Water Tower | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Portland, Oregon |
| Genres | Bluegrass, old-time, punk rock |
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Labels | Dutch Records, independent |
| Spinoff of | The Water Tower Bucket Boys, Water Tower String Band |
| Members |
|
| Past members | Josh Rabie |
| Website | watertowerband.com |
Water Tower, formerly known as The Water Tower Bucket Boys and Water Tower String Band, is an American bluegrass, old time, and punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 2005. The band was originally formed in high school by Kenny Feinstein (guitar, lead vocals) and his neighbor, Josh Rabie (fiddle). They put out one album under the name Water Tower String Band and two albums as The Water Tower Bucket Boys, with various line ups, before changing their name to Water Tower in 2011. Rabie left the band in 2013 and Feinstein spent a year recording and putting out a solo album, an acoustic cover of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless called Loveless: Hurts to Love.
Guitarist Peter Daggatt, bassist Pat Norris, and drummer Harry Selick joined the band later in 2013 and the four-piece started recording Water Tower's first album. In 2014 the whole band relocated to Los Angeles, California and continued working on the album while busking on the streets to support themselves. Fly Around (2020) took seven years to complete and featured guest vocals from former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson, Bullets & Octane's Gene Louis, and the former singer of Black Flag, Ron Reyes. The album was co-produced by Don Bolles, the former drummer of the Germs/45 Grave, and solo artist Ariel Pink.
Joe “Juice” Berglund (bass, fiddle), Tommy Drinkard (banjo), and Jesse Blue Eads (bass, banjo) became the main Water Tower line up with Feinstein in 2020 although Daggatt, Norris, and Selick still occasionally play with the band. In 2021 they released a limited-edition bootleg album of all new songs called For the Owls. A live studio album called Live from Los Angeles is due to come out in 2023.
Water Tower is known for playing modern bluegrass music mixed with traditional, old time, and punk rock influences. They have opened for and played festivals alongside bands as varied as Against Me!, T.S.O.L., Wanda Jackson, Sarah Shook, and John Craigie. The band has a DIY attitude and many of their albums are self-released. They prefer to book their own shows and tours, and a lot of their time is spent playing for passing cars at freeway off-ramps around Los Angeles. Water Tower is very active in the local bluegrass scene and the band hosts a monthly bluegrass jam event called Hillbilly Hype House. The band itself functions as a collective, with members playing in various side projects. Lead singer/guitarist Feinstein's other credits include playing on and co-producing Rosy Nolan's EP Footprints and Broken Branches with Tim Armstrong from Rancid, playing fiddle in Coffey Anderson's band, and appearing in Anderson's Netflix show Country Ever After.