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"Aaron Moreland (guitars) and Dustin Arbuckle (vocals, harmonica) remix
the Southern-juke-joint strains of R. L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Frank Frost. Whether it's received repertoire
like See My Jumper Hangin' Out On The Line
or repaint-jobs like Fishin' Hole,
the ingredients are familiar enough, but the Kansas duo produce an individual and tangy blend."
- Tony Russell
MOJO
August, 2008
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"Best known for college basketball, dead prairie dogs on the highway,
and the American prog-rock band of the same name, the state of Kansas is not what you'd think of when considering
the blues. If Moreland & Arbuckle have their say, blues music fans may look upon the state more favorably.
Finalists in the 2005 International Blues Competition, Moreland & Arbuckle – the trio of guitarist Aaron 'Chainsaw'
Moreland, vocalist/harpist Dustin Arbuckle, and drummer Brad Horner, with various friends as guests – put the edge
back in blues-rock with their big league debut album, 1861.
"Following up on the promise shown by two independently-released albums, the Kansas-bred bluesmen have pieced
together an impressive gumbo of Delta-styled country blues, heavily seasoned with rockin' guitar and a soupcon
of country twang. Gonna Send You Back To Georgia
is a soulful jumper that wouldn't sound out of place roaring out of the windows of any back roads Delta juke-joint,
while The Legend mixes
a driving roadhouse rhythm with a C&W bite and slash fretwork. The Chicago blues-styled Please,
Please Mammy features Arbuckle's inspired harp playing and rich vocals,
Wrong I Do is a sparse
country-blues with passionate vocals and deep blue slide guitar.
"The band's R.L. Burnside cover, See My Jumper Hangin' Out On
The Line, sounds like Saturday night at Kimbrough's in the Mississippi
Hill Country, swaggering harp dancing atop the band's unrelenting rhythm as Moreland's fiery guitar play lights
the way from the stage. The high point of 1861
(the year that Kansas joined the union) may well be the explosive six-minute Wiser
Jam, which showcases the band's chemistry and incredible instrumental
skills. Keep your ears open, blues fans, 'cause you're going to hear a lot more from Moreland & Arbuckle.
"Standout Tracks: Gonna Send Ya Back To George, Wiser Jam."
- Rev. Keith A. Gordon
Blurt Magazine
August, 2008
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"There's contemporary blues, and then there's just blues. Maybe in the
late 1960s, Moreland & Arbuckle would have been considered 'contemporary blues,' contending with Savoy Brown
and Johnny Winter for their share of a young electric blues audience. But in 2008, they're 'just blues.' And that's
definitely a good thing. No synthesizers, no importing of exotic beats, not even one single attempt to cater to
an audience outside of the blues. This is the real deal - raw, unadulterated, electric blues - guitar, harmonica,
and some drums to add some backbeat. Or in some cases, as on the obligatory woman-done-me-wrong song Tell Me Why, just an acoustic parlor guitar
and some vocals for an intimate, stripped down Delta feel. Guitarist Aaron Moreland and vocalist/harmonicat Dustin
Arbuckle stick to the basics here, and they do it so well, with such confidence and power, that one has to consider
this record a blessing to the soul of modern music. 1861 reminds us once again that less sometimes truly is more."
-Michael Fortes
Eat Sleep Drink Music
June, 2008
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"When you put this Moreland and Arbuckle CD on, get ready to have the
world stop to ask, "who’s that?" In a world of musical perfection, Moreland and Arbuckle’s raw distorted
tones are more than refreshing. Unshaven and at times coarse, Aaron Moreland’s dense and primitive guitar grooves
combined with Dustin Arbuckle’s raspy vocals and edgy harmonica fire up their earthy, rural blues. Born and bred
in the Kansas heartland, Moreland and Arbuckle burst on the scene with a stunning performance at the Blues Foundation’s
2005 International Blues Competition in Memphis. That exposure opened the doors for the duo to broadcast its earthy,
primal music around the world. This new record, titled 1861 for the year that Kansas became a state, deepens the
groove this pair seeks to perfect.
