THE BOTZ with Bayard Russell profile picture

THE BOTZ with Bayard Russell

About Me

ABOUT THE BOTZ
THE BOTZ is an acoustic rock trio formed by songwriter Bayard Russell that blends traditional folk and alt-country music with eclectic sci-fi themes ranging from robot love songs to the end of the world. Bayard plays acoustic guitar, Luca plays electric, Jason adds drums, and V4L chimes in on harmonies.
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ALBUM REVIEWS:
"A wonderful find in amongst my in pile. I love the simplicity of the arrangements which really allows the tracks to shine...this is definitely a great album, especially for fans of a more acoustic sound." - Indie Launchpad
"All that individuals need to do is stick the album in and be placed on clouds of indie rock that will float them along for the better part of an hour." - Neufutur
ALBUM PROMO:
An Ivy League education should be the backbone of every prevailing New York City singer-songwriter. A guy that started out in the suburbs, fought through the Dartmouth College rigors of education, and is now maneuvering the NYC music scene, should have an overabundance of experience to draw upon once his chosen path of songwriting begins. Maybe so… or maybe it takes someone ripping your heart out to spark the flame of creativity. On Bayard Russell’s straightforward debut, simply called Selftitled, Bayard sincerely weaves in and out of accounts of love and loss… mainly loss of love it seems. Not just another tale of heartbreak, Selftitled’s layered vocals and lo-fi bedroom instrumentation seem heavily influenced by Elliott Smith and all the more former Brooklynite Eric Elbogen’s project Say Hi. Bayard Russell is not ashamed to bring a bit of heartbroken indie pop your way… you’ll find the proof in the 11 songs scattered across Selftitled.
BAYARD RUSSELL BIOGRAPHY
Bayard Russell is a singer-songwriter performing in the NYC area. He released his debut solo album "Selftitled," available on iTunes and CD Baby. With alt-country trio The Botz he performs at New York venues such as Pianos, Connellys, Kenny's Castaways, Trash Bar, The Fort at Sidewalk Cafe, Astoria Beer Garden, Waltz-Astoria, Blackbirds, Marfa, and La Negrita; and in festivals like Astoria Music Now!, Make Music NY, the WLA Festival, The Interdependence Project Festival and the annual IMC Festival. With alt-rock quartet Negative Ken he performs at New York venues including Arlene's Grocery, Don Hills, Snitch, Suite 16, Connellys, National Underground, The Orange Bear, Crash Mansion, R Bar, and Pussycat Lounge.
Bayard grew up in the suburbs of Indiana, influenced equally by The Beatles and Ice Cube. Classically trained in piano from age four, he discovered the guitar in high school and his passion for pop music blossomed. He moved to NYC after graduating from Dartmouth College with a major in philosophy and a minor in music. He has written for and performed with the bands Karess, Clean Slate, Funkelstiltskin, The Very Nerve, and Matt Jones Band. He writes and records out of his bedroom studio in Manhattan.
BUY THE ALBUM
ALSO AVAILABLE ON ITUNES
Bayard Russell "Selftitled" on iTunes
YOUTUBE VIDEOS

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/5/2004
Band Website: thebotz.com
Band Members: Bayard, Jason, Luca, Dave
Influences: Say Hi (To Your Mom), Elliot Smith, John Mayer, The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie, Fountains of Wayne, Belle and Sebastian, Keane, Jack Johnson, Atom and His Package
Sounds Like: Sci-Folk, Alt-Country, Filk, Antifolk, Indie Pop, IDM, Acoustic Rock, Lo-Fi, Bedroom Pop
Record Label: http://cdbaby.com/cd/bayardrussell

My Blog

Exoduster music review up

New album review from Exoduster. This reviewer liked Living At My Moms the best.http://www.exoduster.com/music_reviews.html
Posted by on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:08:00 GMT

Northeasst Performer Mag review is up

http://www.performermag.com/nep.recordedreviews.0806.phpNort heast Performer Magazine just printed a nice review of the album! I can only hope I enjoy the success of Elliot Smith. Preferably without ...
Posted by on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:16:00 GMT

Album Reviews (updated)

Album reviews have been coming in, and most of them are pretty positive for my first effort.  It’s also interesting feedback because the fave songs and perceived weaknesses of the album contradi...
Posted by on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:47:00 GMT

Sentient City Mag - featured song!

Sentient City Magazine has featured one of my songs in their online edition!http://www.theidproject.com/scm/index.php?option=com _content&task=view&id=84&Itemid=69Have a good day ya'll.
Posted by on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:12:00 GMT

NY IMC Festival was wonderful

Thanks everyone who came to see me play at the New York Insight Meditation Center's annual holiday festival. I met some wonderful performers there and the place had a great energy, I'm really thankfu...
Posted by on Sun, 02 Dec 2007 11:03:00 GMT

Bayard Russell featured on Origen Music

I'm no longer the featured artist here but I'm still in the recommended list.http://www.origenmusic.com/rock-pop-music-artists.html
Posted by on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:46:00 GMT

Album completed!

It's slowly coming together -- after 5 long years, I've finally finished my first solo album.  Big thanks to Mike Prochilo for mastering that sucker.  Now comes the hard part - getting it di...
Posted by on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 12:42:00 GMT

Life Update By Linkage

Okay, I've updated this blog, like never, so here's a quick update on my life, in the form of linkage! My flash and web design portfolio:  http://www.bayardrussell.com My band is a real band now,...
Posted by on Wed, 08 Feb 2006 12:38:00 GMT

Woo!

My profile has been viewed more than ZERO times! Yeah! Okay, check out the cover band I'm in! I play bass. http://www.negativeken.com I also do a weekly comic strip: http://nonemore.keenspa...
Posted by on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 00:00:00 GMT