Artist description "Recovering punks who took the bluegrass/honky-tonk cure, Molly Conley and Gary Roadarmel sing of whiskey, whores, wrecked loves and other things that make life worth drinking on Welcome to Porter Hall, TN, their debut CD on the cool Missouri roots label Slewfoot Records"....The Nashville Scene

Music Style Honky Tonk, Bluegrass, Punk Rock

Musical Influences Uncle Tupelo, X, George Jones

Group Members Gary Roadarmel-Vocals,Guitar /Molly Conley-Vocals,Guitar /Jason Sligh-Mandolin

Instruments electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, mandolin

Albums Welcome To Porter Hall, TN on Slewfoot Records

Press Reviews No Depression Waxed May-June 2002 PORTER HALL, TN Welcome To Porter Hall, Tennessee Slewfoot Don't look for Porter Hall, TN on a map. The town exists only in the minds, melodies and lyrics of this five-piece band from Murfreesboro, the transplanted offshoot of Maryland punk band Porter Hall. The core duo of Molly Conley and Gary Roadarmel added the TN after moving from MD, ostensibly to go to college; they took up acoustic music and bluegrass instead. The sound on their debut CD combines the traditions of rhythm-driven honky-tonk with acoustic Appalachian flavorings, in the process sounding vintage and original at the same time. There's a lot of whiskey-flavored venom in the lyrics, offset largely by Conley's sweet voice on the ballads. Conley and Roadarmel wrote all but three of the numbers, and while his own material is fine, Roadarmel is an enthusiastic interpreter. Gene Wilcox's "Golden Chain Of Hate" and Randy Jones' "Screwed Blue are among the highlights, with bounce amid the bile. The instumentaion is direct and simple, with Jason Sligh's mandolin sprinkled around for flavoring. Guest player Mike Fried provides worthy pedal steel flourishes throughout and a nifty baritone guitar break on "Old Kentucky Home". Bassist Ruth Marie and percussionist Kenny Griffin keep the beat appropriately two-step and shuffle - BUZZ MCCLAIN NY Press: Porter Hall Tennessee, Welcome to Porter Hall Tennessee (Slewfoot) This is an extremely country record. The promo shit says that Porter Hall Tennessee used to be a punk band. And even though that seems stylistically unlikely, I can well believe it. Because when you get down to it, punk music is country music for suburban teenagers, and country music is punk for rural oldsters. But they have the same essential values: rawness, truth, intensity of expression. And of course there are the actual overlaps, like Screeching Weasel doing "I Fall to Pieces" or Social Distortion ripping the hell out of "Ring of Fire." Now all we need is like Patty Loveless recording "Rendezvous with Anus." Anyway, PHT is so damn good. I particularly like the girl singer, Molly Conley, though the guy, Gary Roadarmel, is also excellent. Maybe we could say they sound like Dwight Yokum but not quite as smooth. But you just can't do a whole lot better than "Screwed Blue" or "Golden Chain of Hate." Plus it's slowly dawning on me that Slewfoot records puts out a lot of great music. – Crispin Sartwell – New York Press The Wall Street Journal: 03/27/2002 02:12:51 LEISURE & ARTS: At a Gloomy Music-Biz Shindig, Reasons for Hope ---- By Taylor Holliday The Wall Street Journal via Dow Jones ...Boy-girl attraction and it perils are at the heart of Porter Hall Tennessee, which is fronted by a man and a woman who trade off on lead vocals, songwriting and perspectives (her song: "I'm gone/ Like the comfort in your voice"; his song: "Whiskey, whores and overtime/ Have taken her place now that she's gone"). Ex-punks from Murfreesboro, Tenn., who like scads of others turned to pre-'80s-country sounds as the alternative music of choice for adults, they build on a base of honky-tonk, with nods to bluegrass and outlaw country, and prove there's still a lot of mileage left in mandolin-backed heartbreak and steel-soaked small-town misery. (Their CD is out this week on Slewfoot.)... From Billboard Magazine the week of 3/30/2002: Album Title: Welcome to Porter Hall Tennessee Producer(s): Gary Roadarmel, Brian Carter Genre: COUNTRY Label/Catalog Number: Slewfoot Records 807 Source: PRINT Originally Reviewed: March 30, 2002 Led by singer/songwriters Gary Roadarmel and Molly Conley, Porter Hall Tennessee plays a blend of rockabilly, roadhouse honk, and traditional country, rendered with an appreciation of the hard stuff. The leadoff track, the pounding shuffle "Screwed Blue," boasts subtle harmonies and melodic instrumentation that belie its rough-hewn lyric. It becomes quickly apparent that Conley herself is quite a find, with a stone country delivery and an endearing vocal catch that comes off like a mutant hybrid of Lucinda Williams and Tammy Wynette. She shines on her well-written ballads "Halfway There," the sadly beautiful "Middle Tennessee," and "Angel Without Wings." She also impresses on the oddly uplifting midtempo "Don't Bury Me" and her left-handed spiritual "Crosses to Hang." For his part, Roadarmel takes on an affected vocal that's hit-or-miss on such songs as the dog-mean "Golden Chain of Hate" and the boozy "Drunkard and the Angel"; he's at his best on his bluegrass-tinged "Old Kentucky Home" and harder-edged "Slip Inside the House." The record wraps with a manic, well-executed take on the fire-and-brimstone gospel chestnut "I've Got a Hedge" that's worthy of a revival meeting.—RW RHETT AKINS

Location Murfreesboro, Tennessee - USA

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