” and “Body Bag” should be a clue.) 

“The whole writing process was, ‘what if we just played two notes the whole song’,” Metzdorf says. “‘What if we tuned down to almost unusable string tension?’, ‘what if we write a record that will make everyone say 'wow that is dumb’? Leo and I really move around on stage a lot. Being a dingus is crucial to the groove. All these riffs were designed to allow us to act bigger and dumber on stage.”

Big Dumb Riffs is available on vinyl, cassette, and download/streaming, released on May 10, 2024. Order HERE. 

RICKSHAW BILLIE'S BURGER PATROL LIVE 2024:

08/02 Austin, TX - Sagebrush

09/14 Martindale, TX - Duett’s

09/21 Denton, TX - Dan's Silver Leaf - Burnouts Custom Motorcycle Show

09/25 Lafayette, LA - Freetown Boom Boom Room

09/26 New Orleans, LA - Siberia

09/27 Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Canteen

09/28 Asheville, NC - Static Age

09/29 Raleigh, NC - Kings Barcade

10/01 Columbus, OH - The Summit

10/02 Cincinnati, OH - MOTR Pub

10/03 Indianapolis, IN - Black Circle

10/04 Davenport, IA - Raccoon Motel

10/05 Whitewater, WI - Strange LaGrange

10/06 Louisville, KY - Portal

10/07 Chattanooga, TN - JJ’s Bohemia

10/09 Little Rock, AR - Whitewater Tavern

10/13 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits' ACL Fest

11/03 Austin, TX - Stubb’s - w/ The Sword, Pentagram

Artist: Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol

Album: Big Dumb Riffs

Label: Permanent Teeth

Release Date: May 10th, 2024

01. Clowntown

02. 1-800-EAT-SHIT

03. Papa Pop It

04. Peanut Butter Snack Sticks

05. Whip It Around

06. Body Bag

07. Brat

08. El Sapo

09. Bastard Initiated

10. Blue Collar Man

11. In a Jar

www.rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.com

rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.bandcamp.com

Dark Brown shares track featuring John Stanier (Battles, Tomahawk) from upcoming album

L.A. based composer/musician Bryan Lee Brown shares a new single today from his forthcoming album under the Dark Brown moniker, American Instrument. Each song features guest collaborators, this single boasting Battles and Tomahawk drummer John Stanier. Hear/share the track "Night Bloom" via Bandcamp and all DSPs HERE. 

Watch Backtrack episode 7 with John Stanier from the video series documenting American Instrument, in which collaborators discuss their involvement in the album via YouTube HERE.

The previously released lead single, "Rhythm Surfer" features one of the last recordings of guitar icon Dick Dale -- lending his legendary and oft-imitated "Machine Gun Staccato" style to the track, alongside L7 guitarist/vocalist Donita Sparks on the entrancing tune. Hear/share "Rhythm Surfer" on all DSPs HERE.

Watch the first Backtrack episodes covering the "Rhythm Surfer" sessions at Dave Catching's fabled Rancho De La Luna. Watch/share Backtrack eps 1-6 (HERE). Official video HERE.

American Instrument is conceptually just as expansive and ambitious as the lush soundscapes within. An 18-song album featuring an array of legendary guest musicians, its theme likewise embodies a profound meditation on selfhood and the Other.

Dark Brown is the creation of Los Angeles composer and musician Bryan Lee Brown. American Instrument is the fifth album under that pseudonym, but Brown has an extensive life-long career in music: Scoring Dave Grohl’s HBO series Sonic Highways (2014) and documentary film What Drives Us (2021) as well as countless other films, TV shows and commercials, drumming for Dick Dale, as well as numerous stints as a session musician.

The album was recorded over a 12-year period at 7 different studios. It features guest appearances by surf guitar innovator Dick Dale, John Stanier (Battles, Helmet), Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Alfredo Ortiz (Los Lobos,Beastie Boys), Eric McFadden, Jon Theodore (QOTSA), Donita Sparks (L7), marching percussionist Marcus Joyner, Dave Catching (Desert Sessions), Jose Medeles (The Breeders, Author) and more.

The predominantly drummer-heavy line up is another element of the album's exploration into Brown's relationship with drumming, both musically and socially. Brown has a personal connection to almost everyone who played on the album. In a way, the album unites many common threads (personal and philosophical) throughout the musician’s life.

Slated for release in Fall 2024, American Instrument combines abstract minimalism with melodic psychedelia to create a vast ranch of soundscapes. Brown’s now signature sounds of melodic percussion, droning guitars, tremolo and propulsive rhythms permeate the tracks, with each guest musician’s personality leading the songs in many directions with each of their unique personalities shining through. Case in point, Dick Dale’s unmistakable guitar pyrotechnics on 2 album tracks, recorded in 2013 at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, bring all of his larger-than-life sonic imprint into a completely new world where the surf guitar meets counterpoint rhythms, post-rock ethereality and anthemic hooks. “Spacetime (feat. Brad Wilk)” finds the Rage Against The Machine drummer’s powerful backbeat driving a psychedelic haze of Hendrix-style guitar warped through haunting sounding tubular bells. “Miami Rute (feat. Jon Theodore and Alfredo Ortiz)” juxtaposes Latin percussion with soaring Pink Floyd-ian drones and ominous vocal chants. Throughout, a wide variety of sounds and musical styles explore the very meaning of rhythm and impact of the uniquely American instrument, the drum set, and its place in the course of human history.

