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The Lantern (OSU) Feature

Ragbirds aim to fly at Columbus concert

By Sara Bradley

bradley.249@osu.edu

Published: Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Updated: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 23:05

Inside of an eco-friendly, vegetable-oil-fueled tour bus are five band members with the ability to use eight different instruments, and they're headed for Columbus.

The Ragbirds will play at Woodlands Tavern in Grandview Heights at 11 p.m.

The Ragbirds combine influences of folk, pop and rock with a Celtic feel. Frontwoman Erin Zindle said in an email she was inspired by artists such as Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and Rusted Root.

Zindle leads the band, providing vocals and playing the violin, mandolin, banjo, accordion and percussion. Zindle's husband Randall Moore provides percussion and her brother T.J. Zindle plays guitar. In addition to Erin, T.J. and Moore, the band has Brian Crist on bass and Loren Kranz on drums.

Since their start as just Moore and Erin in 2005, the lineup has changed and so has their sound, thanks to their time on the road.

The major transition in their music came when T.J. joined in 2008. Erin said his influences brought more electric guitar causing the sound to gain a little edge, shifting toward a rock-and-roll feel.

"The road has been the major catalyst for change. As we have been touring for the last few years, we play between 150-200 shows a year, we have been able to experience how the music relates to many different audiences," Erin said in the email.

The show at Woodlands Tavern will include songs from their fourth studio album, 2009's "Finally Almost Ready."

Audience members can expect a folk rock sound infused with a little bit of rock-and-roll. The songs are "fun, danceable and diverse," Erin said in an email.

The five band members travel around the country in a Ford E-350 diesel bus that they converted to run on recycled waste vegetable oil in 2008. The bus is named "Cecilia" after the patron saint of music.

In an email, Erin said it has always been important to the band to reduce its impact on the Earth. In the course of a year with 200 tour stops, the band travels more than 100,000 miles.

"We're able to drastically cut our dependence on gas while at the same time helping our pocket book," Joe Choma, band manager, said in an email.

The band also avoids using plastic water bottles and made each of their albums with recycled materials.

The Ragbirds raise money to fund their albums and tours through Kickstarter.com, a website that connects artists, musicians and others with potential donors to fund projects. This year, the band has received $14,000 from fans to continue their tours.

The Ragbirds attempt to have their audiences "laugh, smile, dance, and enjoy a high-energy show featuring diverse sounds from around the world," Choma said in the email.

Woodlands Tavern patrons must be at least 18 years old. The tavern is located at 1200 W. 3rd Ave and tickets for the show, starting at 11 p.m., are $10 at the door.

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Toledo Free Press Feature

Ragbirds fly to Finn’s

Written by Vincent Scebbi | | vscebbi@toledofreepress.com

From her teenage days of listening to Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and Sting, worldly instruments have been a major influence in Erin Zindle’s music career.

“My love for world music started around then, as a teenager. I started writing songs around then and as I’ve grown over the years, these sounds I’m so emerged in and in love with have kind of found their own way into my songs and my writing in one way or another,” she said.

Zindle is the frontwoman, fiddler, banjo and mandolin player of the Ann Arbor based Ragbirds, who are set to play its 8:30 p.m. gig at Mickey Finn’s April 21.

The Ragbirds are defined by its website as a fusion of folk rock with some danceable beats along with Zindle’s Celtic style fiddle playing.

“[The audience] can expect to see a diverse range of music but there is also a common thread throughout, which mostly has to do with my vocal and violin parts,” Zindle said. “One may be a tango and the next is an African drum piece and the next is Latin. It keeps people interested and it’s a lot of fun for us.”

While studying her family’s roots and culture, Zindle learned more about Celtic music, another influence. Aside from its typical song list, the Ragbirds bring styles such as Latin dance and African drum pieces. Each member plays a drum and Zindle said it helps establish communication between the band mates during the set.

“The music is polyrhythmic and you have a whole bunch of people listening to each other really well to make the piece make sense,” she said. “It’s a good thing to learn. I found out the players change over the years, but every time we get a new player we teach them the African drum pieces and it’s just a good way to rehearse and tighten up as a band.”

Aside from Zindle, the Ragbirds is comprised of guitarist T.J. Zindle, brother of the frontwoman, Brian Crist on bass, Loren Kranz on drumset and Erin Zindle’s husband Randall Moore as a general percussionist.

The married couple met prior to the formation of the Ragbirds while traveling in similar musical circles. Moore was a guest performer in Zindle’s former band. When that group split, the duo played in a few different bands together as well as street performing in Ann Arbor.

“As we were dating we would perform in the street for tips in downtown Ann Arbor and get enough money for cocktails later in the night,” Moore said. “We definitely bonded over music.”

The band name, coined by Zindle, comes from an unexplainable childhood fascination with birds.

The band is raising funds for its fourth studio album, with help through the Kickstarter program. Kickstarter is the world’s largest fundraising project for artists ranging from literature to fine arts to performing musicians.

Moore said the artist sets a fundraising goal and fans, friends and family are able to make pledges to help fund the project.

“We used Kickstarter as a way to get our fans involved in the recording process and it also helped raise money to help us because we’re an independent band and we’re recording solely on our own is a very expensive process,” he said. “Instead of going into debt over it, we decided to use Kickstarter.”

The Ragbirds’ goal of $10,000 was met recently and as of April 19, more than $13,000 has been raised, according to the band’s website.

