The Pernell Reichert Band

The Pernell Reichert Band are a three piece band from Vancouver Canada. Their music has been described as fast folk, alt folk, alt country, acid country, country punk, or cow punk. In 2004, after four years as a solo artist Pernell formed the band in order to secure bigger gigs. The original name was The Pernell Reichert Band, but they changed the name to Pernell Reichert and the Hard Drinkers to better describe the kind of music they play and who they play it too. Recently, the name was changed back to The Pernell Reichert Band as it was decided it sounded more professional. The band consists of Pernell on guitar, harmonica, electric slide guitar and vocals, Chris King on bass, and Tom Tischer on drums. Pernell had met both of them at the various open mics he attended in 2000-2001. The band's live act features fast folky songs, electric slide guitar songs, foot stomping banjo songs, solo acoustic songs and witty banter with the audience. Pernell Reichert is a folk singer/songwriter/guitar slinger/fast finger picker. His songs reflect his experiences on the road of life and on the highways of the world. His style of guitar playing has been described as high energy, fast finger picking numbers that keep the listener intrigued. When he is performing with his band the tempo is upbeat with a full thick sound, whether he is playing his acoustic, hollow bodied electric slide, or banjo. Pernell grew up outside of Vancouver in a mainstream family in a mainstream neighborhood. As a teen his parents were horrified when he started listening to AC/DC. Iron Maiden and Metallica were to follow and he quickly developed a knack for air guitar. Though a musical family, no member dared to dream of making a living with it. Pernell noticed that his guitar playing friends were very easily able to catch the eye of females. This, combined with the boredom of air guitar, prompted him to finally ask his father to teach him guitar. In January of 1993, at 19 years old, his father gave him a half hour guitar lesson. By June of that year he had obtained a steel stringed acoustic and mastered the major chords. An electric guitar and amp arrived shortly after with the acoustic remaining only as a song-writing tool and not as a primary instrument. After graduating high school in 1991, Pernell worked a series of low paying dead-end jobs. Pumping gas, grilling burgers, driving fork-lifts and operating pallet-jacks seemed to be his lot in life. Or so he thought. One day in 1996 after being fired from a gas station for being 'rude' to a customer, Pernell bid a hearty adieu to his family and fair-weather friends then drove away. He drove to the state of Nebraska and lived there for 6 months, living in motels and working on farms. What was meant to be a 1 month vacation from the mundane ended up being a two year journey that included several US states, a few Canadian provinces and several countries. It was on this journey that Pernell heard real folk music. While volunteering in Israel, an American friend lent him a copy of the Free Wheelin' Bob Dylan. That one album opened the door to American Folk, both Old Time and 1960's Revival; songs he could now identify with. The journey started out as a road trip. In the winter of 1996, he landed a job tending a bar in a mining town in northern Manitoba. The funny hours of work and the secludedness of the town meant there was plenty of time to practice guitar. He was able to master finger picking techniques making songs a wee more exciting to play. The idea now occurred that he could be a one man band, complete with harmonica holder. At that point he had been on the road for nearly a year, giving him the life experiences needed for writing songs. The next leg was a stint in Europe which included busking in the streets of small town Greece, ten months volunteering in Israel and working in a youth hostel in Jerusalem. In late 1997, Pernell was back home. His journey provided him the experiences as well as the disillusionment many people feel when they leave their purported comfort zone. He couldn't stay long. The following year he flew to the UK to live and work and hobo for 2 years. By this time he was calling himself a folk singer and had learned enough songs to play bars and coffee shops. Pernell noticed that a lot of new singer songwriters play in a very melancholy manner, with songs focusing on bitter breakups, sunshine and flowers, always ending in sadness with good times on the ever elusive horizon. After his experiences on the road and the type of work he had done he wanted to sound not beat down but hard core. He didn't want people to think his brand of folk music was all tales of woe. Therefore, he labeled his music, "Razor Sharp Folk for the Road Folk," or simply, "Razor Sharp Folk." In June 2000, Pernell returned home again and realized that the first thing that he needed to do in order to pursue a career in music was to move out of suburbia for good. He relocated to East Vancouver and started attending open mics. He was able to secure a few gigs but nothing major as he didn't have any recorded material. In 2002, a wee bit fed up with the city and disheartened with his fledging music career he went tree planting. The fresh air, hard work and the positive energy of fellow planters re-kindled the fire. That winter he discovered the lucrative money and hard core lifestyle of the Alberta Oil Fields. For five years he worked a three month season planting trees in the spring and summer, then a three month season working on oil rigs in the winter. In 2003, he recorded his first album. It's a lo-fi recording of songs he wrote about the road, the past, time, and poisonous relationships. In 2004 came album number two entitled "And Sometimes..." It featured a few more instruments but was still a solo effort. Both albums were played extensively on Canadian campus and community radio stations but didn't improve or forward his career as he had little marketing experience. A small solo tour of BC in 2003 lead him to believe a band might be a better way to secure gigs. After forming the band Pernell noticed that their live show was a lot more toe tapping and upbeat than his solo shows. The audience was moving around and hoisting their drinks, letting out a few hoots and hollers while still listening to the words. In 2005 the band went on a month long tour of western Canada toting only the solo albums but playing few songs from them. In 2007 they embarked on several four to five day tours slowly breaking into the Canadian touring circuit. In 2008 they finally released their first self titled album following it up with a 39 day tour of western Canada. Pernell then spent most of that summer on the road touring solo hitting the Kootenay area of British Columbia, and Southern Ontario. In late 2008 the band went international with a 10 day tour of South Africa. Anytime, any place, anywhere, any room, The Pernell Reichert Band will never fail to entertain.