Reviews
of "FEET ALL OVER THE FLOOR" CD (Yodel-Ay-Hee
061, 2005)
BLUEGRASS
UNLIMITED - Les McIntyre
"The
Stairwell Sisters' latest release is reflective of their ever-expanding
artistry and reputation.
...'Feet All Over the Floor' is old-time music at its finest and establishes
The Stairwell Sisters
as significant interpreters of traditional American music."
.
. . .
f
ROOTS - Sarylou Coxson
"...gleefully
good instrumentally - with distinctly dirty knees...Big Black Cat
is one of my
favourite sounds of the summer-gorgeous, throbbing fiddle with dolefully
picked banjo and dobro...
the languid Paris Waltz is equally divine...overall a truly fine 20-tracks'
worth of material!"
.
. . .
SAN
FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"...a
powerhouse ensemble whose vocal harmonies and stomping rhythms
are abetted by Evie Ladin's dexterous clogging."
.
. . .
HARMONY
RIDGE MUSIC
- Jack Sutton
"Outstanding,
my favorite CD of the year, a real pleasure."
.
. . .
WFHB
Bloomington, IN
- Jim
Manion, Program/Music Director
"Make
room Uncle Earl, Be Good Tanyas and Wailing Jennys - The Stairwell
Sisters are here with their deeper-roots female update on early American
roots music.
Sounding like the fresh branch of a much older tree, The Stairwell
Sisters mix
old-time dance music and rich folk traditions through stunning vocal
harmonies,
rhythmic empathy and instrumental verve."
.
. . .
KCBL/BACKROADS
BLUEGRASS - Al Shusterman
"I was totally
mesmerized while listening to this wonderful project...superb."
click
here for full review
.
. . .
BLUEGRASS
BY THE BAY
- Brenda
Hough
"Five foot-stomping
females have the rhyme, rhythm and resophonic
to rattle your cage and satisfy your soul."
.
. . .
LOGOS
BOOKS & RECORDS
- Tom
Levey-Galleguillos, DJ
"Every song
was a lullaby to my soul, from the spookiest & crustiest old-time
Appalachian
tune to the candy sweetest love song ... you all have made the Stairwell
Sisters sound
unique and yours but at the same time you have captured the spirit
of the original music
as if the ghosts of that sound are whispering into your ears as you
play."
click
here for full review
~
Click
here for more reviews of our "Feet All Over the Floor" CD
~
.
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Reviews
below of our self-titled debut CD "THE STAIRWELL SISTERS"
(Yodel-Ay-Hee 048, 2003)
OLD-TIME
HERALD
"Combine
this band's vocal prowess with skilled multi-instrumental chops and
a hellbent-for-leather attitude, and you have a wild funky recording...
Brittle, hard-edged, exciting ensemble singing...
in which the Sisters rocket into the high lonesome stratosphere."
click
here for full review
.
. . .
SING
OUT! MAGAZINE
"Exciting
and wonderful... glorious harmonies and a driving pulse...
The Stairwell Sisters have produced a gem of a recording. Bravo!"
click
here for full review
.
. . .
BLUEGRASS
UNLIMITED
"The
Stairwell Sisters have created a wondrous selection of traditional
tunes seething with excitement."
click
here for full review
.
. . .
OAKLAND
TRIBUNE
"wild,
hard dance music...infectious"
.
. . .
SUZY
THOMPSON
San Francisco Bay Area fiddler
extraordinaire
"These
citibilly 'sisters' pick and sing with twang and verve, drawing their
material
from classic sources like the Carter Family, Hazel & Alice, and
the Delmore Brothers.
Sweet and haunting harmonies, energetic grooves, and unusual instrumental
textures
combine with the sisters' natural affinity for this old-fashioned
country music
to give them that unique Stairwell Sisters sound!"
. . . .
NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA BLUEGRASS SOCIETY
"The
Stairwell Sisters enthusiastic delivery and heartfelt vocals get your
f eet stompin' and rarin' to go."
click
here for full review
. . .
.
TOWN
& COUNTRY RADIO, DJ-New Zealand
"Many
many thanks for sending us your EXCELLENT Stairwell Sisters CD.
I just know we'll still be playing songs from this album several years
from now.
It's not too often that artists who lovingly keep old styles alive
surpass the originals.
You're genuine treasures!" -Cheers, Eddie
O'Strange
(2/2/04 - Artists of the Week: THE STAIRWELL SISTERS)
. . .
.
CD
BABY customer
5 STARS / Reviewer: Jeff
Furman
TITLE: "(Better than
ralph!) Wonderful music and feel; best version of O Death ever
(sorry Ralph, they do it better!)" Great feel and energy to this
recording...a real find.
especially love the banjo and the vocals but it's all great.
.
. . .
SANTA
FE REPORTER
"...the
belles of the ball are the lovely Stairwell Sisters, a rootin'-tootin'
nuevo-bluegrass
quintet who blend obscure songs, Carter Family obsessiveness and uptempo
originals."
.
. . .
MONTEREY
COUNTY WEEKLY
- Stuart Thornton
"rough
edged, energetic young 'uns,...The Stairwell Sisters are full of spirited
picking"
.
. . .
EAST
BAY EXPRESS
- Larry Kelp
Stairwell
Songs - Old-time is not forgotten
The women of the Stairwell Sisters had no trouble picking their second
CD's title, Feet All Over the Floor. It's a line from the old folk
song "Cindy," and if there's anything the quintet enjoys
at least as much as playing old-time string-band music together, it's
dancing, from square dancing to clogging. However, they'll be leaving
their dancing shoes in the closet for Saturday's CD release concert
at 8 p.m. at the Freight & Salvage. Everyone sings, and there
is no leader dictating the band's direction, "but we all have
strong opinions," fiddler Stephanie Prausnitz says. "The
Stairwell Sisters' sound blends all of our influences, ultimately
old-time, but with country and bluegrass mixed in. Everything comes
from that acoustic, Southern Appalachian, African-Scottish-Irish blend."
The group really did get its start in a stairwell five years ago,
where dobro guitarist and banjo player Lisa Berman and guitarist Sue
Sandlin first tried singing together. Berman, Prausnitz, and bassist
Martha Hawthorne all played in acclaimed '90s old-time band Crooked
Jades, and when they found banjo player and clogger Evie Ladin, the
Stairwell Sisters were complete. Inspired by such pioneers as fiddler
Tommy Jarrell and mandolinist Bill Monroe, they also cherish the less-heralded
female thread in this American music: the two-thirds women Carter
Family, the Coon Creek Girls, the duo Hazel & Alice, and the Bay
Area's '70s women string bands Good Ol' Persons and Any Old Time.
"Women have always made this music," Prausnitz says, "but
they haven't gotten the gigs or recordings the men have. "It
is a heritage the Stairwells proudly carry on. Tickets cost $18.50.
TheFreight.org or 510-548-1761.