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Home , Brave Combo, High Lonesome Sound, John Hartford, Sam Bush, The Gourds, Trampled By Turtles

The Standard-Bearer of Original Bluegrass

www.RunawayPlanet.net * Bookings/Inquiries: [email protected] / 501-960-9609 traditionally based blue- grass band with modern lyrics? ACheck. Tight, three-part vocal harmo- nies, highly skilled instrumentation with rock, folk and influences? Check. Songs soaked in longing, loss and heartache, featuring lyrics that tell stories ranging from tales of murderous revenge to humorous, tongue-in-cheek “I told you so’s” to fond memories of Grandpa’s farm? Check. Runaway Planet, a four- piece acoustic band based in Little Rock, Arkansas, has a lot to offer, and brings over a decade of experience as a band, having played their first show together in the fall of 2001. The group has been compared to ing fathers of bluegrass as well as the the Clinton Presidential Library, as , Trampled likes of The Seldom Scene, Old and well as internationally broadcast By Turtles, The Avett Brothers, In The Way, and radio and television appearances, Yonder Mountain String Band Old Crow Medicine Show. Runaway Planet offers a level and others for their modern spin on With two full-length of professionalism and talent unpar- the sound. under their belt, many accolades, alleled among bands in the state of Runaway Planet’s mem- high-profile appearances at major Arkansas. bers say their style and sound have festivals and events such as South been heavily influenced by the found- By Southwest and the opening of Continued on Next Page

LINKS: Click here for Music, Video, & Band Photos RUNAWAY PLANET : What To Expect at Their Mulberry Mountain Harvest Fest; Shows: A rousing, danceable Riverfest (five times); South by THE BASICS performance featuring uncom- Southwest Music Conference in promising musicianship, grip- Austin, (2005); Opening Compared To: Yonder Moun- ping vocal harmonies and songs ceremonies for Clinton Presiden- tain String Band; Avett Brothers; that keep toes tapping and hands tial Center and Library. Keller and the Keels; Del Mc- clapping. While Runaway Coury Band; the Steeldrivers; Planet’s members are well- Major Broadcast Trampled By Turtles; Old Crow versed in many genres, their love Performances: Appeared on Medicine Show. of traditional American string and helped produce AETN’s band music is showcased by their documentary of the First Annual Influences: ; Flatt depth of talent, producing a hard- Arkansas Acoustic Festival; state- & Scruggs; The Seldom Scene; driving bluegrass performance wide televised programs include New Grass Revival; Old Crow that inspires audience members of “Good Morning Arkansas,” Medicine Show all ages to get up and move. “On The Front Row” for PBS (2012); performed live on Na- What’s Playing In Their Have Played With: tional Public Radio for Michael Van: Porcupine Tree; Magma; The Gourds, Derek Trucks Band Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know?” Django Reinhardt; The Grateful , Del McCoury Band (2008); music featured on NPR’s Dead; Brave Combo and , among many “Car Talk” program with hosts other regional and national acts. Click and Clack; and performed on NPR’s Michael Jonathan’s What They Perform: Originals “WoodSong’s Old-Time Radio and covers including everything Accolades: Winner of the Arkan- sas Times Musicians Showcase Hour,” (2008) broadcast to from the traditional (Bill Monroe millions around the world. and Flatt & Scruggs classics and (2002); Runner-up in Arkansas Old Crow’s “Wagon Wheel”) to Acoustic Festival (2002); Mem- , Pink Floyd and even ber of Arkansas Arts on Tour (on What the Media Says: the Violent Femmes. Originals their “notable artist” roster for the “Runaway Planet is the virtuoso feature everything from story- Arkansas Arts Council program). bluegrass quartet that defies the songs about revenge for love gone hillbilly image that the genre all wrong to childhood memories of Major Live Performances: too often begets.” — Arkansas farming with Grandpa. Arkansongs Music Festival; Times

