Louis Armstrong was
once asked what his favorite kind of music was\, and his response was sim
ple\; “Good music”. Petunia & the Vipers’ sound may not sit comfortably in
one certain genre\, but “Good Music” describes it well. Hank Williams on acid… Tom Waits meets Elvis
at Woody 
G
uthrie’s Hobo junction… Avant-Country night club scene music… One of the b
est bands in the world today\, of any kind… hillbilly-flavoured-swing infl
ected-ragtime-goodtime-thunderously rolling-one-of-a-kind-you-don’t-want-t
o-miss-this-sort-of-a-show… A new music that springboards off of music of
the past and jumps into the present day\, left with only echoes of the pas
t… Something in between 1920’s and steam punk. It’s good for your mind… These are just a few of the words uttered by folks around the globe tryi
ng to pin down a description of all that is Petunia & The Vipers.\n
If one wished to talk about the birth o f the blues\, one would need to dig into the influences that preceded it’s birth. The same is true about Petunia & the Vipers. If they followed a recipe and added musical styles as ingredients\, it would start by simply adding country and blues\, and w e’d have your basic dry ingredients right there\, but lacking the true ess ence of their sound. Mix in a dose of ragtime\, some Dixieland jazz\, a hint of bebop\, some western swi ng and old time cowboy music\, a bit of jug band & string band music. Flav or with a significant dose of Carter Family\, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Will iams\, and a bit of Blind Willie McTell\, Blind Lemon Jefferson and a few more “Blind” spices. Now you’v e got the batter for a cake. B ake on high with the dotted rhythms of Cuban\, Mexican\, Peruvian\, Romani an and African folk music. Ice the whole cake with some punk rock\, alternative and Bowie (who also spin s off a host of influences of the UK music past)\, and you’ve got a delect able musical concoction…part old-tyme\, part new times\, part no time at a ll\, part all-of-the-time…
\nSun Ra said\, “the key to freedom is discipline”. You cannot break the rules i f you do not understand the rules. Petunia and the Vipers’ sound is a familiar and yet wholly new music for that reason: they intimately understand the rules of classic Americana music(s) and where the edges of that painting lie…and they refuse to pain t inside of the lines at any time. This is a new and modern band playing u nadulterated\, unclassified\, unleashed sounds that rhyme with older sound s of the past\, and are furiously driving the future wave of a new idiom.< /span>
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PETUNIA\, The man: Petunia is more than just an entertainer\, he’s a modern musical enig
ma. Imagine that David Lynch a
nd Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby\, that yodeled… or Tom Waits meets Elvis
at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction. This is just one way of describing the man known simply as Petunia. He’s an adventure seeker\, a po
ker player\, and a mysterious stranger. He’s been referred to as “The Savior of Country Music”\, and a m
an who exists in a different era\, bringing the past forth as something ne
w to be celebrated and not forgotten.
Petunia grew up in rural Quebec\, in exactly the sort of surroundi ngs that a country musician would find idyllic\, with old dilapidated barn s\, secret forts\, and acres of unspoiled land. As an adult\, the wandering spirit took a firm hold on h is life\, so he set out on the road\, playing every major street corner ac ross Canada and throughout the NYC subway system\, before graduating to fu ll fledged touring musician. W hen he’s not on the road playing shows\, Petunia is also involved in the t heatre world\; building side projects\, writing scores\, acting\, or colla borating with theatre artists. He currently resides in Vancouver BC\, and works with several sets of sid emen across Canada\, the US and Europe in addition to his own Vancouver ba sed band\, The Vipers. A restless wanderer\, a musical historian\, and a q uirky yet amazing talent\, Petunia is simply a Canadian treasure joining t he greats from north of the 49th.
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Tickets: htt ps://www.universe.com/events/petunia-and-the-vipers-tickets-3ZMRT7.
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