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With a closet full of boots, a heart full of wander and a soul full of songs, the charming and multi-talented Kentucky “Wonky Tonk” woman releases her debut album Stuff We Leave Behind in hopes of continuing her Wonky ways with a lighter heart in lieu of finding the Neverland in all of 

Jasmine Lorraine “Wonky Tonk” Poole grew up in the hard scrabble portion of the American heartland. Kentucky, to be precise. Her world of loss and longing is familiar terrain for lovers of country, bluegrass and folk music but, just as Kentucky can be viewed as a bridge between north and south, Wonk’s music blends elements of Indie/Alternative rock with old school country. It’s hard to separate the wonk from the tonk. Nor should you try. 

Wonk’s influences, John Prine, Guy Clark, Modest Mouse and Loretta Lynn among them (especially Loretta), are apparent but her music is not derivative. Loretta, Skeeter Davis, Iris Dement and Jenny Lewis come to mind but none of her comparables quite pin her down. Wonk is her own cowgirl. “Cowgirls get up in the morning, decide what to do and do it”, she was told as a child. Fiercely independent but naturally shy Jasmine uses her alter ego and blue cowgirl boots to deal with the notion of impossibly cruel but equally exhilarating existence. 

One byproduct of youthful innocence is a constant disappointing, bewildering surprise: 

You used to call me baby 
You used to call me darlin’ 
Now you don’t call me at all 

Another is vulnerability and manipulability: 

In the greasy ballroom 
You whispered in my ear 
Darlin’ life is a gamble, romance a drug 
The whole world is dancin' 
Won’t you give in and love 


Her eleven song debut release Stuff We Leave Behind deals with the necessity of moving on at critical points in your life. Stuff that once seemed important must be cast aside, ex-lovers relegated to the shadows. “Heartbreak makes the jukebox play”, she was once told. Her song titles reflect her wandering spirit and a fascination with time and place. “Cleveland." “Denmark." “Tennessee." “Montague Road." A veteran troubadour at such a tender age, Wonk has toured Europe with the same restless drive as her native Northern Kentucky. 

Tom Robbins told us that even Cowgirls Get the Blues but all is not remorse and regret. Jangly sunshine pops through the clouds unexpectedly, such as in “Parkland Avenue” (arguably the best track). Though softly. Without the glare. 

Wonk’s lyrics are worth a read even without the music. The album tracks her evolution as an artist and a person. The gravel, rutted road to an emerging wisdom. 

Tennessee didn’t you hear 
Money’s not real and neither is fear 


Pay attention to Wonk. Not just because she is talented and beautiful. Pay attention because she has an important purpose. To help you remember. To help you forget. Or to help you remember why you chose to forget. 
With love from Kentucky, 


Wonky Tonk

Whats up Cincy/NKY Punx!! We're Lockjaw and we play punk rock in your face!!

"The eight instrumentals that make up Ampline's debut disc The Choir have more in common with Mission Of Burma than the standard amorphous post-rock. The Cincinnati group plays passages of complex, chiming beauty, but most of its songs begin and end in a compressed rush so intense that it's easy to forget the lack of vocals..." - The Onion 

"Ampline's guitar isn't droning for the sake of holding up the entire song, the way Emo bands typically do...the drums could be a band unto themselves, as the bass rolls along tactfully, never going Flea-like on the listener." - 2Walls 

"Really good amped up instrumental guitar rock. The guys in Ampline never even considered having a singer...which is just as well, because they obviously don't need vocals in order to make their music work. These four gentlemen have a great big adrenaline-fueled sound that is characterized by charging rhythms and heavy guitars. These guys can rock, that's for sure...but even more impressive is the fact that they also venture into some heady progressive areas that are most appealing. These guys are doing all the right things the right way." - Babysue

In your face Thrash Punk. It's garbage day and we are Trash Knight

Hollering tales of murder, betrayal, debauchery, and long, dark Saturday nights of the soul. Stripped raw, bruised, and cracking a bloody, split-lip grin, The Shambles deliver a loud, belligerent style of demonic hill-stomp blues that almost . . . but not quite . . . betrays an air of subtle sophistication lingering just around the edges. “Rough garage rock & dirty basement blues that kicks you right in the gut bucket.” Whatever you call it, The Whiskey Shambles sure enough get asses shakin and heads rockin — and that ain’t no half-steppin! This is the hard part, nephew. Whooooo well well. 


