Born and bred in a city hardly known for its country music heritage, Detroit's Deadstring Brothers play alternative country-rock with no small amount of rock & roll swagger and a deep bluesy undertow that often suggests Exile on Main St.-era Rolling Stones more than Uncle Tupelo or their followers. The Deadstring Brothers formed in late 2001, when singer and songwriter Kurt Marschke, who had been playing shows as a solo acoustic act, began working up material with a handful of like-minded friends. Marschke was joined by Spencer Cullum on guitar, pedal steel, and lap steel, Pat Kenneally on keyboards, Masha Marjieh on vocals and percussion, Jeff Cullum on bass, and E. Travis Harrett on drums. The band wasted no time earning a reputation for their tough but soulful sound, and in 2003 they released their self-titled debut through Detroit's Times Beach Records. Plenty of touring followed, with the Deadstring Brothers sharing stages with Cat Power, the Sadies, the Drive-By Truckers, and My Morning Jacket. In 2005, the band signed with Chicago's premiere alt-country label Bloodshot Records, and in the fall of that year they released their second long-player, Starving Winter Report. More touring followed, with the group developing a following in the United Kingdom after the album was released in England by Evangeline Records. The Deadstring Brothers are expected to release their third album through Bloodshot in the fall of 2007. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
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