Notes
Feed your inner swine with the deliciously down-home debut by Matt Abell and His Folkabilly Friends, a motley stew of old-timey Appalachian music, rockabilly, and jazz. Performed with a dash of 'Deliverance' and two swigs of moonshine, "Pearls Before Swine" is a concept album, full of tall tales and rock classics reimagined by a foot-stomping juiced-up jugband. Led by veteran songwriter Matt Abell, the band's originals range from the mundane to the absurd: there's "Beg You Back," about how bachelors keep house; "Whole Lotta Woman," about Elvis' insatiable appetite; and "The Runaround," about an unfortunate accident involving Mexican food, a toilet, and a telephone. Besides the outrageous originals, The Folkabilly Friends have earned a reputation for twisted, warp-speed covers of 70's and 80's classics, like Michael Jackson's "Beat It," Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," and the Styx opus "Mr. Roboto." Band members include percussionist/producer Skip Detrick, who plays an odd assortment of found-objects, including scissors, clothespins, broken glass, and 180-grit sandpaper; award-winning jazz pianist Jesse Green; Rick Chamberlain, trombonist with the New York City ballet orchestra; violinist Tim Carbone, of the band Railroad Earth; and many other talented musicians from the greater metropolitan area of New York and Pennsylvania.
