Pinetop Seven

After meeting at Vanderbilt University where both were psychology majors, Darren Richard and Charles Kim began playing together in 1990. They backed a female jazz vocalist in Nashville-area clubs before moving to Chicago and forming Pinetop Seven in 1994. A year later, they recorded their eponymous debut in their landlord's attic. Shortly after, Ryan Hembrey joined the band. He'd posted a bunch of flyers around the city advertising for bass lessons, but Kim was the only one who'd called. The band toured to support the album and eventually earned licensing deals with Truckstop/Atavistic and Glitterhouse, an independent European label. In 1997, they returned to their attic studio to record the EP No Breath In the Bellows, which was followed by the full-length Rigging the Toplights a year later.

Pinetop Seven's minimalist mixture of country, jazz, rock and folk music makes them difficult to label. The trio has been backed by various musicians and uses a range of instruments including upright bass, accordion, banjo, mandolin, and slide guitars.

from Wikipedia:

Pinetop Seven is an American band from Chicago, Illinois. The group initially revolved around three core members, supplemented by instruments such as double bass, accordion, slide guitar, banjo, and mandolin; more recent recordings have a more fluid lineup and increasingly orchestral textures. The group is a key representative of the Chicago alt country musical scene.

History

Bandmembers Darren Richard and Charles Kim first met at Vanderbilt University, and began playing music on the Nashville club scene starting in 1990; in 1994 they moved to Chicago and formed Pinetop Seven. After adding Ryan Hembrey to the lineup in 1995, the band began touring, and eventually landed a record deal with Truckstop Records, who began releasing the band's material in 1997. 1998's Rigging the Toplights featured clarinet work from fellow Chicagoan Ken Vandermark. In 2000, Charles Kim left the band, and the group expanded to a larger ensemble featuring more orchestral musical textures, beginning with 2000's Bringing Home the Last Great Strike. Their 2005 release The Night's Bloom and its subsequent sessions release, Beneath Confederate Lake, feature further orchestral exploration, as well as a revamped core of members, featuring original member Richard, trumpeter Nate Walcott, cellist Melissa Bach, bassist Andy Rader, guitarist Mack Hagood, and drummer Ned Folkerth.

Throughout its career, the band has garnered considerable critical acclaim from outlets such as Pitchfork Media, NPR radio, One Times One, The Orlando Weekly, Paste Magazine, and others.