"Amid nine originals, the Moreland and Arbuckle honor their blues roots by covering their mentors. The band
jumps on the interstate with a full throttle cover of Hound Dog Taylor’s rollicking Send
You Back To Georgia. As Arbuckle blows distorted harmonica and Brad
Horner pounds rhythms, Moreland’s shivery slide races up and down the fret board. Think old Maxwell Street meets
new Beale. R.L. Burnside’s dense See My Jumper On The Line comes with the same edge you’d hear in Junior Kimbrough’s joint. That assertive, head
bobbin’ groove continues on Diamond Ring,
where M&A add Chris Wiser’s B-3 to the musical moment of truth. Horner’s drum work on Never
Far Behind sets a modern groove today’s jam fans bob to. At the same
time, Moreland’s high wired slide pushes this workout. Pittsburgh In
The Morning, Philadelphia At Night offers another look at how M&A
finding musical pressure within their roots format. Lyrically, it’s got all the deep blues associations. The pair
turns acoustic front porch on the moody Tell Me Why. As Moreland works the guitar groove, Arbuckle shows off his country harmonica. Later
on the CD, Moreland work’s a beautifully wistful slide groove on Wrong
I Do. Moreland ends the disc with Wiser
Jam, a six plus minute, slide guitar B-3 exploration named for their
Keyboard player. This is very reminiscent of the psychedelic improvisations once heard on late night FM radio in
the Sixties. I saw M&A rock the Rum Boogie Café on Beale Street last February. What I witnessed was
how committed these young musicians are to connecting their music to their audiences. This is a pair that roots
music enthusiasts should check out."
-Art Tipaldi
Metronome Magazine, Boston
May, 2008
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"Rare as hen's teeth are young, modern blues musicians that can assuredly
conjure the primal country blues without coming across as mere jacklegs. This Kansas born and raised duo (1861
is the year that Kansas joined the Union), with their visceral blend of Mississippi Hill Country, Delta, folk and
rural blues, not only embrace the music's roots. They also perform with energy and atmosphereic derring-do that
is as heartfelt and sincere as it is raw and stripped-down.
"Emporia born string-bender Aaron 'Chainsaw' Moreland, whose instruments include a fretless, four-string 'cigar-box'
guitar, a National steel resonator model and a vintage parlor guitar, is complemented unerringly by longtime buddy,
co-songwriter and Wichita-born Dustin Arbuckle's forebodingly raspy vocals an idiomatic country blues harmonica
work - with both spurred on by dynamite drummer Brad Horner throughout. The inimitable 'gas tank bass' player Jeffrey
Eaton joins the trio on the western-tinged combustible The Legend while Chris Wiser adds hair-raising Hammon B3 organ emphasis to both the ominously
droning Diamond Ring and
his co-authored, lengthy closing instrumental workout titled Wiser
Jam. A moody, deep-veined classic.
"In addition to six more in-the-groove band originals, the pair's choice of cover material is brilliant. A
windows-rattling slide guitar-driven sendup of Hound Dog Taylor's signature Gonna
Send You Back to Georgia, leads things off. It flamboyantly sits alongside
a drums-pounding, hypnotic take on R.L. Burnside's primitive edgy See
My Jumper Hangin' on the Line and a steamy impassioned revival of
Ryan Taylor's soulful suicide blues Pittsburgh in the Morning, Philadelphia
at Night.
"Further Moreland/Arbuckle composed favorites encompass the hard romping, slide-infused slice of Midwest philosophy
Never far Behind, the
chilling commentary Teasin' Doney
(with Moreland's acoustic finger-picking rhythms recalling Reverend Robert Wilkins), the easy rocking Please Please Mammy (where they resonantly
channel another of their heroes, Jimmy Reed) and Tell Me Why, where they do the same for Mississippi Fred McDowell. As fine a major label debut
as both the Wheelchair Man and I have heard in quite a while. Contact Toronto, Canada's enterprising NorthernBlues
concern at northernblues.com for more info."
-Gary von Tersch
Big City Blues
April-May, 2008
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"Where blues can take many different forms, Moreland & Arbuckle decided
to take all of them. Heavy distortion stolen from Delta blues, vocal inflections from country-blue influences,
and structure from the rural blues origins. While combining genres is tricky, Moreland & Arbuckle make it work
in a way that not only makes sense, but also seems far too logical to not have been readily exploited before now.
