Punch Brothers

Infobox musical artist
Name = Punch Brothers


Img_capt = Chris Thile performing with Punch Brothers at The Independent in San Francisco, California, on February 23, 2008.
Img_size =
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = United States of America
Genre = Progressive bluegrass, classical music, acoustic music
Years_active = 2006–present
Label = Nonesuch
Sugar Hill
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.punchbrothers.com/ www.punchbrothers.com]
Current_members = Chris Thile
Gabe Witcher
Noam Pikelny
Chris Eldridge
Greg Garrison
Past_members = Bryan Sutton

Punch Brothers are a bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Greg Garrison (bass). Bryan Sutton has also filled in on guitar when necessary. Their style has been described as introducing "bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the structures of modern classical." [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3245769.ece Chris Thile and his mandolin - Times Online ] ]

History

2006-2007: Beginnings and "Grow"

Thile formed the band in 2006 to record the album "How to Grow a Woman from the Ground". In an interview with the "Nashville City Paper", Thile described the formation of the band:

cquote|"We got together one night just to drop a ton of money, drink too much wine, eat steaks, and commiserate about our failed relationships. We had gotten to play together a few days before and we had said that we needed to do something musical together. With our hearts smashed to pieces, it became more urgent — our lives had gone the same way for so long. I knew I wanted to have a band with Gabe [Witcher] , but I didn’t know if it would be a rock ensemble, an ambitious acoustic classical thing or a bluegrass group. We played, and there was a serious, instantaneous connection. Then I knew I wanted to put together a bluegrass band — one with a lot of range, but aesthetically a bluegrass band." [cite web | url = http://web.archive.org/web/20060826212803/http://nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=12&screen=news&news_id=51705 | title = Nickel Creek’s Thile ‘grows’ a new band | publisher = "Nashville City Paper" | date = 2006-08-23 | accessdate = 2007-10-13]

Initially the band was known as "The How to Grow a Band." In 2007, the band officially changed its name first to "The Tensions Mountain Boys" and then settled on "Punch Brothers."

2007-Present: Name changes and Nonesuch

On March 17, 2007, this group debuted Chris Thile's most ambitious work to date at Carnegie Hall: "The Blind Leaving the Blind", a forty minute suite in four movements. Thile says the piece was written in part to deal with his divorce of 2004.

On February 26, 2008, Punch Brothers released the album, "Punch", on Nonesuch Records. The album features Thile's suite "The Blind Leaving the Blind", as well as other original songs. [cite web | url = http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=15490 | title = Nonesuch Records Signs Singer/Composer/Mandolinist Chris Thile and His New Band, Punch Brothers | publisher = "All About Jazz" | date = 2007-10-09 | accessdate = 2007-10-10]

In March 2008, when Chris Thile was asked in an interview if there would be another album by Punch Brothers, Thile said that "there will definitely be another album." [ [http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/04/05/now_out_of_the_creek_thiles_packing_punch/ "Now out of the Creek, Thile's packing Punch"] . "Boston Globe". April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.]

Band members

Current members

*Chris Thile - Mandolin, Vocals
*Gabe Witcher - Fiddle, Vocals
*Noam Pikelny - Banjo, Vocals
*Chris Eldridge - Guitar, Vocals
*Greg Garrison - Bass, Vocals

Former members

*Bryan Sutton - Guitar, Vocals (2006-2007)

Discography

Albums

*2008: "Punch"

References

External links

* [http://www.punchbrothers.com/ Official Website]
*
* [http://www.punchfans.com/ Unofficial Fansite]