Mr. Blotto was born in Chicago as an off-night vehicle for musicians who loved each others playing but were in different bands at the time. The only rule was that they would only play what they loved. That philosophy continues today and has led Mr. Blotto into unique musical situations.

Mr. Blotto takes the Jam band asthetic into areas unfamiliar to the standard Jam Scene. They have been known to cover entire albums by Led Zeppelin and the Who as well as perform entire shows of Country and Reggae. Artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson and The Velvet Underground have seen their material interpreted by Mr. Blotto in the 2000+ shows the band has performed in the last 15 years, yet covers only pepper the bands hefty catalog of original material stemming from five studio albums and other unreleased crowd favorites.

Mutts first played together with tape rolling on Pretty Pictures EP in July 2009. Bob Buckstaff pitched the idea of recording Mike Maimone’s new material after they met as hired musicians for Company of Thieves. The pair instantly clicked over respect for honest, unrefined recordings and love of Tom Waits, Nirvana and Elliott Smith. They called mutual friends Jon Alvin and Chris Faller to engineer and play drums, respectively. Over a 3-day session in an old warehouse on the north side of Chicago, Mutts wrote, arranged and recorded their seminal release.

After a chance meeting with Roy Acuff, Stevie (then, a young man) was certain he would always be a musician. Born in rural Georgia, Stevie learned the ropes playing country, gospel, and blues. Rebelling against his roots, he immersed himself in the world of rock and the underground music scene of the 80s in Atlanta but never lost the twang of his childhood. Almost three decades later, he has become an accomplished performer and songwriter. Stevie has now released five solo albums and several music videos, produced music with his 1980s swamp rockabilly band, The Tombstones, and made appearances on compilations all over the damn place. In his early days, Stevie penned the college radio anthem and regional hit “Nobody”, which was later recorded by rock icon, Stiv Bators. After separating with The Tombstones in the 1990s, he toured as the supporting act for Jason & the Scorchers in Europe, which opened the door for his solo career. Taking a more serious approach to songwriting, he then began to write with as many accomplished song-writers as he could find in every realm of the music world, from street poets to music row regulars.

Bouncing between Atlanta, Nashville, and Austin, Stevie recorded Second Hand Sin (1999) and Acoustica (2000) and then settled in Texas. His full-length debut CD, 7:30 am (2003), showcased his singing ability and continuing growth as a songwriter. The CD spent six weeks in the top ten of XM Radio’s Channel 12 (X-Country) charts, including two weeks at #1. During this period, Stevie worked as a sideman for several respected Texas acts, including acclaimed songwriter, Rich Minus, and songstress, Texacala Jones. 2004 brought the Cash tribute/compilation, “Dear Johnny”, featuring Stevie’s version of “Folsom Prison Blues”, which received airplay and great reviews. Stevie followed up with a number of West Coast gigs with Supersucker front man, Eddie Spaghetti, in support of the disc. 2006 found Stevie briefly back at the helm of the Tombstones for a national tour to support the re-release of the bands earlier material. Leaving the band for the final time, he married Tombstones bassist, Melissa “Killene” Tombstone, returning to his solo work and fatherhood. In 2008, his sold-out show at the Red House Arts Center was broadcast in its entirety on XM’s Wired In series.

“What longtime Austinite and former Bad Liver Ralph White puts on albums and onstage is so mind-boggling and vast, it forces those of us in the description business down a treacherous path” (Darcie Stevens, Austin Chronicle)
“White was a member of well-loved punk bluegrass outfit Bad Livers, but his solo work is possessed of a much more lonesome spark, exaggerating the implied drone at the heart of the music of Dock Boggs and The Stanley Brothers…White plays wooden six-string banjo, violin, button accordion and kalimba and his voice has a high, eerie quality to it…extremely psychedelic” (David Keenan, The Wire UK)
One of our foremost instrumentalists and a true hidden American treasure, Ralph White has taken the back roads in his inspired pursuit of the ancient roots of music. The “folk/noise/avant-whatever genius” (Joe Gross, Austin Statesman) has made many strange travels as an itinerant musician and laborer. Thus his intimate, nuanced musical language has slowly revealed itself, along a path that meanders from the apple orchards of British Columbia to the villages of Zimbabwe and Namibia, from the lonesome moors of Ireland to Australia, Brittany, Peru, Louisiana and beyond. There is also the influence of White’s hometown of Austin, Texas, a rich musical crossroads in and of itself.
Along with Danny Barnes and Mark Rubin, White completed the original and definitive lineup of country/bluegrass mavericks (and recent Texas Music Hall of Fame inductees) The Bad Livers. He now performs his singular blend of ancient rural folk music and original songwriting as a soloist. Since touring extensively in North America and Europe, White has kept a prolific schedule of independent releases, “where borders are erased and music is the only language” (Insound). Most recently, his “Navasota River Devil Squirrel”, called “a fine navigation of the American mystery zone” (Volcanic Tongue) was reissued on vinyl LP by Mystra Records/Spirit of Orr. And in late 2009 the Resipiscent label issued his improv collaboration with San Francisco sound artist Hora Flora Sound System. New releases are scheduled for 2010, including a solo album with Austin indie Monofonus. White has also self-released limited edition works and is called on for various recording projects and film scores & appearances.
In addition to his solo work, White has recorded or performed with a diverse group of folk and avant-garde musicians: Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Jandek, Jack Rose, Eugene Chadbourne, Michelle Shocked, Sun City Girls’ Sir Richard Bishop, Powell St. John and Michael Hurley. He plays fiddle in traditional Cajun dance band The Gulf Coast Playboys, and, with folk singer Amy Annelle, performs in the roots country & folk duo Precious Blood.–D Walker, 2009