MEET RUNAWAY PLANET’S MEMBERS Runaway Planet is made up of three founding the Fab Four, as well as members: Greg Alexander, Steve Brauer and Michael with the vocal harmonies Proveaux. The band also includes a fourth guest member of the Beach Boys and on , a spot that is now being filled regularly Three Dog Night. by Matt Stone. Here’s an introduction to each member, Other early influ- their musical influences and backgrounds, and how they ences — besides his par- came to be bluegrass musicians. Enjoy! ents’ country and records — included a GREG ALEXANDER wide range of artists, from Elvis to Hank Wil- The lead singer and acoustic guitarist, Greg Alexan- liams Jr., Rick James to der also is the primary songwriter for the group. Alexan- Ozzy Osbourne, and in der recalls that The Beatles — and a version of “Octo- his teen years, even punk pus’s Garden” — started it all for him as a child, and he rockers like the Sex began acquiring records soon after falling in love with Continued on Next Page Pistols and The Clash. Violent Femmes, King Crimson, The Grateful Dead, It wasn’t until his 20s that the talented longtime , Brave Combo and even classical giants singer — he NEVER misses a note, whether singing like Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. lead or backup vocals, which depends on the song being More recently, Brauer’s musical influences have played — and burgeoning bass and acoustic guitarist included Django Reinhardt, Samla Mammas Manna, would discover a penchant for bluegrass and jambands Bill Keith, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Magma, Gong like the more folksy Grateful Dead, the Allman Broth- and Porcupine Tree. Brauer’s 2011 solo release “Still ers, Marshal Tucker Band, and a then-young band called Life With And ” showcases arrangements Widespread Panic. by J.S. Bach, Scott Joplin, Villa-Lobos and more. More recently, Alexander says his biggest influences This wide variety in musical tastes could help ex- have included , the Dead, Railroad Earth, plain why Brauer has been described as a banjo virtuoso and Old Crow Medicine Show. and why his banjo handiwork has been featured on two All these influences are reflected in his songwriting albums by The Salty Dogs, veterans also for Runaway Planet. A major theme of his songs? based in Little Rock who have regularly shared the stage Loss. with Runaway Planet for the better part of a decade. “It’s like blues to me, in the sense that it feels good Brauer’s banjo lines are anything but traditional, of- to sing about the thing that makes you feel bad,” Alexan- ten borrowing from jazz melodies and other genres that der explains. “Funny, huh? I love the religious numbers, are not typically heard on his instrument, he says. too. They just seem to make everyone in the audience “I am attracted to music with intricate melody lines, feel good.” unconventional harmonies and unusual chord progres- Other favorite songs that Runaway Planet per- sions. I want to do things on the banjo that other banjo forms include the original tune “Wrong,” written about players haven’t done yet,” Brauer explains. Alexander’s last relationship. “It was over and yet she “I try not to think like a bluegrass musician when I kept popping into my life,” he recalls. “And when a song perform on banjo, but it’s difficult because so much of the comes together just right, it seems to embody all those sound of the instrument is linked to bluegrass. So doing real emotions that we all feel at some time, and it takes anything different at this point in the history of the banjo you back to that moment. That is real.” is going to be a challenge. But that’s one of the things I Yes, that is real, and that’s what good music is all like most about playing original music: the challenge.” about: Human emotion. And as any Runaway Planet fan will tell you, Alexander and his crew are skilled MICHAEL PROVEAUX at reflecting the human experience in the most fun way possible, with upbeat rhythms and melodies that make Runaway Planet you want to sing and dance along. bassist and vocalist Michael Proveaux plays STEVE BRAUER the upright bass with a fiery passion unlike any- Banjo player and thing you’ve likely ever vocalist Steve Brauer seen, bouncing along grew up to the sounds with every note he picks, his father’s large music as his fans well know. collection that included But when he sings everything from Cat Ste- lead on songs such as vens, Simon & Garfun- Johnny Cash’s “Delia,” kel, Creedence Clearwa- Proveaux’s voice is ter Revival, The Beatles, smooth as milk, with a and Flatt broad range and a tonal & Scruggs to The Stones quality reminiscent of the high lonesome sound common and The Yardbirds and among great bluegrass vocalists. even Clint Eastwood’s Like his bandmates, Proveaux grew up on the clas- “Spaghetti Western” sic rock greats, and in fifth grade acquired his own cas- soundtracks and “the absolute worst of his collection”: sette recorder, which he recalls using to tape his favorites Slim Whitman’s yodeling records, Brauer recalls. off the radio: Styx, , J. Geils and others. His own musical tastes — and his guitar and sing- The hit-makers of the 1980s ruled his musical collection ing skills, beginning with his father’s instruction around throughout high school, and in college, he says, Pink age 10 — developed to the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zep- Floyd was his biggest musical influence. pelin, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, , , The Continued on Next Page The 1990s brought him new alternative and pro- MATT STONE gressive rock tastes and favorites, and it wasn’t until around 2000 when he finally got “bit by the bluegrass The newest ad- bug”. That same year he began playing songs from Old dition to Runaway and In The Way and who were Planet is mandolinist responsible for luring him into the bluegrass world. He Matt Stone. Stone, who also began dressing up some of his original songs in actually considers him- bluegrass garb probably, he notes, as they should’ve self a guitarist first and been in the first place. foremost since he began It so happens that this also marked the first year playing that instrument Proveaux ever played bass, though he’d been playing in his childhood, is acoustic guitar for about six years. His first bass was a somewhat of a metal- Martin B1 acoustic , but he was really after head, he admits. a “truer” bluegrass bass sound, so he found a 1967 Kay He learned to play upright bass in Mountain View, Arkansas, and bought guitar as a pre-teen it. Already playing bass in Runaway Planet, he (after dropping the no- was forced to learn the basics quickly. With help from longer-cool clarinet by the wayside) by listening to a bandmate Steve Brauer, who’d played upright bass as a lot of Led Zeppelin, Tool, Pantera and similar bands, teenager, Proveaux dove right in. he says. In fact, his first concert to ever attend was Other big influences on his sound, particularly Black Sabbath, on a reunion tour with Pantera and since forming Runaway Planet, have included the Incubus as openers. founding fathers of bluegrass, of course, as well as more More recently, his musical influences have in- progressive bluegrass bands like The Seldom Scene, cluded Wes Montgomery, Neil Young, Django, David New Grass Revival, , Country Gentlemen Grisman, , Antonio Carlos Jobim — and and , Proveaux says. Metallica. Guess some loves never completely desert Proveaux says his favorite Runaway Planet you! songs to perform are those that move the folks in the Stone says his wide variety of influences come audience. “Those are songs that usually have great through in his playing at different times, depending harmonies and strong drive; songs can mean different on the type of composition he’s playing — but it all things to different people so I’m not particular when it definitely makes a difference. “I can play most of comes to a song’s meaning as long as it resonates with (Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist) Slash’s guitar licks, but the listeners,” he explains. “When it is played and sung they’re really not pertinent to what I’m doing when with passion, the listeners transmit positive energy, and I’m playing a Celtic tune on the mandolin,” Stone it ignites something in me that I can only describe as a acknowledges with a smile. form of unity consciousness.” Proveaux adds, flashing a His favorite covers to perform with Runaway toothy smile with a sparkle in his eye. Planet are those with lots of harmony, or those with a driving rhythm. “But my favorite Runaway Planet songs are the ones that almost want to spin out of control, like ‘Salt Creek’ or ‘Pike County Breakdown’” he says. “Those are a lot of fun.”

For Booking & Publicity Requests, Contact: Michael Proveaux

http://www.runawayplanet.net [email protected] 501-960-9609