New Greezy Wheels CD Needs Help!
Donation protected
The Sad Tale Of Greezy Wheels’ Super Cool
Unreleased CD
Hi Folks,
For a few weeks now, I’ve been tossing about the idea of raising the money we need to put out the latest Greezy Wheels cd, String Theory 2.0, through crowd funding. As Sweet Mary and I have aged, we’ve discovered we can no longer really afford to use the bit of money I get from booking Kinky Friedman tours to mount album launches. Medical bills just always seem to get in the way. I came thisclose to starting a fundraising site this summer for the cd (which, by the way is probably our best record ever), but decided to try to figure out another way to pay for it (probably including booking a buttload more dates for the Kinkster).
Everything changed a few days ago, when Sweet Mary accidentally backed our car over her prized violin. Her fiddle has been smashed. And it’s not just any fiddle. It has been Sweet Mary’s sweet voice for over forty years, bought directly from its maker, the late Vladimerius Tkac (http://www.tkacviolins.com/index_Page1344.htm), some of whose fiddles are in the Smithsonian. It is a very special instrument and obviously priceless to our family.
Luckily (very), we have found a wonderful luthier right here in Austin, and he has agreed to take on what will be a six month or longer task. His name is Sandro Cocco. He is a brilliant Italian fiddle maker with renowned skill in the repairing of other’s instruments. And though it comes at a huge price, we are very fortunate to have insurance. It will take months.
Yes, the repair is covered, but Mary and I realized it was true: we really can’t afford to put this lovely record out on our own. String Theory 2.0 is quite possibly THE definitive Greezy Wheels album. The material ranges from a tune originally tracked in 2000 with the late John Mambo Treanor (some of his last work before passing), to amazing contributions from Lisa Pankratz and her husband Brad Fordham (both now play with Dave and Phil Alvin), right up to brand new material featuring Brad Houser and John Bush (both from Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians), Matt Hubbard (who’s now also working with Rickie Lee Jones), and our super-songstress/Greezette, Penny Jo Pullus. Of course, Lissa continues to sing like nobody else on the planet. We mastered it a couple months ago, but it currently sits on the shelf, all by its lonesome.
This also means we cannot begin work on what will be the final Greezy Wheels album, tentatively titled A Fist Full Of Crayons, either. We want it to be ready by 2020, the fiftieth anniversary of our birth as a band, but it’s very hard to start a new project, while still in the midst of another. This last album will feature many cool guest artists and will include our latest addition to the band, Cole El-Saleh, most recently with Carolyn Wonderland’s band. String Theory 2.0 really needs to be out (check out some reviews below from a few folks who’ve heard it).
And so it goes. Musicians needing the help of their friends and fans. It’s the road we chose, when we decided to devote our lives to making music. Those of you who know us know we have never strayed from that path, never shall. We rely on you, always shall. Please help us get through six months without Sweet Mary’s beloved instrument, get our hot new record out, and begin a last great adventure with this wonderful band.
So, all ye friends, fans and just folks, be a partner with us in this project. Help us get this record out. To just print it, ship it out, and hire a good radio promo person costs about six grand, but what we’d really like to be able to do is all that plus vinyl copies and showcases in NYC and LA. We can probably pull all that off for about fifteen grand. So that’s the ask. Please help us raise the fifteen grand. Be the first kid on your block to have your own copy (plus each of our last four cds with donations above $100). Let’s take the Wheels out in style in 2020. Please.
Hugs,
Cleve
Your Fearless Greezy Leader
Here’s what some really cool folks have already said about String Theory 2.0:
“this record is great
greezy wheels
sounds like bonnie raitt fronting little feat 1974
are funky as a frenchmen’s armpit
are a new and improved version of austin’s original weirdos”
- Mojo Nixon
"Greezy Wheels were the original Texas purveyors of headneck rock, mixing the deep, rootsy groove of Austin when it was weird with an originality that remains startling — and refreshingly welcome — in The Twenty-Worst Century. Their forthcoming album String Theory 2.0 poses a question that it answers: what happened to music that sounds like nothing but itself? It’s alive, greezy and spinnin’ with the freak flag flyers called Greezy Wheels."
— Michael Simmons, MOJO, High
Times, Huffington Post
“Greezy Wheels
Is cruise-control on the Diamond Lane.
Kick-ass and companionable, top-to-bottom, sharp-edged lyrics in a camouflage of classic country, roots, blues and rock. A seamless fusion to dance or dine to.
Way beyond first blush, you know this album is durable goods, built to last.
Get a master tune-smith, vocals in as tight flight-formation as a good day with Everly Brothers. Mix with a group-grope on par with anything outta Little Feat or early Bonnie and Delany. Season with the sage and easy bowing-arm of a fine fiddler.
Chase it down with some low-church hymns, high-fi blues, bottled in bond, and yer way beyond the comfort zone.
This collective puts politics aside, as only real music and lyrical insight can.
Informed optimism!
This album, in a word, crushes. Just when you thought you'd bought yer last CD, Hattersley and company nail you with music that hits home. A cut above.
Greezywheels: nothin' semi about it.
It's all you need to party on.”
