Acclaimed Athens country rockers Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots are cranking it up to 11 as the band takes a new musical approach at its forthcoming album release show at Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery Saturday.
“We’ve went for a more electric direction,” singer and guitarist Jess Kauffman said. “There’s a diversity in the style because we all have very different influences.”
Kauffman also said the new album will be a step forward from the band’s stripped-down first album, Bag of Bones.
The group, which had previously drawn much of its inspiration from older country artists and roots music, has now looked to more modern bands, such as the Black Keys, for musical direction.
Beyond the addition of electric guitars, the Smokey Boots will boast myriad other instruments, including banjo, fiddle and horn parts that were played by Ohio University students, on the album and in their live shows.
Originally a trio, the group formed in 2009, when the members were all OU students, making Jackie O’s an obvious choice for the band’s CD release show.
Even the venue holds sentimental value to the band. The band first met at Jackie O’s and had its first performance at the Irish pub at an open-stage gig.
“Jackie O’s, as well all the other bars, were really supportive when we were first starting out,” Kauffman said, “We actually held our first CD release show there.”
Though much of the Smokey Boots’ focus has been spent on creating this new record, they’ve made time for gigs in Ohio and West Virginia. They also performed at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, a music festival in historic Bristol, Va. — the “birthplace of country music.”
The band will be bringing friends, 600LBS of Sin, to share the Jackie O’s stage Saturday night as one of the many performances the two groups have played together.
Concertgoers can purchase the new album at the show for $10.
If you miss them this Saturday, Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots will also be performing with Joey Hebdo Oct. 27.
ap338210@ohiou.edu
What: Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots CD release party.
When: Saturday
Where: Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery, 24 W. Union St.
Admission: $10 for CD purchase covers admission; donations also accepted.
