6333 - MIKE OBERST AND HIS FIVE STRING BANJO - With Friends (2011)

MIKE OBERST AND HIS FIVE STRING BAND
''WITH FRIENDS''
2011
54:25

1 - Saddle Up The Grey (Feat. Russ Childers & Warren Waldron)/2:55
2 - Black Eyed Susie (Feat. Jd Wilkes)/1:57
3 - My Dixie Darling (Feat. Mark Utley)/3:05
4 - Railroading And Gambling/1:58
5 - Bully In The Alley (Feat. The Williams Family Band)/1:48
6 - Devil's Dream (Feat. Matt Frazer)/1:56
7 - Willie Moore/3:34
8 - Sixth Street Moan (Feat. Jake Speed & Kentucky Graham)/2:49
9 - Cuba/2:15
10 - Wild Bill Jones (Feat. Jd Wilkes)/1:45
11 - John Brown's March (Feat. Patti Walker)/2:56
12 - Little Birdie/3:50
13 - Let Me Fall (Feat. The Rabbit Hash String Band)/2:50
14 - Oh, Louisiana (Feat. The Blue Rock Boys)/2:30
15 - Heaven's Airplane/2:02
16 - Coal Creek March (Feat. Bob Donisi)/2:30
17 - Sail Away, Ladies (Feat. The Williams Family Band)/3:02
18 - Your Long Journey (Feat. The Oberst Family)/2:50
19 - Hold The Woodpile Down (Feat. The Tillers & Jason Soudrette)/3:01
20 - Roll On John/4:43

OFFICIAL A LITTLE ABOUT MIKE
Mike Oberst is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, old-time musician, and songwriter best known as a co-founder of the Cincinnati, Ohio old-time group, The Tillers.

Mike was born and raised in the Sayler Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, a stone’s throw from the historic US Route 50 as it winds down the banks of the Ohio River. He was introduced to music at a very early age, starting Suzuki piano lessons at the age of four. At the age of 13, Mike’s father showed him some chords on the guitar, and within a year, he began forming and performing in punk rock bands with his friends. Over the next decade, Mike’s bands “Disarm” and later, “The Resurgence”, became fixtures on the local punk scene.

Mike’s interest in traditional music began with his membership in the Cincinnati Caledonian Bagpipe and Drum Corps from the ages of 17 to 22. At age 23, Mike became a part of “The Blue Rock Boys”, an Irish Traditional Folk band, which gave Mike his first taste of the life of a touring musician.

When The Blue Rock Boys disbanded in 2007, Mike began performing solo shows around town. During this time, he became consumed with a love of clawhammer-style banjo playing and an interest in American folk music in the vein of Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, and other Depression-era performers. He soon chanced upon a like-minded musical compatriot in the form of guitarist Sean Geil, with whom Mike formed the band “The Tillers”.

The Tillers’ rise to prominence in the local and regional folk scene was a rapid one, bolstered by a stroke of good fortune in the summer of 2009, when The Tillers’ recording of Mike’s song “There is a Road (Route 50)” was featured on veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw’s USA Network television documentary on the history and significance of US Route 50.

The Tillers maintained a relentless touring, performing, and recording schedule over the next three years, releasing three more albums, becoming a staple at folk festivals throughout the country, and sharing the stage with luminaries and heroes such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Iris DeMent, Jerry Douglas and many more.

In 2011, Mike released his first solo album, “Mike Oberst and His Five-String Banjo”, which featured collaborations with a number of Mike’s musician friends from Cincinnati and beyond.

Also that year, Mike was the driving force behind “To Sing with You Once More”, a benefit concert to raise money and awareness to fight multiple myeloma cancer, the disease which claimed both Mike’s mother Lori and his musical hero Mike Seeger. The concert, which featured rare appearances by folk giants like John Cohen and Tracy Schwarz, was a rousing success.

Mike continues to play and tour, both solo and with The Tillers. He was recently bestowed with the Ohio Arts Council Traditional Arts Apprenticeship for clawhammer banjo in 2011-12, and teaches clawhammer banjo lessons from his home to a number of students.

Mike’s appreciation and gratitude to the tradition of Field Recording for its preservation of rapidly-disappearing musical styles and traditions has led him to attempt some of his own. He is currently in the early stages of recording and compiling the music of legendary Kentucky fiddler Tommy Taylor.

Mike is also interested in traditional American folk history and ways of life, and methods of sustainable city living. He enjoys gardening, farming, and raising chickens at his home.

