The Penny Black Remedy
| The Penny Black Remedy | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres |
Ska Folk rock Country rock |
| Website | http://www.thepennyblackremedy.com |
| Members |
Keith M Thomson Marijana Hajdarhodzic Paul Slack Jamie Shaw Jeremy Mendonca Barbara Bartz |
The Penny Black Remedy is a London-based band playing a mix of Country, Ska, Folk and Punk.
The band's line-up has broad international origins, being led by the songwriter Keith M Thomson from Scotland on vocals and guitar; Croatian vocalist Marijana Hajdarhodzic; Londoner, Jamie Shaw, on drums; Jeremy Menonca, from California, on acoustic guitar and vocals; violinist Barbara Bartz from Poland and founding member of punk band, U.K. Subs and The Flying Padovanis, Paul Slack (also from London) on bass.
The Penny Black Remedy received the Gibson Guitar Best Alternative Act award at the 2008 UK Indy Awards.[1]
They released their first album No One's Fault But Your Own in Spring 2009. The album was recorded in Zagreb, Croatia. They announced a global distribution deal with Cadiz Music in November 2009.[2]
They released their second album Inhale... Exhale... OK, Now You Can Panic! on 15 July 2013.
The band’s name refers to a pub in Edinburgh called The Penny Black, which opened at the unusually early time of 5am.
The songs draw on dark humour and absurdity, often dealing with drinking and death, whilst having memorable sing-a-long choruses, which result in rowdy live shows.
Extensive touring in the UK and Europe, including sold out residencies at London's legendary venue The 12 Bar Club, have seen the group gather an enthusiastic hardcore following.
The Guardian newspaper's review of their single I Won't Argue When I'm Dead claimed it was "Quite simply, the finest country sing-along I've heard on the vexed pop topic of how one's body should be disposed of after death."[3]
Thomson has pointed to the dedication of their fans being the result of the band's unusual, dark humour mixed with harking back to a traditional, almost old-fashioned take on live music gatherings: "The fact that most of my songs are about death, lost love, brothels or just trying to live in a constant state of crippling paranoid fear and cope with the daily grind of everyday life is irrelevant. If anything, encouraging people to sing loudly and out of tune about the absurdity of general existence seems to instil a sense of comfort and unity. I think."[4]
Band members
- Keith M Thomson - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
- Marijana Hajdarhodzic - Vocals, Percussion
- Paul Slack - Bass
- Jamie Shaw - Drums
- Jeremy Mendonca - Guitar, Vocals
- Barbara Bartz - Violin