- Van Dyke Parks
“I love the new record.......I actually listened to all of it.....more than once. Nice, Thanks for sending.”
- Chris Layton (Double Trouble)
“Greezy Wheels continues writing great songs that are gritty, political, touching, funny and topical without coming across as cute, precious or myopic. The players here are consistently top-notch and the grooves are solid, letting singers Lissa Hattersley and Penny Jo Pullis shine brightly, with engaging vocals that at times recall Tom Tom Club, The Roches, even Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks - while still retaining their own unique sonic imprint. At the heart of it all is Cleve and Sweet Mary Hattersley, who do what they've always done best - represent and exemplify all that is and ever was cool about Austin, with an outlook that extends far beyond the Texas border and always manages to find it's way home, to the soul of the song.”
- Papa Mali
“Really enjoying this new Greezy Wheels record (String Theory 2.0) …a bunch of good tunes with great musicianship and singing. I especially love that feel on Who's To Blame…. that type of shuffle originates from down below the Mason-Dixon Line…..somewhere near the Gulf I believe…..”
- Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan bassist)
“So, I’ve listened to the album several times now and can enthusiastically say I LOVE IT! The new version of String Theory is unusual, and the repetitious drum track (machine?) threw me at first listen, but I’m totally diggin’ the album as a whole. “I’ll Be Alright” big hit, first single. “Bone Deep” another single. Honored to be one of the first to hear it! Greezy Wheels new one is pure, unadulterated Greezy fun! Another Instant Classic for everyone of the Greezy persuasion!”
- Wildman Steve (WildmanSteve Radio)
"I was completely hooked within the first 30 seconds. And it just kept getting better and better. The fun, joy, grit, and heartfelt intentions warm my innards. There are lots of reasons it's on constant rotation here at chez Randall. The legend that is Greezy Wheels goes from strength to strength. Bless y’all!"
- Elliott Randall, über guitarist
"Greezy Wheels is just Funky Cool. Their newest is String Theory #2. It’s just weird in all the right ways. Listening to Lissa sing Cleve’s songs, and Penny Jo’s contributions just make you smile. Just when you need it, Sweet Mary’s fiddle appears magically. Inspiring arrangements. Cleve’s reprise of Wicked Don’t Sleep connecting the past to the present, at least I’m sure that’s what he had in mind. The whole Cd is a hippie, reggae, rock and roll, Buddhist meditative, soulful, romp. I’ve probably said too much. Its just funky and cool, and listening to this CD will benefit anyone and cure some symptoms of some mental diseases. I’ll see you at the rumble at the corner of church and state."
- Roger Allen, Sun Radio
Unreleased CD
Hi Folks,
For a few weeks now, I’ve been tossing about the idea of raising the money we need to put out the latest Greezy Wheels cd, String Theory 2.0, through crowd funding. As Sweet Mary and I have aged, we’ve discovered we can no longer really afford to use the bit of money I get from booking Kinky Friedman tours to mount album launches. Medical bills just always seem to get in the way. I came thisclose to starting a fundraising site this summer for the cd (which, by the way is probably our best record ever), but decided to try to figure out another way to pay for it (probably including booking a buttload more dates for the Kinkster).
Everything changed a few days ago, when Sweet Mary accidentally backed our car over her prized violin. Her fiddle has been smashed. And it’s not just any fiddle. It has been Sweet Mary’s sweet voice for over forty years, bought directly from its maker, the late Vladimerius Tkac (http://www.tkacviolins.com/index_Page1344.htm), some of whose fiddles are in the Smithsonian. It is a very special instrument and obviously priceless to our family.
Luckily (very), we have found a wonderful luthier right here in Austin, and he has agreed to take on what will be a six month or longer task. His name is Sandro Cocco. He is a brilliant Italian fiddle maker with renowned skill in the repairing of other’s instruments. And though it comes at a huge price, we are very fortunate to have insurance. It will take months.
Yes, the repair is covered, but Mary and I realized it was true: we really can’t afford to put this lovely record out on our own. String Theory 2.0 is quite possibly THE definitive Greezy Wheels album. The material ranges from a tune originally tracked in 2000 with the late John Mambo Treanor (some of his last work before passing), to amazing contributions from Lisa Pankratz and her husband Brad Fordham (both now play with Dave and Phil Alvin), right up to brand new material featuring Brad Houser and John Bush (both from Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians), Matt Hubbard (who’s now also working with Rickie Lee Jones), and our super-songstress/Greezette, Penny Jo Pullus. Of course, Lissa continues to sing like nobody else on the planet. We mastered it a couple months ago, but it currently sits on the shelf, all by its lonesome.
This also means we cannot begin work on what will be the final Greezy Wheels album, tentatively titled A Fist Full Of Crayons, either. We want it to be ready by 2020, the fiftieth anniversary of our birth as a band, but it’s very hard to start a new project, while still in the midst of another. This last album will feature many cool guest artists and will include our latest addition to the band, Cole El-Saleh, most recently with Carolyn Wonderland’s band. String Theory 2.0 really needs to be out (check out some reviews below from a few folks who’ve heard it).
