Benicia, CA. (Top40 Charts/ DPR Records) - Antsy McClain and The Trailer Park Troubadours pull up to the The Majestic Theatre in Benicia in their silver airstream to perform songs from their recently released CD "Trailercana." "Trailercana" is currently No 23 on the
Roots Music Report, No 28 on the Cashbox Americana Chart, No 4 on the X-Country Chart, and the single "I Married Up" is No 1 on the Cashbox Indie Picks.
The benefit concert is sponsored by Richard Bortolazzo and proceeds will be donated the Benicia Community Action Council. Mr. Bortolazzo is paying all concert costs and 100 percent of the ticket sales will be donated to the CAC.
The Benicia Community Action Council is a partnership of concerned citizens, dedicated volunteers and experienced staff members who offer a broad range of support services to the economically disadvantaged Benicians of all ages.
Richard Bortolazzo in association with Red Dragonfly Productions presents:
An Evening with Antsy McClain and The Trailer Park Troubadours
A Benefit for the Benicia Community Action Council
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Doors open 7:30 p.m. and show at 8 p.m.
$25 General Admission
The Majestic Theatre
710 First Street
Benicia, CA 94510
707.771.0140
www.RedDragonflyProductions.com
Antsy McClain is a storyteller, songwriter and entertainer who sings about life in an American trailer park. Antsy's 5-piece band, The Trailer Park Troubadours, is a skilled assortment of musicians who play in the rootsy, rock and roll tradition of their hard-working, blue collar forefathers. McClain calls the music "folkabilly," and their live shows are a unique, critically-acclaimed mix of masterful musicianship and self-deprecating humor for all ages.
Antsy McClain is quintessential Americana, but not in the musical genre kind of way. Oh no, McClain is American in the reared-in-trailer-park-by-a-truck-driving-father and Avon-selling-mother kind of way.
McClain is the embodiment of the small-town, blue-collar life he experienced growing up in a little Kentucky trailer park called Pine View Heights. The characters and characteristics he witnessed in Pine View Heights made an indelible impression of the young artist in training. He grew into a a first-rate songwriter, incredible visual artist and insightful humorist. He was also hit with a touch of the mad genius. His latest CD, "Trailercana," is a showcase for his diverse talents.
McClain stamped every aspect of "Trailercana" with his unique vision. Not only did he write all the songs on the record, he also produced it, did the artwork and graphic design. He infused the album with the rootsy, muscular blend of rock and roll that has become his trademark.
A glimpse of song titles from "Trailercana" offers a tantalizing look into McClain's wry blend of humor and emotional depth. He serves up an ode to pseudo-celebrity in "Ron Howard's Brother" and revels in the irony of "I Was Just Flipped Off By A Silver Haired Old Lady With A 'Honk if you love Jesus' On The Bumper of Her Car." Then there's the character Mary Ann Meyers - the gal who puts the funk in "DysFUNKtional." Mix in songs like "Cubic Zirconium In the Rough, " Joan of Arkansas," "KOA Refugee" and "Prozac Made Me Stay," and it's obvious that McClain has a slightly skewered view of life in the U.S. of A. He also covers slice-of-real-life drama in songs like "Falling In Love In America" and "Full Moon Nights In Pine View Heights." He can make an audience laugh and even cry -sometimes in a single song. Humor and pathos in songwriting is a rare and magical combination.
MClain's wry blend of humor and emotional depth comes from an intriguing mix of life experiences. While he grew up in a trailer park, he's also been a world traveler, an artist, a teacher, a tour guide, and even a Japanese interpreter. In addition to his musical adventures, McClain is also an acclaimed visual artist and author. He recently published his third book titled "It Takes A Trailer Park." This humorous and thoughtful reflection of Antsy's life experiences blends the savvy of Garrison Keiloor's "Lake Wobegon" with the unique experiences and lessons of growing up in blue-collar American culture. He's also recently finished a children's book entitled "The Rock Collector" that be both wrote and illustrated.
Wildly independent and fiercely creative, Antsy McClain is staking his claim on pop culture. His plot may not be huge, but he's mining it deep, uncovering little musical gems for "Trailercana: - ones that reflect the joy and complexities of modern day life in America. It sounds like he hit pay dirt.
The Troubs, as they are called by fans, are committed to taking their unique blend of music around the globe, showing up wherever they're invited - and then some.
Reviews of Antsy McClain and The Trailer Park Troubadours:
"Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours combine the dueling, rustic guitars of Americana/rock with clever ballads and anthems dedicated to the values of America's simplest aspirations. A master of imagery, McClain encircles you with Pintos, mosquito bites, corn dogs smothered in Velveeta, flamingo lawn ornaments, and small town carnivals, leaving you little time to switch from recklessly doing the twist to crying in your beer." - Amanda Martinez, Good Times Weekly, Santa Cruz
"Antsy McClain raises the standard of trailer park culture, seeing the lifestyle as an extension of America's pioneer spirit as we conquered the Old West. His band, the Trailer Park Troubadours, take this legacy and put it to song, calling it folkabilly and keeping their roots solidly in rock and roll." - April Helmer, The Express Times, Easton, PA
"The band played a James Brown-style introduction for the men behind the madness, and when they strutted on stage from the back hallway of the Little Fox Theater it was either the immediate kazoo solo or their clothes - a menagerie of plaid and polka dots - that let you know you were in for something different." - Leah Barvels, San Mateo Daily Journal
"These self-proclaimed ''sons of hitches'' are bona fide musicians, songwriters and performers. If you're not singing along by the time the reprise of ''It Ain't Home'' rolls around, you'd better check your fun-o-meter." - Tucson Citizen
"Besides pulling audience members up on stage to dance, lead singer Antsy McClain spent a good portion of the show in the aisles working the crowd. With his impromptu comedian-with-guitar persona, Antsy put on a performance that seemed more like he was entertaining among his pals inside one giant trailer." - The Metro Active, Santa Cruz, CA
"Antsy McClain is a storyteller of the highest degree. Every song is a vivid portrait of Americana, painted with poetry so effortless and clever, you'll find yourself being pulled along happily into the world of The Trailer Park Troubadours." - James Dellasandro, Screenwriter, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906
