Screen Door Porch Blog

Our August Sale continues for just two more days over at http://screendoorporch.bandcamp.com. Receive 30% off your order of our new album (physical or digital) with the promo code “augustfriends.” Don’t miss out!!

The summer whip took hold there for while, but there’s plenty to share and we’re thankful for that. Every time we thought about blogging or updating the website, our minds would get taken over by thoughts of being knee deep in a trout stream or hitting a Teton trail.

Songs from the Land
Our song “Light Through the Pines” appears on an incredible benefit CD called Songs From the Land, released just last week. The 16-track disc is a collaborative project that celebrates musicians with a local connection to the land, and proceeds will be used to encourage land stewardship in the Upper Snake River Watershed. Other artists on the disc include Martha Scanlan, Ben Winship, Michael Batdorf, Anne & Pete Sibley, Margo Valiante, and many of our other talented friends. We are very honored to be a part of a just cause! Check out TetonLandTrust.org for more information on the CD.

August Shows
August is an epic month, with some cool headlining shows on tap with the quartet (Matt Donovan on upright bass, Andy Peterson on drums): The Timberline Americana series continues tonight at the Timberline Bar in Victor. 9:30pm showtime after Backyard Tire Fire at Music on Main. Free.

For those attending Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival this Friday Night (August 13), we’re playing the official after-show in The Trap Bar starting at 9pm. Admission is $5, and you must have a festival pass. GrandTarghee.com.

The Pinedale Fine Arts Council will feature SDP on Friday, August 20 at 6pm in American Legion Park. Local singer-songwriter Jared Rogerson will open. Pinedale is one of our favorite towns to play! PinedaleFineArts.com.

AND… the duo is still rockin’ The Q Roadhouse every Monday on Teton Village Road, 7-10pm, so drop by and take in a set! The duo will also be spreading the love across Wyoming to Lander, West Yellowstone and Cody in the coming weeks. For up to date show schedule, check out ScreenDoorPorch.com.

Big August SALE on Screen Door Porch – The Album
Don’t have our album yet? To celebrate our recent investment—BESSIE the Tour Van—we want to extend a 30% off SALE through the month of August for those that want to pick up a copy of Screen Door Porch for yourself or a friend. Click http://screendoorporch.bandcamp.com to purchase a digital or physical CD. Enter the promo code “augustfriends” to receive 30% off your order.

New Videos
We’ve posted some great new live videos from our CD Release show at Dornan’s (Moose, WY) from June 11 and from our Outdoor Concert Series in Driggs, ID from July 11. Check’em out on our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/screendoorporch. Special thanks to Darrell Miller for shooting the Driggs July videos.

As always, thanks for ALL of your support!
- Seadar & Aaron

Wow — huge thanks to those who came out to to the Trap Bar on Friday Night after Bela Fleck and Keller & The Keels. Amazing crowd & great energy. The momentum feels great! And did you guys see The Punch Brothers?! They have some of the most creative arrangements and insane musicianship that we’ve ever seen. Very impressed.

Thursday’s Americana Music Series at The Timberline was the best yet. The Teton Valley support has been solid and we’re lovin’ it. Thanks to Tim from Backyard Tire Fire for sitting in on “Right Down to It” and “Downhome Girl.” Also a shout out to Colin from Band of Heathens who ripped up the Tele during “What’s the Matter with The Mill?” and “New Speedway Boogie” a few weeks back.

Thought the Dylan show last night at Snow King Amphitheater was killer! Was close enough to see his every move. Where else can you walk straight to 3rd row?! Incredible band. Every song had an epic build, and he’s the most subtle, commanding band director of all time. His guitar solo on Memphis Blues came as a complete surprise and blew me away! Highway 61 was long, rockin’ and experimental…man, what a show. Don’t care what anyone says, he’s on top of his game.

Pinedale and Lander this week…two Wyoming towns full of character!

