Woodshed Mercy profile picture

Woodshed Mercy

Aural moonshine

About Me

Woodshed Mercy’s sophomore effort, “Second Fiddle,” stays true to the band’s musical philosophy and self-proclaimed genre of Eclectic Americana. From the jaunty violin of the title track and “The Devil Don’t Live in Indiana…“ to the jam band inspired “Ariel,“ Woodshed Mercy pays homage to traditional country (“Grandad Came to the City”, “Leavin’ the Big City”), old time railroad Americana (“Mercy Blossom Special”), heartland rock (“The Grass Ain‘t Never Greener”, “Open Range Torch Song”, “Injustice“) and instrumental grunge (“Mexigrunge”) . And no Woodshed Mercy CD would be complete without at least a brief tribute to cowpunk (“Johnny’s Muzzle Loader…” clocks in at a hillbilly minute).WM core members (Jennifer O’Neal, Drew Clair, Matt Kasl, Dave Kasl) recorded “Second Fiddle” at Cleveland’s Track Six Recording, with guest appearances by some of Cleveland’s favorite musicians. Guitarists “Tall” Tom Denk (Waterband), Bobby Latina (Jack Fords, ex-Cowslingers) and Doug Price (Renegade) added their signature licks to the tracks. Itinerant piano player Miss Magnolia, a staple on the Town Fryer music scene, and Top Rail’s Eric Miller (dobro) also lend a hand, so to speak.Since releasing their self-titled debut CD in August 2005, Woodshed Mercy have generated a small but loyal following which helped earn them a nomination for “best band” in the Americana category of the 2007 Free Times Music Awards. Nine of the ten tracks (all but “Dona Nobis Pacem”) received radio spins locally (on the now-defunct “Native Noise” local music show on 100.7 WMMS-FM, 91.1 WRUW-FM and 88.7 WJCU-FM) and abroad (the Netherlands, Belgium).Semi-regulars on Cleveland’s close-knit roots rock music scene, Woodshed Mercy have played dates at the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, the Town Fryer, the Barking Spider and other venues with Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics, the Jack Fords, Whiskey Daredevils, Hayshaker Jones, GS Harper, Brian Lisik Band, Crooked Mile, Whitey Morgan & the Waycross Georgia Farmboys, Amy Fish & Yonder Blue, 500 Miles to Memphis, Ryan Humbert, Vital Mines, Ryann “Guitar” Anderson, Bobby Lanphier, Zach, Crookneck Chandler & the Tibbee Bottom Boys, Robert Cornelius, Pale Blue Sky, Brent Kirby & the Flashing 12s, Gusti, Derek DePrator Band, Paul Baumgardner, the very knees, Saul Glennon Trio, the Breakup Society, and other area bands. They’ve participated in the 40th Kent State Folk Alley ‘Round Town, 2006 Cleveland Peace Show, Berea’s National Rib Cook-Off, ActiveMuse.org’s Peace/Music/Arts Fest, Rock the Vote shows, the Town Fryer’s Americana Music Festivals, and charitable benefits for the American Red Cross (Hurricane Relief), the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.Now available on CDBaby.com and Apple i-Tunes!
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/21/2005
Band Website: www.myspace.com/woodshedmercymusic
Influences: Bottle Rockets, Robbie Fulks, Hank, Hank Jr., Hank III, Grateful Dead, Old 97's, Camper Van Beethoven, Lucinda Williams, Lou Reed, Loretta Lynn, Nickel Creek, Frank Black, Junior Brown, Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Ramones, The Elvises (costello and presley), Hee Haw, Supersuckers, Bob Dylan, Uncle Tupelo, Country Joe and the Fish, Mike Ness, Zeppelin, Ray Charles, Mott the Hoople, Steve Earle, BR549, Fried Oreos, Bob Mould, Alice Cooper, WRUW, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Merle Haggard, the Harmonicats, the Cowslingers, A&E, Dolly Parton, Buck Owens, Hendrix, NOFX, Willie Nelson, Wagner, the Clash, watchin' the TV, Bill Monroe, Ernest T. Bass, Bruce Springsteen, SNL, Drive By Truckers, Violent Femmes, the Who, Sierra Nevadas & St. Pauli Girls, Sun Records, and many, many more!
Record Label: Now available on CDBaby.com and Apple i-Tunes!

My Blog

"IT'S OUR TIME" made the finals - Cleveland Rock's '09!!!!

"It's Our Time" by Open Range Torch Songs (featuring Pharuq) is one of the 10 finalists in the "Cleveland Rocks '09" song contest sponsored by the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com!!!!   PLEASE take a fe...
Posted by on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:48:00 GMT

New song posted on Open Range Torch Songs!

 check out Drew's newest song posted at www.myspace.com/openrangetorchsongs
Posted by on Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:45:00 GMT

Americanafest 2008 - the place to be!

..TR> ..TR> More great press about Americana Music Fest 2008!   It's where all the cool kids will be this weekend ... don't miss out! http://www.cleveland.com/localbands/ http://blog.cl...
Posted by on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:54:00 GMT

Day 1 tomorrow!

http://www.coolcleveland.com/index.php?n=Main.Current Tomorrow is Day 1 of the Americana Music Festival 2008 extravaganza!  OPEN RANGE TORCH SONGS (Drew and Jen of Woodshed Mercy, with special gu...
Posted by on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:59:00 GMT

Link to Peanuts’ April column in the SUN NEWS!

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewoodsunpost/nightwriter/index.s sf?/base/columnist-0/1207165298136600.xml&coll=4
Posted by on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:21:00 GMT

4.17.08 Audio Spectrum Presents ...

Open Range Torch Songs, the side project of Drew Clair and Jennifer O'Neal, will be part of Audio Spectrum Recording's Record Revue at the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern (in the Tavern) on ...
Posted by on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:40:00 GMT

open range torch songs

Even though it's still a work in progress, check out Drew's new project at www.myspace.com/openrangetorchsongs !!!
Posted by on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:33:00 GMT

a watershed moment ...

Woodshed Mercy, as you know it, is on undetermined hiatus as its members are currently pursuing other musical adventures.   Violinist Jennifer has been fiddlin' around town on some...
Posted by on Sat, 14 Jul 2007 14:54:00 GMT

The Inner Psyche of Drew Clair Exposed...Free Times Exclusive!!!

OK, well it's more like Drew talking about the band and new CD, but hey you can check it out yourself at http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/4/playing-second-fiddle& nbsp;.  Peace in the holler. A...
Posted by on Wed, 30 May 2007 04:54:00 GMT

New CD Hits Soon! w/ some very special guests

Look for our second effort titled Second Fiddle  to be out soon.  We'd like to thank our friends Tall Tom Denk, Miss Magnolia, Bobby Latina, Douglas Price and Eric Miller for their fine cont...
Posted by on Sun, 01 Apr 2007 16:28:00 GMT