And so it goes. Musicians needing the help of their friends and fans. It’s the road we chose, when we decided to devote our lives to making music. Those of you who know us know we have never strayed from that path, never shall. We rely on you, always shall. Please help us get through six months without Sweet Mary’s beloved instrument, get our hot new record out, and begin a last great adventure with this wonderful band.
So, all ye friends, fans and just folks, be a partner with us in this project. Help us get this record out. To just print it, ship it out, and hire a good radio promo person costs about six grand, but what we’d really like to be able to do is all that plus vinyl copies and showcases in NYC and LA. We can probably pull all that off for about fifteen grand. So that’s the ask. Please help us raise the fifteen grand. Be the first kid on your block to have your own copy (plus each of our last four cds with donations above $100). Let’s take the Wheels out in style in 2020. Please.
Hugs,
Cleve
Your Fearless Greezy Leader
Here’s what some really cool folks have already said about String Theory 2.0:
“this record is great
greezy wheels
sounds like bonnie raitt fronting little feat 1974
are funky as a frenchmen’s armpit
are a new and improved version of austin’s original weirdos”
- Mojo Nixon
"Greezy Wheels were the original Texas purveyors of headneck rock, mixing the deep, rootsy groove of Austin when it was weird with an originality that remains startling — and refreshingly welcome — in The Twenty-Worst Century. Their forthcoming album String Theory 2.0 poses a question that it answers: what happened to music that sounds like nothing but itself? It’s alive, greezy and spinnin’ with the freak flag flyers called Greezy Wheels."
— Michael Simmons, MOJO, High
Times, Huffington Post
“Greezy Wheels
Is cruise-control on the Diamond Lane.
Kick-ass and companionable, top-to-bottom, sharp-edged lyrics in a camouflage of classic country, roots, blues and rock. A seamless fusion to dance or dine to.
Way beyond first blush, you know this album is durable goods, built to last.
Get a master tune-smith, vocals in as tight flight-formation as a good day with Everly Brothers. Mix with a group-grope on par with anything outta Little Feat or early Bonnie and Delany. Season with the sage and easy bowing-arm of a fine fiddler.
Chase it down with some low-church hymns, high-fi blues, bottled in bond, and yer way beyond the comfort zone.
This collective puts politics aside, as only real music and lyrical insight can.
Informed optimism!
This album, in a word, crushes. Just when you thought you'd bought yer last CD, Hattersley and company nail you with music that hits home. A cut above.
Greezywheels: nothin' semi about it.
It's all you need to party on.”
- Van Dyke Parks
“I love the new record.......I actually listened to all of it.....more than once. Nice, Thanks for sending.”
- Chris Layton (Double Trouble)
“Greezy Wheels continues writing great songs that are gritty, political, touching, funny and topical without coming across as cute, precious or myopic. The players here are consistently top-notch and the grooves are solid, letting singers Lissa Hattersley and Penny Jo Pullis shine brightly, with engaging vocals that at times recall Tom Tom Club, The Roches, even Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks - while still retaining their own unique sonic imprint. At the heart of it all is Cleve and Sweet Mary Hattersley, who do what they've always done best - represent and exemplify all that is and ever was cool about Austin, with an outlook that extends far beyond the Texas border and always manages to find it's way home, to the soul of the song.”
- Papa Mali
“Really enjoying this new Greezy Wheels record (String Theory 2.0) …a bunch of good tunes with great musicianship and singing. I especially love that feel on Who's To Blame…. that type of shuffle originates from down below the Mason-Dixon Line…..somewhere near the Gulf I believe…..”
- Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan bassist)
“So, I’ve listened to the album several times now and can enthusiastically say I LOVE IT! The new version of String Theory is unusual, and the repetitious drum track (machine?) threw me at first listen, but I’m totally diggin’ the album as a whole. “I’ll Be Alright” big hit, first single. “Bone Deep” another single. Honored to be one of the first to hear it! Greezy Wheels new one is pure, unadulterated Greezy fun! Another Instant Classic for everyone of the Greezy persuasion!”
- Wildman Steve (WildmanSteve Radio)
"I was completely hooked within the first 30 seconds. And it just kept getting better and better. The fun, joy, grit, and heartfelt intentions warm my innards. There are lots of reasons it's on constant rotation here at chez Randall. The legend that is Greezy Wheels goes from strength to strength. Bless y’all!"
- Elliott Randall, über guitarist
"Greezy Wheels is just Funky Cool. Their newest is String Theory #2. It’s just weird in all the right ways. Listening to Lissa sing Cleve’s songs, and Penny Jo’s contributions just make you smile. Just when you need it, Sweet Mary’s fiddle appears magically. Inspiring arrangements. Cleve’s reprise of Wicked Don’t Sleep connecting the past to the present, at least I’m sure that’s what he had in mind. The whole Cd is a hippie, reggae, rock and roll, Buddhist meditative, soulful, romp. I’ve probably said too much. Its just funky and cool, and listening to this CD will benefit anyone and cure some symptoms of some mental diseases. I’ll see you at the rumble at the corner of church and state."
- Roger Allen, Sun Radio
Organizer
Cleve Hattersley
Organizer
Austin, TX