Moore said they were able to raise money quickly through an incentive program ranging from autographed albums to merchandise and the largest incentive being a private performance by the Ragbirds.

“We’re really blessed by the amount of supporters,” Moore said.

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Goal Met! Now For the $15K Challenge!

Yay! Wow! We did it!  We launched our Kickstarter campaign on March 21st and on April 14th, we met (and passed) our $10,000 goal!!  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so very much for your support! There are still 5 days left and our project is growing in scope and size with every contribution. We're so excited, and we couldn't do this without you.   Sincerely, Erin, Randall, TJ, Brian and Loren The Ragbirds   The 15K Challenge - Win An Ipod! The money we've raised so far will surely get us in the studio, but since we have a bit of time left in this campaign AND every extra dollar counts toward the production of this album we've decided to see if we can push things a little further. The money we receive beyond our original goal will help us pay for top notch mixing and mastering, a national marketing campaign, printing options, publicity costs, etc. So we've decided to launch a little something that we're calling "The 15K Challenge." Here's how it works:  if we do hit the new $15,000 goal, then we will draw three names (every single backer - from $1 to $2,000 - will have a shot at winning!) and give away three iPod shuffles fully loaded with The Ragbirds' entire catalog of music, including songs that are no longer in print, Erin's solo album and a few live tracks. Now's the time to throw in a few bucks if you haven't already, or increase your contribution if you already have and most importantly, spread the word to friends and family! Every little bit helps. Let's keep growing!

Gratitude

Thank you so much for your continued support!  We are humbled and honored by all the love and encouragement we have been shown.  It means so much to us to know that you are behind this new album and we look forward to bringing these songs to you in the best way possible!

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Exclusive Kickstarter T-Shirts!

We’ll be printing these shirts exclusively for our backers on  Kickstarter!  They will be uniquely printed on recycled *almost new* tees of various colors and styles!

Click here for more info!

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With all this album talk we figured it was about time to give you a sneak peek at another new tune. "The Bully" is our cajun zydeco tune drawing inspiration from all those hot and steamy nights touring the gulf coast! For more information on the album, check it out here: http://kck.st/gYwM5J

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VIP CD Celebration Show Announced!

With 8 days left to meet our goal of $10,000 we are nearly 80% of the way there!  We couldn't have reached this point without all of you amazing fans and supporters!  We feel truly blessed!

We want to throw a special event and give you guys a sneak peak at the new album before it's available anywhere!  We're excited to announce more details today.  This is going to be a one of a kind, exclusive event! The Ragbirds (in conjunction with Why You Jam? Productions and Michigan Live Music Scene) will be a throwing a party to celebrate the release of our new CD!  The show is confirmed for Thursday September 8th at Magnetic Studios in Pontiac, MI and it will be a one-of-a-kind event in this super unique 200 capacity venue.    Erin will be opening the show.  (This will be Erin's debut live solo performance!)  Then The Ragbirds will perform a live preview of the new album - playing all the songs consecutively from beginning to end.  Black Lotus Brewing Company will be releasing a new batch of beer named after The Ragbirds.  This will be your only chance to taste this special brew!  With the philosophy of "Think global, drink local," Black Lotus brews some of the best beer our amazing state has to offer and are huge supporters of Michigan artists!  We're very excited to have Black Lotus part of this special show!

You won't be able to buy tickets directly - this is an intimate VIP show for our supporters, family and friends - not for sale to the public. You can however get your tickets for a limited time by becoming a "Blue Jay" backer ($50 or more) on Kickstarter!

More details and other special surprises will be announced soon, so stay tuned!  Click HERE to learn more!

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The boys destroyed these last night on our day off.  The Blockley tonight!

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Be A VIP - and have the card to prove it! The Ragbirds Membership Card is only available for a limited time through Kickstarter. With it you gain guest list status to up to 10 shows (free admission) and you get 10% off all merchandise purchased at concerts. It's a colorful, laminated card designed by Erin, with a hole for your key ...ring, so you can carry it with you! http://kck.st/gYwM5J

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shot by:  Bearsville Theatre, Woodstock NY  (4/9/2011)

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Caravan East Coast TOUR

Murder, Adultery, Ghosts, Monsters, Mischief and Candy. No, we haven't turned to the dark side, but we have been on tour with Caravan Of Thieves and their quirky theatrics revolve around naughty topics, playing games of deceiving the audience while getting them to sing along all the while. All this dark fun is set to thick sticky melodies and mind-blowing musical prowess. It's been fun for us to open the show these last few days and there are about a week's worth of shows left, throughout the East Coast. TONIGHT: Sun April 10- Iron Horse (Northampton, Mass) Tues April 12- Blockley Pourhouse (Philadelphia, PA) 8pm (the time on their website is wrong!)> Wed April 13- Pianos Upstairs Lounge (NYC) - 8pm (not with Caravan) Thurs April 14- Millersville University (Lancaster, PA) Fri April 15 - Night Cat (Easton, MD) Sat April 16- Cafe Nola (Frederick, MD) Sun April 17- The Record Collector (Bordentown, NJ) More info on our website www.theragbirds.com

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What I haven’t said or now have a different way of saying:

I’m pulling back the curtain for some of these songs which offer a behind-the-scenes perspective on the touring life. “Six Wheels”...

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Working on Songs in the van!!

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East Coast Tour Starts Tomorrow!

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Some video from our recent show at The Verve in Terre Haute, IN provided by The In Store

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FREE EBIRD!

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Be The Wheels for The Ragbirds' New Album!