Yesterday I was singing the Rain blues…I mean when is it going to stop in Jackson?! With our CD Release just ONE day away, I have been fearing the inevitable: bad Wyoming weather. But today changed all of that. I woke up (late, per usual!) to find 20 bucks in my pocket – score 1. Promptly found a very cute top at a local boutique for half off and bought with said bucks – score 2 (but now at $0). Then arrived at my computer to some very nice words from the Chicago Blog, Hear Ya, about our new album – score 3 (or 100!, whichever you prefer). Thursday, you have started with a bang.

It’s still raining (actually pouring at the moment), and could even snow tomorrow, but I’m not worried. Why? I trust our Jackson fans and I know a little weather doesn’t scare them. I’ve noticed one constant besides the rain this week- the support of our hometown Wyoming (and Idaho!) fans. Everyone is excited for us and you can FEEL it. At times I am a bit overwhelmed by the love that people continue to throw our way in regards to the new album. But, hey, who doesn’t like and need a little lovin?

Moving on to some Chicago lovin’ - Hear Ya seems to get Screen Door Porch pretty well. “[Their] sound is perfect for sitting on a tattered porch swing accompanied by some sweet tea. Or sipping whiskey.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. If you want to check out the full review, read it here.

If you are in the Jackson area, we hope to spread some love your way tomorrow night. This party is not just about our CD, it is about and for our fans and our Wyoming family.

PS – Don’t forget the whiskey, y’all!

- Seadar

A little love from a DJ Shotgun Majors at 91.9 KRVM in Eugene, Oregon this week .. “Got a spectacular new release from a duo out of Jackson Wyoming calling themselves Screen Door Porch. Definitely the best ‘new’ band I’ve heard this year and a strong contender for ‘Best Album of 2010.’ I’ll be playing ‘em a bunch more in the upcoming…

Tupelo Honey

Texan alt-folk duo prove a shrewd pairing

Screen Door Porch are Austin Texas Duo Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, who have roped in the help of percussion, peddle steel, fiddles and even a choir to flesh out these soulful country vignettes that they share vocals on. Although each manages to brand their own personality to their respective tunes.

Having released a number of albums separately as part of other projects, Rose and Davis seem to have forged a complimentary partnership on this self titled debut.
Opener ‘Wrong the Right’ is a magnificently effortless groove, augmented by some restrained violin ambiance, shuffling drums and a simple electric guitar figure. Rose’s regretful country lilt is elevated by some fabulously sleazy blues slide guitar that sounds like it could have been cribbed from a ‘Sticky Fingers’ out-take.

Rose’s songs are far more folk inflected; acoustic and blatantly rootsy in hue (‘Cold Mountain Breath’, ‘Firewater’ ‘Blow Away’ et al.). The musically/emotionally stripped bare ‘Gold’ is her finest moment though. Rose up close as if she’s softly whispering in your ear over some elegiac controlled acoustic and electric picking. “I loved without meaning, I left without reason” she muses with a convincing ache.

Aaron Davis’ contributions however are a touch more adventurous and thus far more fascinating and further reaching. His Ryan Adams-esque vocal and easy technique with a melody provide the albums most intriguing moments. ‘From Sea’ where Rose and Davis’ vocals combine to fabulous effect, alluding to The Cardinals jamming with Mazzy Star is among the albums highpoints. Elsewhere the junkyard polka of ‘Zemurray’ features some wonderfully wonky violin and could easily be the result of Whiskeytown messing around with Tom Waits’ sonic toy box.

‘Screen Door Porch’ is an album of soulful honest music, managing to be equally true to its core Americana roots as it is to being forward looking and mildly adventurous.

Date review added: Sunday, May 02, 2010
Reviewer: Ian Fildes
Reviewers Rating: 7 of 10 stars

Here’s a little sampling from a shhhweet evening in Winston-Salem. Thanks ya’ll for rallying out on a Tuesday night — gave us fuel for the road!! Here’s a little “Firewater” for ya…

By Stephanie Burt, for The Charleston Scene, Special to The Post and Courier (Thursday, April 22, 2010)

http://www.charlestonscene.com/news/2010/apr/22/screen-door-porch/

There are do-it-yourselfers, and then there is Screen Door Porch.

