Artist: The Okee Dokee Brothers
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song: “Raise a Ruckus”
Album: Songs for Singin’
Release Date: May 1, 2020
In Their Words: “This is our ‘rewrite’ of an old traditional tune with new verses and some new chorus lines too. As The Okee Dokee Brothers, we like to take standards, dust them off a bit and add a bit of our own style. For this one, we wanted to keep the energy of the original responses (‘Raise a ruckus tonight’), but just change the melody a bit and add a bit more chaotic imagery. Hence, the broken vase, rotten tomatoes, and the tornado! This track leads off disc two on our new album, so we really wanted it to be a rowdy ruckus, a rompin’ rouser, and a singable stomper.
“We asked our buddy, Anthony Ihrig (three-finger bluegrass banjo picker from The High 48s bluegrass band in Minneapolis) to record a second banjo part on top of Justin’s clawhammer part, because who says a clawhammer-er can’t coexist with a Scruggs-style picker! So a big thanks to Anthony who laid down a smokin’ track for us. The more the merrier in this tornado of a tune. We knew we got a good take in the studio when all of us were good and sweaty and our voices were hoarse. So stomp, sing, and sweat along with us while we all raise one heckuva ruckus in this bluegrass situation we somehow got ourselves into.” — The Okee Dokee Brothers
Photo credit: Nate Ryan Photography
