Down Home Southernaires - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Down Home Southernaires are four friends from childhood who ? despite their varying interests -- always wanted to be in a band. Pabona, the guitarist, is an amateur anthropologist and mystic; Norge, the drummer, is a filmmaker and dabbler in fashion photography; Jose Jose, the piano player, writes poetry and paints pictures of rottweilers; Jarrett, bass player, is a full on gourmand and food scholar. But Saturday nights (or any time you care to party), they forget all of that: handi-camera and dagga sprout, pencil and spatula are toweled stowed, amps switched on, and soon enough Cuban heels spiral off of feet, and cymbals crash, and all of Miami is set in muggy motion (and the fun isn't limited to Miami, of course: this contagion has, over the years, spread up the peninsula to every corner of the south and midatlantic and Midwest; Johnstown! Wichita! Brooklyn! Peroria! Sioux Falls!) Indeed, after their peculiar fashion sense (a sultan's wardrobe of cuban heels, perfumed hankies, leisure suits and open collared oxfords, all dismissed as "natural elegance"), DHS are best known for their under-the-big-top flavored live performances, spectacles of an intensity that belies the craftiness of their music. Listen to the records. Their lyrical and musical density recalls Steely Dan; their classical precision and punk attack pure Elvis Costello and the Attractions; their feverish soulfulness pinched from The Band, Motown, and gospel old-timey and new timey; their freakiness from Tropicalia; their wistful, big smile pop worthy of ABBA. They are young. Crazy. Ambitious. "We fully expect to be a next big thing" slurs Jose Jose, interrupting his collegues, loud with drink all. "we're emotional bluebloods that way" "I'd rather die then not make it" roars Norge "I'd rather be nailed to a cross." Jarrett apologizes for the melodrama, while Pabona confides that Norge has "said that more than once", quickly adding "we all totally agree". Catch them if you can.-- Pedro Pajaro

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/1/2004
Band Website: downhomesouthernaires.com
Band Members: Jose Castello - Vocals/Keys/Mamey
Kristopher Pabon - Lefty Guitar/Papaya
Jorge Rubiera - Drums/Vocals/Banana
Max Johnston - Righty Guitar/Vocals/Mango
Jarrett Hann - Bass/Percussion/Guanabana
Edward Adames - Tambourine/Fire Alarm/White Cheddar
Influences: "I can hardly tell one Bourbon from another, unless the other is very bad. Some bad Bourbons are even more memorable than good ones. For example, I can recall being broke with some friends in Tennessee and deciding to have a party and being able to afford only two-fifths of a $1.75 Bourbon called Two Natural, whose label showed dice coming up 5 and 2. Its taste was memorable. The psychological effect was also notable. After knocking back two or three shots over a period of half an hour, the three male drinkers looked at each other and said in a single voice: 'Where are the women?' I have not been able to locate this remarkable Bourbon since."
-Bourbon, From Signposts in a Strange Land by Walker Percy, 1975

Sounds Like: Haitian New Wave
African Punk
Korean Disco
Cuban R&B

The Down Home Southernaires s/t E.P.

1. I Love You Both
2. Welcome To My Funeral
3. Secret Pain
4. A Death in the Family
5. Horsefly
6. Mabry*
7. Cornfield*
Assembled, written, and recorded in Summer 2004. These seven tracks were captured live in a bedroom by Joanathan Nunez. Five of these tracks were used for what would be our debut E.P.OUT OF PRINT.

Down Home Southernaires s/t Summer 2005 Tour LP
1. All At Once
2. A Peaceful Man
3. Grandma Was A Christian Woman
4. Seashell
5. Spirit/Hear-It!
6. Bootsales Girl
7. Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
8. Train Song
9. Oncology
10. Thank You For Sharing
Written and recorded in June 2005. Captured live at Miami-Dade College Studios by Dan Escauriza. This was sold during the Summer 2005 Tour which was preceeded by the intense writing/recording sessions. OUT OF PRINT.

1. I Hate The Nightlife
2. Fishing Wire of Feeling
3. Let's Fall in Love with Each Other's Art
4. High Effect
5. Otro Sur (Sagan Samba)
6. Anthro-Apology
7. Israelis On the Beach
8. Sex Itself
Written and recorded at Southern Noise Studios in 2007. Engineered by Jonathan Nunez. All songs written, performed, and produced by The Down Home Southernaires. This album is entirely midi. We recorded this album in Cuba over the internet.
Record Label: Honor Roll / Floridita 1800 Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

REVIEWS

Down Home Southernaires - Negro En Bicicleta ReviewFrom:Obscure Sound (www.obscuresound.com)Published May 8, 2008 by Mike MineoUnless their family's name is worth a few cool million, most young ...
Posted by Down Home Southernaires on Tue, 25 Oct 2005 02:04:00 PST

A strange visitor made of pure energy...

A creature of pure energy visited us at our practice space the other day. We were thinking positive thoughts and suddenly he appeared. Check out the video that we managed to capture. http://www....
Posted by Down Home Southernaires on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 06:03:00 PST

DHS on WVUM!!!!!

Howdy, All!DHS were on WVUM yesterday. If you missed it and you'd like to hear us talk about our forthcoming album and impersonate the Mayer of Sweetwater, visit: http://www.arcu...
Posted by Down Home Southernaires on Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:40:00 PST

"Seashell" and "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" Summer Tour Footage

"Seashell" http://downhomesouthernaires.com/media/seashell_ME_web1.mov filmed July 2005 @ The Bike Barn in Falmouth, ME. "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" http://downhomesouthernaires.com/media/yonder...
Posted by Down Home Southernaires on Wed, 05 Oct 2005 10:49:00 PST

more mp3s @ www.purevolume.com/thedownhomesouthernaires

"Spirit/Hear-It!" off of our 2005 Summer Tour Edition LP. http://www.purevolume.com/thedownhomesouthernaires All songs on that page are off of that release, which is currently undergoing tons of e...
Posted by Down Home Southernaires on Thu, 15 Sep 2005 05:56:00 PST