American Instrument will be available digitally via Memory Bulldozer Records on September 10, 2024. Pre-order/pre-save HERE. 

Artist: Dark Brown
Album: American Instrument
Record Label: Memory Bulldozer
Release Date: September 10th, 2024

01. Night Bloom
02. Maximum Effect I
03. Time Vector II
04. Restoring Force
05. Miami Rute
06. Great Plains
07. Rhythm Surfer Intro (ft. Dick Dale)
08. Rhythm Surfer (ft. Dick Dale, Donita Sparks)
09. American Instrument
10. Passage
11. Jose In The Hole
12. Side Drum
13. Spacetime
14. Time In My Mind
15. Walking with Louis Bellson
16. Inside The Set
17. Skyhook
18. Fabric Of The Universe

Lord Buffalo stream forthcoming album early, launch US tour dates tonight

“Known for their atmospheric spin on folk-rock, at times sounding like the Anthology of American Folk Music beamed from outer space.” — NPR Music

“A dusky, moody, roots-quaking disc of tension and release.” — Austin Chronicle

“Reimagines Wovenhand as fronted by Nick Cave… Grim, grey, thoroughly American gothic. Violins and violence.” — The Obelisk

“Wondrously atmospheric dynamics... Highly recommended. 9/10.” – Echoes & Dust

"A gripping album that's not to be missed." -- Heavy Blog is Heavy

“Lord Buffalo masterfully mixes straightforward, stoner-tinged rock with more violin-driven post-rock tones into one beautifully captivating sound that everyone should be familiar with.” — Metal Injection

Austin heavy psychedelic-Americana band Lord Buffalo are streaming their forthcoming album Holus Bolus in full early today via Heavy Blog is Heavy. The album will be available on all streaming platforms, as well as deluxe LP and CD tomorrow, July 12th via Blues Funeral Recordings. Hear/share the full album HERE. Hear/share the album and videos on all DSPs HERE.

The band also launch US tour dates in support of the album with a hometown album release show tonight, July 11th in Austin at The 13th Floor. Please see current dates below. 

Lord Buffalo is heavy in the way that ghosts are heavy… in the way that billowing dust is heavy. 

That is to say, the Austin, TX Psych-Americana band’s music impacts hard, though it seems impossible to touch. Their sound flows through us, it doesn’t invite the Pavlovian response of typical heavy rock music. 

Perhaps it’s fitting then that their new album Holus Bolus takes its name from an antiquated term meaning “all at once.” It materializes instantly from the first notes of the opening title track, like a dark grey haze drawing listeners in with the band’s deft juxtapositions of droning violin, guitars, drums and vocals. It draws equally from Morricone and Badalementi as from Sabbath and Swans. 

While the quartet trudges the same murky waters as dark emotive brethren David Eugene Edwards/Woven Hand, Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle, Earth/Dylan Carlson, Echo & The Bunnymen, Nick Cave, etc., their creative interplay of Middle Eastern influence with a distinctly Western feel takes listeners in entirely new directions as the album envelops them. 

Lord Buffalo is Daniel Pruitt (guitar, bass, piano, vocals, melodica), Garrett Hellman (guitar, sub-bass, piano, synths), Patrick Patterson (violin), and Yamal Said (drums, percussion). Holus Bolus was recorded by Danny Reisch and Max Lorenzen at Good Danny's in Lockhart, TX. Mixed by Danny Reisch. Mastered by Max Lorenzen.

“While the making of this record feels a bit like a sleep-deprived hallucination to me,” Pruitt says. “Listening to it now, I find it strangely hopeful — there's a kind of release that you hit in exhaustion. I think the record knew what it was after, even if we didn’t. It felt very much like the record just appeared one day, holus bolus.”

Holus Bolus will be available worldwide on vinyl, CD, and digital via Blues Funeral Recordings on July 12, 2024. Pre-order HERE. 

LORD BUFFALO LIVE 2024:

7.11 Austin, TX - The 13th Floor (record release show)

7.19 Tulsa, OK - Mercury Lounge

7.20 OKC, OK - Blue Note

7/23 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad

7.24 Phoenix, AZ - Rips Bar

7.26 Imperial, CA - Saltcedar BBQ 

7.27 Los Angeles, CA - Redwood Bar 

7.28 San Pedro, CA - The Sardine  

7.30 Spring Valley, CA - The Bancroft Bar 

7.31 Las Vegas, NV - The Usual Place

8.01 Palmdale, CA - Transplants Brewing Co.

8.02 Santa Cruz, CA - TBA

8.03 San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill

8.04 Sacramento, CA - Starlet Room

8.06 Portland, OR - Dante's

8.07 Yakima, WA - Bearded Monkey

8.08 Boise, ID - Shrine Social Club

8.09 Salt Lake City, UT - TBA

8.11 Denver, CO - Skylark Lounge

Artist: Lord Buffalo

Album: Holus Bolus

Label: Blues Funeral Recordings

Release Date: July 12, 2024

01. Holus Bolus

02. Slow Drug

03. Passing Joy 

04. Malpaisano

05. I Wait on the Door Slab

06. Cracks in the Vermeer

07. Rowing in Eden