The Tale 
One day and many moons ago, Brother James rolled up to Nathan on the street: “Hey, man, I was thinking we should do a heavy garage blues band. And drink. You wanna make with the deep pipes, the guitar, and the face?” Nathan shot back: “Sho ‘nuff.” Several years later they were still drinking, listening to, and talking about music, but hadn’t actually played a note together. Finally they sobered up enough to put together some originals. Nathan then woke up his old pal Aaron and said: “You wanna get drunk and pound on stuff?” Aaron explained that he was already drunk, so they handed him some sticks, and thus The Whiskey Shambles were born. 

While recording their first studio album, they were drawn to Miss LaTanya’s angelic voice, and after just one session the boys begged LaTanya to join the group. Bringing both her sassy stage presence and classical training to the mix, she simultaneously saved them from mutually assured destruction and raised the collective sobriety level of the group, slightly. And thus The Shambles were complete. 

More recently, Aaron has been feeling the ravages of time and self-abuse, and after several shoulder surgeries, is on the road to recovery. In the meantime we fell in with a hip skins man, Tim, who we’ve decided to Shanghai and keep around after Aaron’s back on the kit. In addition to occasionally filling in on drums, Tim will be playing a myriad of roles, from organist, to percussionist, to vocalist… that’s a lot of -ists, but we think he can handle it. 



The Now 
The Whiskey Shambles are currently working their way through the dive bars and juke joints of the Midwest and Rustbelt, with occasional trips to more exotic locales, like Nashville or Buffalo, New Orleans or Asheville, Atlanta or NYC. They won the 2014 Northeast Ohio Blues Challenge, and represented Northeast Ohio at the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The band headlined two showcases at the 2015 Millennium Music Conference near Philadelphia, and were invited to showcase at the 2015 Singer-Songwriter of Cape May conference in southern New Jersey, and the 2015 NXNE conference in Toronto. 

In addition to winning the 2016 & 2015 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Blues Act (for which they were also nominated in 2014), they were also nominated for Best Live Act in 2016, as well as CityBeat magazine’s Best of Cincinnati (Best Original Band) in 2016, 2015, & 2014, and several of their song releases have earned critical acclaim. 

In 2012 The Whiskey Shambles released the EP, “Live at Mad Frog.” September 2014 saw the release of a second live EP, “Stumbling Toward Beale Street.” Their first LP “Loose Change for a Broken Man” was released in November, shortly thereafter was named #23 on WNKU’s Top 89 Albums of 2014, and is getting regular airplay on college and AAA radio stations. The Shambles are already working on their second full-length album, with plans to release it in spring of 2016.

Randy Newman without the sexual charisma.

Cincinnati’s Willow Tree Carolers are a wandering bunch of young folkies with the spirit of Leadbelly, Pete Seeger and Odetta in their hearts; their reinterpretations of the road-worn American Folk songbook, complemented with their own original tales of hitting life’s highway make-it-or-bust style has won them plenty of applause from audiences as divergent as Chicago biker gangs, celebratory hometown dive bar crowds, and plenty of good folks gathered at various public parks and street festivals during the daylight hours. You name it, and they’ve strummed, plucked and played to please just about anyone’s ears.

Legend has it, the Carolers began as a sort-of family band, sometime around 2014. Brothers Josh (banjo) and David Sparks (drums) soon joined ranks with burgeoning singer/songwriter Brandon Martin (guitar) whom is also their cousin. After a short while they hitched up with their buddy Dawn Weast, who turned in her violin for a wicked fiddle: on stage, she gives the boys a run for their money that you have to see to believe.

It wasn’t long before the Cincinnati-based group became regulars at every spot worth playing - and plenty that weren’t - around town and answered calls to hit the road. They’re undeniably one of the Ohio River Valley’s most lauded Folk acts, nominated for a 2016 Cincinnati Entertainment Award in that very category, and veterans of multiple fests, including the Whispering Beard Folk Fest, where they shared the stage with the likes of The Tillers, Possessed by Paul James, the Bottle Rockets and many more.