6332 - THE TILLERS Live: Farewell To The Historic Southgate House (2012)

THE TILLERS
''LIVE: FAREWELL TO THE HISTORIC SOUTHGATE HOUSE''
NOVEMBER 10 2012
73:01

1. Introduction By Ken Hanes/0:15
2. Sail Away Ladies/2:17
3. River of Jordan/2:52
4. Six Strings/4:27
5. Frosty Mom/3:29
6. Louis Collins/4:19
7. I'm Troubled/2:56
8. Cardinal Train 50-51/3:54
9. Hold the Woodpile Down/2:31
10. East Virginia Blues/3:46
11. Johnson Boys/2:35
12. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child/2:25
13. When the Train Come Along/4:00
14. My Old Horse Died/2:35
15. Train That Carried My Girl from Town/3:16
16. There Is a Road (Route 50)/2:53
17. Down At the Bottom/3:06
18. Blues in a Bottle/3:46
19. The Unpainted Picture/7:22
20. George Street Beat/5:52
21. Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry/4:18

REVIEW
Album Notes
by cdbaby
Like all places we love, we never thought we’d have to say goodbye to the Southgate House. Some of us assumed it would be there as long as we were. Lots of hearts sank with the news that it would close its doors. But if there had to be a sendoff, we knew our friends the Tillers would do it right.

This particular night, December 28, 2011, the trio attracted a community of well-wishers- a packed house of warm, jubilant, boisterous bodies- to say goodbye to the Southgate in the best way they knew how. People waited in line out in the cold to be part of it. The sold-out crowd was estimony to the house, to the band’s place in it, to years of memories, and to the odd history that oozed from the place. Nothing seemed more fitting than to have our favorite three scruffy, bearded west-side Cincinnati minstrels conduct a wake with a ruckus of songs they had resurrected from forgotten times and places. The house and the band are both history books, and waggish ones.

Whether you came there for music, flirtation, or bourbon and pickle juice, the more you hung around Southgate, the more stories you ccumulated. The house itself is a great story- usually a mash of history and folk legend- depending on who tells it. It looks like a museum, which it sort of is. Standing on a sleepy hill in Newport Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio River, it is a solitary and elegant Victorian mansion, with a spacious yard and stylish façade that make it seem like a time-warp compared to the noisy shopping mall across the street. Supposedly it was built by captured British prisoners from the War of 1812. It was home to Kentucky politician Richard Southgate, whose parlor entertained the genteel of the day, including US presidents Polk, Taylor, and Lincoln. But most famously, it was the birth home of John T. Thompson, inventor of the Tommy Gun. Some of us wonder if the house’s haunted feeling owed anything to the grizzly karma of Mr. Thompson’s invention.

Lots of people did think it was haunted. When you drank or watched a show in the front lounge, you did so in the company of Civil War generals and 19th century presidents, who watched you from dark, lonely oil paintings. Robert E. Lee would look at you with regretful warning in his face. Ulysses S. Grant sat with glazed eyes, much drunker than you. The musty old rugs, creaky wood floors and high ceilings echoed the music and voices in each room, and possibly ones that used to be in the room. And of course, there were legends of murders and suicides, including a young woman who supposedly hung herself from the top floor, mistakenly thinking her lover had died in a barge accident on Ohio. You never knew which stories were true, but it was always a good idea to raise a glass to the dead, just to stay on good terms.

The sheer size of the place made it mysterious. A parlor, a lounge, and a ballroom gave you three floors of competing music, where you could hear delta blues, death metal, country, jazz, reggae, and whatever else might stumble into town. The owners had turned this giant, slightly creepy mansion into an epic fun-house of music, libation and loose talk. There was “Hillbilly Thursday” with Sean and Aaron’s troupe, Mt. Pleasant String Band. And there were the infamous open-mic nights, hosted by Mike, that would showcase everything from marquee musicians in disguise and undiscovered prodigies to unbearably awkward comedians, amateur “magic shows” of bleach guzzlers, and drunken improvisation on every instrument devised by man.

Somewhere along the line, the Tillers found their place in this swirling variety show that was the Southgate House. The house helped them grow from tadpoles to Godzillas in the Cincinnati folk scene. In the ballroom, they played with Iris Dement, Jerry Douglas, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. They released two albums there, and raised money and hearts to fight multiple myeloma with their benefit show, To Sing with You Once More. Southgate helped build their momentum to a thunder. So when then the bad news came, the boys knew what to do.

They gathered up their friends to stomp, clap, holler, croon, and say goodbye. They had asked our old band, the Blue Rock Boys, to warm up everyone’s throats and heels with sea shanties and Irish ditties. And when it was time for our three friends, Mike, Sean, and Aaron to huddle in around their small tree of microphones with their banjos and guitars and big wooden bass, everyone roared, and then hushed. What followed was a tribute show fitting for a house that entertained punk rockers and presidents, anarchists and aristocrats, scoundrels and sages. That night, the boys did what they do- conjuring memories and mischief with songs that are joyful, sorrowful, ecclesiastical, roguish, rapturous and raw. I think the Tillers know what it means to say goodbye with jubilance and respect. And this record proves it.

