Austin bands converge in Pinedale

From JH Weekly, Edition 6/22/11In one way or another, the three bands billed for the Pinedale Fine Arts Council’s (PFAC) fourth annual Soundcheck Mini-Fest are connected. Shotgun Party, Leo Rondeau and Dynamite Tales and Screen Door Porch are linked by Austin, crossover studio sessions and significant others.With the help of grant monies from the Wyoming Cultural Trust, nonprofit PFAC was able to purchase its own sound system in 2007, a convenience that led to the festival’s name. This year, the ante is upped with several new pieces of sound gear and a strong lineup of country-fused Americana. The opportunity to see three standout bands in an outdoor setting, free-of-charge, has been a cultural boost for the Pinedale community.Shotgun Party is billed as the headlining act, featuring songwriter Jenny Parrott (guitar, vocals), Katy Rose Cox (fiddle, vocals, mandolin) and Andrew Austin-Petersen (upright bass, vocals). The trio combines for a post-Depression splice of swing, early blues, classic Texas country and bluegrass, painting a picture of Betty Boop hanging out with the Ditty Bops and Dan Hicks’s Lickettes in a honkytonk saloon down South.“I grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where we don’t have too much country music,” Parrot said. “So I grew up listening to The Rat Pack, and I loved all of the R&B divas of the 90s like Mariah Carry and Whitney Houston, and all of the dead divas like Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday. When I left New Haven, I first heard Hank Williams and I remember freaking out with joy, and I was pissed that no one had ever played that for me before. It changed my world.”With a voice that’s girlish, old-timey and bright, Parrott’s melodies are supported by wicked, often out-of-the-box fiddling and strong harmonies via Cox. The chemistry has grown since forming in 2006, when the group began a residence at Austin’s Continental Club that would earn it a following. Despite the good times and a successful ride, the band will call it quits at the end of the year. So Shotgun Party will make its first and only appearance in Wyoming this weekend.“It’s still fun and everything, but do you ever get that wild hair that you should be doing something else?” Parrott said. “That’s what’s going on, and I’m trying to follow my wild hair. Sounds gross, but it’s true.”The middle bill will feature country crooner Rondeau and Dynamite Tales, a quartet with guitar, banjo, bass, drums, a Gram Parsons vibe, and plenty of witty story lines. Guitarist-banjoist Vaughn Walters is Parrott’s significant other, so Pinedale will be a reunion of summer tours for the two bands. Amongst a diminishing few that stick to the country formula, there’s a simplistic consistency to Rondeau’s deliverance, and his handwritten songs bring a honkytonkin’ lifestyle to the forefront.As for locals Screen Door Porch (of which I am a member), the mini-fest will kick off a round of Rocky Mountain festival runs including Sawtooth, No Woodstock, Magic City Blues and Labor Less. Its self-titled release—which was recorded in Austin and features Cox’s fiddling on a few tunes—reached No. 16 on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart last month.Soundcheck Mini-Fest, 5 p.m., Saturday, American Legion Park in Pinedale. Free. PinedaleFineArts.com.