The Ballroom Thieves are an adept melding of roots, indie folk and symphonic strains. Comprised of Martin Earley (guitar), Devin Mauch (percussion) and Calin Peters (cello), (they all sing). They push it even further on their latest record, A Wolf In The Doorway, where no two tracks sound the same but represent a palpably confident identity.
The band has been named one of the “On the Verge, 5 Artists You Should Know About” in the latest issue of Relix, and, “one of the best new bands of the year” by An Honest Tune.
We could not pass up the opportunity to chat with the band before the show at The Southgate House Revival on Thursday, November 12th! ENTER TO WIN TICKETS HERE!
Give us some background on the Ballroom Thieves...
We're three twenty-somethings from New England who travel from antique shop to antique shop, scavenging the nation for interesting and eclectic goods, for which we (quite ironically) do not even have any homes. We've been hoarding vintage items of interest for about two and a half years now, and most of them end up stashed away somewhere in our trusty chariot, which was far more roomy when we began our quest to visit every antique mall in the galaxy. Oh, and we also play a little music on the side from time to time.
Tell us about your songwriting process.
Normally I begin by chiseling a line or two into a stone tablet and burying it in my back yard, under the cloak of darkness. After about 2-3 months of fermentation, I unearth the tablets and dust them off, typically offering up a sacrificial token or small field mouse to the spirit of the earth, in unabashed gratitude. I then present the freshly cleaned tablet to my two bandmates during a raucous saturnalia which can only take place beneath a full moon. We craft the remaining parts of the song and then we all go out for waffles.
What can one expect at a live the Ballroom Thieves show?
One can expect between 12 and 18 original songs, perhaps a few cover tunes, three marginally well-dressed individuals wielding instruments like Thor wields his thunderhammer, a few fingers of bourbon, and some extended and often completely fabricated introductions to the aforementioned songs.
What is next for the Ballroom Thieves?
Our home is the road, and we don't have any plans to change that for the next few months. We'll have a few days off for Thanksgiving, but aside from that we'll be chasing down that long white line, so you can catch us at a town near you! We're also preparing to get back into the studio in the new year, so that's an exciting prospect for us. We've got a lot of brand new material that we're itching to share with the world. Until then, we'll be antiquing.