There was only one Southgate House and there is only one Tillers. Enjoy.

Pete Wood


OFFICIAL STORY
The Tillers are Mike Oberst, Sean Geil, and Aaron Geil.

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.

The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009 and 2010. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest and West, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.

They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.

6331 - THE TILLERS WITH UNCLE MIKE CARR - Wild Hog In The Woods (2011)

THE TILLERS WITH UNCLE MIKE CARR
''WILD HOG IN THE WOODS''
NOVEMBER 19 2011
47:01

1. Groundhog /1:45
2. Who Broke the Lock /3:28
3. Old Lady and the Devil /4:41
4. Wild Hog in the Woods /3:42
5. Dance All Night With a Bottle in Your Hand /3:01
6. Moonshiner /2:19
7. Sail Away, Ladies /3:45
8. Raleigh and Spencer /3:19
9. Rock the Cradle, Joe /2:08
10. Say Darlin' Say /3:31
11. Going Down the Lee Highway /2:48
12. William Riley /1:22
13. Sugar Hill /3:22
14. Omie Wise /4:56
15. I'm Going Across the Sea /2:50
16. Kitty Cole /0:36

OFFICIAL STORY
The Tillers are Mike Oberst, Sean Geil, and Aaron Geil.

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.

The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009 and 2010. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest and West, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.

They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.

6330 - THE TILLERS - By The Signs (2010)

THE TILLERS
''BY THE SIGNS''
JANUARY 9 2010
40:22

1. Cardinal Train 50-51 /3:36
2. I'll Be Callin /3:00
3. Lonesome Day /3:14
4. George Street Beat /3:54
5. Take Me Down /2:59
6. Lantern Lullaby /3:33
7. Bed On the Floor /2:06
8. Mountain Song /2:54
9. Down At the Bottom /2:24
10. Trouble In Mind /2:45
11. There Is Enough /3:37
12. Ezekiel Saw the Wheel /2:42
13. Blackout /4:03

OFFICIAL STORY
The Tillers are Mike Oberst, Sean Geil, and Aaron Geil.

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.

The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009 and 2010. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest and West, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.

They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.

6329 - THE TILLERS - Ludlow Street Rag (2008)

THE TILLERS
''LUDLOW STREET RAG''
2008
60:04

1. Ruben's Train /2:46
2. Ludlow Street Rag /2:09
3. I Ain't Got No Home /3:31
4. Which Side Are You On? /2:44
5. There Is A Road (Route 50) /3:13
6. Stealin' /2:59
7. The Unpainted Picture /4:35
8. Rosie The Riveter /2:16
9. John Henry /2:56
10. New York Town /3:19
11. Darlin' Corey /3:22
12. I Wish My Baby Was Born /5:20
13. London Dungeon /2:48
14. Southbound /2:34
15. Miner's Lifeguard /2:55
16. The Dodgin' Song /2:52
17. Bye Bye Blackbird /3:37
18. V8 Blues /2:26
19. There Is A Road-Route 50 (Pre-Tillers Version) /3:48

OFFICIAL STORY
The Tillers are Mike Oberst, Sean Geil, and Aaron Geil.

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.

The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009 and 2010. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest and West, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.

They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.

6300 - THE TILLERS - Hand On The Plow (2013)

THE TILLERS
''HAND ON THE PLOW''
JULY 5 2013
40:42

1 - Old West Side/3:46
2 - The Road Neverending/3:54
3 - Shanty Boat/4:11
4 - I Gotta Move (Feat. Jd Wilkes)/3:21
5 - Willy Dear/4:52
6 - Tecumseh On The Battlefield/3:15
7 - Can't Be True/3:56
8 - Long Summer Day/2:55
9 - 500 Miles/2:48
10 - Treehouse/2:46
11 - Weary Soul/4:31

"We’ve been working on our fifth album for over a year now, writing all new songs like Shanty Boat, The Road Neverending and I Gotta Move. We spent last winter in the studio with Brian Olive and Mark Van Patten pouring our hearts and souls into these new recordings. This spring we’ve been throwing ideas back and fourth with artist Keith Neltner who has been creating some amazing art for the new project. All this hard work has now come to fruition in the form of one awesome album if we do say so! We’re teaming up and releasing Hand On The Plow with Muddy Roots Recordings. The same folks who bring you Muddy Roots Fest in Tennessee and Muddy Roots Fest Belgium. A great group of ambitious and dedicated characters who we’re real excited to work with!" -The Tillers

OFFICIAL STORY
The Tillers are Mike Oberst, Sean Geil, and Aaron Geil.

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.

They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.

The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009 and 2010. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest and West, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.

Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.

They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.