Nov21

When Particles Collide, Brightwire, and Grifters & Shills

Dan Electro's Guitar Bar, 1031 E 24th St., Houston, TX 77009

Doors at 8pm. Show at 9pm.

WHEN PARTICLES COLLIDE 2014 Boston Music Awards New Artist of the Year. Sasha and Chris met in Bangor Maine during a 2010 local production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Sasha was cast as a guitar playing Yitzhak and Chris played Schlatko, the band’s drummer. Six months later the two were a band, and three years later the band became a marriage. Since forming in 2010, When Particles Collide has self-released seven sets of recordings: a six song demo (Mass to Energy), a four song EP (Making Enemies), a ten song full length (Pop!Pop!Bang!Bang!), a five song EP (EGO), a nine song full length (Photoelectric), a very personal six song EP (This Town), and a collaborative 4 song EP (ECOTONE).

Sasha and Chris tour the US extensively and during 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 averaged between 70-95 shows per year. During the summer of 2014 they completed a marathon 8 week, coast to coast tour of the entire US. March of 2015 and 2016 found them playing 15 shows in 16 days and two more 8 week summer tour taking them back to many of their favorite cities and new ones. All of their booking and promoting, like their recordings are 100% D.I.Y. keeping the American spirit of self-reliance, tenacity and resourcefulness alive and well. The music of When Particles Collide includes Southern Rock choruses, New Wave a la Blondie vocals, lightning speed Green Day-esque drumming, classic Motown grooves and Queens of the Stone Age-style riffs — and yet somehow it all sounds like Chris and Sasha.

BRIGHTWIRE After a couple of years of touring as a harmony vocalist with Samuel Barker, Kim Daniels (now Barker!) started writing songs and taking an active role in the artistic direction the arrangements of Samuel’s older songs. Then, as Samuel’s son, Ian, joined the duo on bass, it became clear that continuing as a solo artist made no sense for Samuel, so, Brightwire was born.

After a few months of touring and playing shows, Samuel and Kim got married on March 11, 2017 and have no slowed down since. Ian has taken on a few roles in various orchestra projects, which has limited his appearances in the live setting recently, but remains a vital part of the recording and artistic process for Brightwire.

Currently, the trio are working on their debut album and racking up all the miles they can travelling around the country playing their songs for anyone with an ear to lend.

GRIFTERS & SHILLS Amplifyin' and testifyin' for your soul. His was hard rock and heavy metal. Hers was the classic sound of the East Texas piney woods. Theirs was a fiery collision, bearing forth a sound that was at once novel and instantly familiar--nodding to roots seated deep in high lonesome harmonies and back porch blues, while peering out at a scorched path bound by modern assertions and contemporary commentary.

Behind Grifters & Shills is John and Rebecca Stoll, native Texans who met in a classic rock/blues jam band in 2008. Between them they discovered a magnetic chemistry that manifested not only in music, but in all aspects of their relationship. When they began playing as a two-piece band, they found a unique voice in the combination of Rebecca's East Texas vocal stylings and John's formidable guitar work. They immediately began writing their own songs, while testing the waters of vocal harmonies and adding an array of instrumentation to their arsenal. A typical show will feature a delightful range of electric instruments, including John's archtop guitar, Rebecca's bass, a driving stomp board, a couple of cigar box guitars, a handful of harmonicas, and an occasional kazoo.

They call it high lonesome heavy metal, and together, this two-person, dozen-instrument act provides a show full of sound a fury, punctuated with raw, quiet vulnerability, forging new trails and shining new light on familiar ground. NEW ALBUM “LONG TONGUE LIARS” AVAILABLE NOW.