In the music world, this duo has done more than decide to release its own records; it has made a conscious decision to bypass the music machine and have control over all parts of the process, including songwriting, song selection, publicity and tour management.

At the core of Screen Door Porch are Seadar Rose and Aaron Davis, but depending on the day, they could be playing with a quintet, or even a full band, including a cello.

They describe themselves (no matter the band configuration) as groove-injected alt-folk and soulful Americana, with a sound that is not quite acoustic.

And although that description might sound a little complicated, it seems very simple for a lot of their fans. This duo plays good, honest music.

“I really was a late bloomer as far as playing instruments,” says Davis, who plays acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and foot percussion. “I started playing at 19, influenced by all the folk music (such as Bob Dylan) I suddenly realized I had missed out on pre-18.”

As for Rose, she was influenced by two very different sets of grandparents during her childhood in Greensboro, N.C.

On one side, she was exposed to classic country such as Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. On the other side, she had a grandfather who was a champion shag dancer.

“I have a lot of that music in my head,” she explains.

And what results is a magnetic, eclectic collaboration. Rose and Davis, who have been musical partners for more than three years, have just recently gotten engaged.

They have spent the last few months in Austin, Texas, first playing the prestigious South by Southwest music festival, then recording their debut album “Wrong the Right.”

On the album, they split the songwriting and the vocals pretty evenly, although they did co-write two tracks, something they look to do more of in the future.

For now, their immediate plans include a summer full of tour dates to promote the album, where the two pack all of their instruments, bring along their yellow lab, Harper, and hit the road.

They will cover close to 6,000 miles in five weeks, most of those logged in the South, where they find their strongest fan base.

“The South is definitely our focus, but we have even sent out CDs internationally. We’ve really embraced the indie side of things and everything a label would do, we are trying to do ourselves.”

Had a great time on WTJU 91.1 FM in Charlottesville, VA today. We played 4 tunes live, and they spun “Wrong the Right” from the album. Check out the VIDEO of the in-studio here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WTJU-Charlottesville/156210288328?v=wall. And thanks to Ryan for having us at Random Row Books last night…super cool space and the Don’t Tell Darlings were great. Also scored a copy of one of my favorite books — Siddhartha.

We finally got to meet The Honey Dewdrops — a great folk duo from Charlottesville who put us up for the night. So nice to have a place to lay our head, and to trade stories of the trials and tribulations of figuring out a fruitful path in this music world we live in.

Despite a dead battery that caused some inconveniences around Lexington and Morehead, Kentucky, we’ve had a smooth tour so far. Harper is ready for another hike, and well, we are too. Hopefully in Blowing Rock tomorrow up in the Blue Ridge. Thanks for keeping up with us, its nice to share some stories. Drop a line when you get a chance — we love hearing from you.

Aaron & Seadar

We’ll be hangin’ on Americana Crossroads tonight on NPR affiliate Morehead State Public Radio…playing a some tunes and talking about the new album. STREAM online 8:30-10pm EST … http://www.moreheadstate.edu/mspr/

Here are the affiliate broadcast stations:

CHLY – Nanaimo, BC (Canada)
CJTR – Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada)
DZWR – Baguio City, Philippines
KASU – State University, Arkansas
KDUP – Portland, Oregon
KNOM – Nome, Alaska
KPVL – Postville, Iowa
KSER – Everett, Washington
KUR – Kutztown, Pennsylvania
RTRO-AM/FM – Harlan, Kentucky
WBSD – Burlington, Wisconsin
WCBE – Columbus, Ohio
WETS – Johnson City, Tennessee
WHRV – Norfolk, Virginia
WILL – Urbana, Illinois
WLRI – Gap, Pennsylvania
WMKY – Morehead, Kentucky
WOCS – LeRose/Booneville, Kentucky
WRPO – Russells Point, Ohio
WUFT / WJUF – Gainesville, Florida
WUOW – Oneonta, New York
WYOU – Virginia Beach, Virginia
WZLP – Loudonville, Ohio
W202BH – Inez, Kentucky