"The pieces fit together like your family 300 piece jig-saw puzzle, and sounds much better than most of the
pictures usually look. Singer Dustin Arbuckle's voice is certainly a little country, maybe even some hints of pop
melody thrown in, and works well in the context. Moreland, in charge of the guitar playing, is superb at solid
song structure, and doesn't really lack in any discernible field. This is certain to catch the attention of any
avid blues listener."
-The John Shelton Ivany Top Twenty-One
April, 2008
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"Does anyone still claim that a white man can't sing the blues? I don't
think so! Moreland & Arbuckle show the lie to that old saw. From the first notes of Aaron Moreland's bottleneck
resonator, and Dustin Arbuckle's overblown harp, to the rough and ready rhythm of Brad Horner's drums on the classic
Hound Dog Taylor tune Gonna Send You Back To Georgia they show their stuff. This one rocks like a melon-farmer!
"The album is called 1861
in tribute to the year their home state of Kansas became a state.
"Arbuckle and Moreland wrote all the songs save for the Hound Dog cover, an R.L. Burnside tune and one by
Ryan Taylor. Oh, and the final Wiser Jam which
takes the band in directions not hinted at in the blues tunes. Oh, sure it's full of slide guitar and harp over
a groove, but it echoes the funk of Little Feat more than a bluesy workout. Not that that's a bad thing!
"As on Samuel James' CD there are influences from a variety of blues sources, and like their labelmate, these
fellows prove themselves to be masters of incorporating all that they've heard into their own sound. Dustin Arbuckle's
voice is every bit as authentic as his harp playing, and his partner's guitar stylings.
"The blues continues to grow with its roots deep in the past, but branching out to draw influences from rock,
jazz, and pretty much everything that's happened since it came boogieing proudly out of the Delta. Here are four
new ways to get the blues."
-David Kidney
Greenman Review
April, 2008
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"Kansas blues duo Aaron Moreland (guitars) and Dustin Arbuckle (vocals,
harmonica) have a thick, muscular sound that smells like early Chicago blues, still reminiscent of the Delta. Bet
they're killer live."
-John P. McLaughlin
Vancouver Province
March, 2008
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"This trio plays old-school hill country and Delta blues, even though
the members range in age from 26 to 33. There's a satisfying mix of acoustic and electric numbers, and when the
band plugs in, sometimes it veers off into '50s Chicago-style blues.
"Although the sound covers most of the blues bases, geographically the group hails from the non-blues hotbed
of Kansas. (The title, 1861,
refers to the year Kansas became a state.)
"Guitarist Aaron Moreland, who plays everything from the National steel to 'cigar box guitars,' and gritty
vocalist and harmonica player Dustin Arbuckle share writing duties, with Brad Horner supplying the requisite primitive
beats.
"The well-chosen covers include Hound Dog Taylor's Gonna Send
You Back to Georgia and R.L. Burnside's See
My Jumper. and the Moreland-Arbuckle originals share the raw energy
of Burnside and Junior Kimbrough's music. The band sometimes rocks out like the North Mississippi Allstars, another
obvious influence. It's yet another fine signing for NorthernBlues."
-Jeff Johnson
Chicago Sun Times
March, 2008
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"A half dozen years back the raw drum and guitar duo The Black Keys started
a blues revival of sorts. Many followed, few succeeded in creating a reasonable resonance. Moreland and Arbuckle,
however, are an exception. Actually a trio - with friends - this band creates a subtle racket through a foot-stomping,
passion-filled, howlin' roar down a sweltering Southern highway to the true blues' delta roots."
-Glenn BurnSilver
The Reporter-Herald, Colorado
March, 2008
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"Describing their music as 'hill country blues from Kansas’ shows the
augmented duo of Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle have a sense of humour. (For the geographically challenged,
Kansas is kind of ... err ... flat. As in ‘not many hills at all’ flat). But make no mistake - the music itself
is, as the saying goes, 'serious as a heart attack.'
