Strange Vine, a two-piece outfit from the foothills of the Sierras, showcases their unique medley of blues, Americana, and indie rock, while maintaining a distinctly Fresno vibe.
The band’s two members, Ian Bleese and Toby Cordova, take on various roles. Bleese plays drums, Rhodes piano, and sings. Cordova sings and plays a variety of guitars: acoustic, electric, bass, and even a makeshift cigar-box guitar that extends the duo’s “do-it-yourself” mentality.
“Songwriting wise, some things are hard, [because] you get stuck, but there are not four or five other people with four or five ideas. It’s either I have one, or [Cordova] has one, and in that regard I think it is a lot easier,” Bleese said.
The past three years for this band have been quite interesting.
Strange Vine has shared the stage with such acts as The Black Keys (which played the Save Mart Center last October), Jeff the Brotherhood, Cage the Elephant and many other big names in alternative music.
They are headed to SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas for the third time as a band.
SXSW is a multimedia festival held every spring. It is the largest music festival in the world, with thousands of performers participating in the week long event.
“Its like summer camp for bands,” Cordova said, “but with beer.”
This event is highly regarded as the “springboard” for a lot of musicians. It is where bands can catch their big break and gain new exposure.
“I think we have played in Austin five or six times, and have established ourselves with the locals. It is an awesome city,” Bleese said.
Strange Vine’s sound encompasses a breadth of influences from the heydey of psychedelic rock and blues without having the restrictions of those genres. Instead, they combine these genres with contemporary indie folk rock.
The track “Ghosts,” a local favorite, displays their keen execution. Pounding bass drum accompanies strong fuzz guitar and ominous Rhode keys. It then follows into a bluesy breakdown, in which a twangy guitar harmonizes with Cordova’s vocals and creates a call-and-response with the Rhodes and Bleese. The song is effective in showing the fullness and technicality that the band can achieve, despite its only having two members.
“There are so many awesome things that we just stumbled upon, by having forcing our parameters,” said Bleese.
Strange Vine’s next show will be March 7 at Fulton 55 at 8 p.m. They will be playing with San Francisco’s The Soft White Sixties. It will be their kickoff show before heading to Austin to play several showcases at SXSW later in March. The cost is $7 at the door.
For music and more information about Strange Vine visit, http://www.strangevinemusic.com