"Word has it these boys have been tearing it up all over the American heartland, with live shows approaching
legendary status for exuberant energy and frantic delivery. And as we all know, studio recordings usually fail
to capture a band’s energy. Not here, though - opening with fat, distorted guitar and ferociously in-your-face
harp that lead into the train-rhythm Gonna Send You Back To Georgia, it’s hard to imagine any more energy could be squeezed in. Moreland’s guitar slashes,
Arbuckles’s harp roars and wails, and Brad Horner provides the kind of percussive urgency that leaves listeners,
let alone the drummer, awash in sweat.
"Given the ferocity of the leadoff track, the grinding Fishin’
Hole, with it’s melodic guitar and harp over a chunky beat, comes
almost as a relief. And the all-acoustic Tell Me Why has a back-porch feel to it, though there remains a spooky intensity that keeps things
from becoming very relaxed. Diamond Ring,
benefiting enormously from guest Chris Wiser’s atmospheric B3, gives everyone an opportunity for some intriguing
extrapolations as they play with the song’s structure over an extended fade.
"See My Jumper Hangin’ Out On The Line
channels the late R.L Burnside to excellent effect, and one could easily imagine Johnny Cash claiming the chugging
rhythms of The Legend
as his own. But pay attention to the story - this one hits hard, exposing the way even survivors’ lives are torn
apart by war with unflinching honesty, all the more potent for it’s decidedly apolitical perspective. There’s also
a refreshing simplicity to Never Far Behind,
with its obviously-autobiographical lyrics celebrating the simple life without a trace of affectation.
"Please, Please Mammy
rides a Jimmy Reed style groove, but somehow Moreland and Arbuckle make it dark, with significantly more menace
than the affable Mr. Reed ever managed. Pittsburgh In The Morning,
Philadelphia At Night is all hill-country, though, a romping, stomping
drone with Arbuckle’s raw harmonica weaving throughout. Wrong I Do doesn’t fare quite so well, however. An acoustic guitar/vocal duet, it’s simply too
slow-paced to sustain interest, though it might work as a quiet closer were it not for Wiser
Jam, the collection’s only misstep. Even a jam has to have a musical
purpose, and Wiser doesn’t
make much of a statement over its meandering six-and-a-half minutes (although the interplay among contributors
makes for an interesting, if not quite engaging, listen).
"Moreland’s guitar work (he’s credited with electric, parlor, resonator, and cigar-box guitars) is uniformly
excellent, though given the trio format he’s largely restricted to rhythmic accompaniment, without much lead time;
it’s Arbuckle on harmonica who really shines, with great tone and a delightful mix of the expected and the thoroughly
surprising. The harp is a limited instrument, but Arbuckle finds new sounds on almost every track here. His vocals
won’t win awards but he’s eminently effective, his unpretentious delivery a perfect match for the material.
"Raw and raucous, unconfined by convention and more interested in feel than formula, this is stellar stuff
from a band to watch. Highly recommended!"
-John R. Taylor
Canadianblues.ca
March, 2008
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"Bluesmen Moreland & Arbuckle hail proudly from Kansas, and their
1861 -- a tribute to that
state's induction into the Union -- is their first album on the Canadian label Northern Blues Music. The 12 tracks
are raucous and real, edgy with raw distortion, and driven by drummer Brad Horner's backbeat, which smokes like
a freight train. Dustin Arbuckle, on vocals and harmonica, infuses each song with rich resonance and warmth, while
his partner, Aaron Moreland, keeps it grungy with electric, resonator, parlor, and cigar-box guitars. The opener,
a cover of Hound Dog Taylor's "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia," sets the pace for the rollicking, rocking rest of the disc. "The Legend" follows a heart-hardened
Vietnam War veteran through 40 years of emotional and spiritual pain, and features a guest appearance by Jeffrey
Eaton on a one-string bass homemade from a gas tank. The blues lives in each track, lamenting good men, bad women,
a lack of luck, and a mess of trouble."
-Shannon Holliday
Good Sound
February 1, 2008
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"Moreland & Arbuckle play a compelling brand of blues that blends
the best of Hill Country, Rural, and Mississippi Delta blues into a primal and potent mix. Having previously recorded
an acoustic and an electric album, their NorthernBlues Music debut, 1861, features electric and acoustic prominently.
"The duo consists of guitarists Aaron 'Chainsaw' Moreland and harmonica player/singer Dustin Arbuckle, with
occasional assistance from drummer Brad Horner, Chris Wiser on Hammond B-3, and Jeffrey Eaton on homemade 'gas
tank bass' on one track.
"The opening cut, a seriously juiced take of Hound Dog Taylor’s Gonna
Send You Back To Georgia, threatens to blow the doors off. The follow-up,
Fishin’ Hole is a whimsical
tune inspired by Moreland taking his kids fishing. The gentle rhythms of Tell
Me Why recalls the moody Hill Country sound of Mississippi Fred McDowell,
but the groove picks up fast and hard again with Diamond Ring, one of the best cuts on the disc.
"Another Hill Country legend, R. L. Burnside, gets a nod with a spirited cover of See
My Jumper Hangin’ Out On The Line, another standout track highlighted
by a strong vocal by Arbuckle. The Legend
is also a strong track, but seems a bit out of place here with its country-western twang. The next three tracks,
all originals, feature Moreland’s slide guitar on Never Far Behind, his acoustic chops on Teasin’ Doney, and a Jimmy Reed shuffle on Please, Please
Mammy.
"Closing things out are an interesting cover of Ryan Taylor’s Pittsburgh
in the Morning, Philadelphia At Night, Wrong
I Do, a gentle acoustic number, and Wiser
Jam, an almost jazzy instrumental.
"It's hard to believe, but the best merger of Mississippi Hill Country blues, Delta blues, and rural blues
in years may come from a duo from Kansas. 1861
is an electrifying set that will earn a spot on your stereo's regular rotation for a long time with their fresh
interpretation of old classics and new songs that fit seamlessly with the old. These guys mean business!"
-Graham Clarke
Blues Bytes
February, 2008
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"A trio of youngish Kansas cats got da blooz in a big way and they give
it right back as a blues power trio that can either give you a journey through the past or a rocket ride into tomorrow.
The sum total of a lot of influences they are happy to wear proudly, this crew serve it up steaming hot. Steeping
in the blues tradition of braggadocio, they back up their claims just as easily and show contemporary blues doesn’t
have to be a watered down, ersatz experience."
-Chris Spector
Midwest Record
February 7, 2008
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"When you put this Moreland and Arbuckle CD on, get ready to have the
world stop to ask, 'who’s that?' In a world of musical perfection, Moreland and Arbuckle’s raw distorted tones
are more than refreshing. Unshaven and at times coarse, Aaron Moreland’s dense and primitive guitar grooves combined
with Dustin Arbuckle’s raspy vocals and edgy harmonica fire up their earthy, rural blues.
-Art Tipaldi, Contributing Editor
Blues Revue and BluesWax
"According to the liner notes on their Northern Blues release, 1861 , Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle have lived most of their lives in Kansas. That
certainly is fitting since the music on 1861
roars out at you like a tornado cutting a path through the great plains. From the opening notes of Gonna Send You Back to Georgia this music
grabs you and refuses to let go, pulling you along on a joyous roots ride. With Brad Horner joining the duo on
drums, they create a huge sound worthy of a much larger band. Their own songs really ring true to the blues, and
the carefully chosen covers, such as See My Jumper..... are done tastefully and with the raucous spirit of the originals. This sounds
like a blues band with a 1960's garage band energy, a dynamic combination that is hard to beat.
"1861 is evidence
that even though this music started in the Mississippi Delta, like a giant strong oak tree it's branches have spread
far in every direction and connected us all in its sonic embrace. Somewhere in blues heaven R.L. Burnside is grinning
and saying "well, well, well...."
-Brett Fleming
WEVL Memphis
"From the heartland of America, these young men bring to the table a
powerful devil's potion of Delta, hill-country, and postwar electrified blues, all rolled into one... With 1861, Moreland and Arbuckle come across
as a brilliant, youthful duo with a deep understanding of the paths traveled by the masters from whom they have
very ably adapted their contemporary sound."
-Don Crow
Music City Blues
"Moreland & Arbuckle deliver all the goods on 1861 with straight-razor blues & boogie. A fresh and hones take on the true blues."
-Ellis Kell
True Blue, The Dispatch & The Rock Island Argus
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