art by nico and photo by konstantin sergeyev

The Casa de Chihuahua is an upscale bed and breakfast in Chihuahua Mexico. Ironically, it's also the name of the New York City / Nelson County, Virginia "street-grass" kingpins and queen. The band plays bluegrass music soaked in a punk aesthetic, and affected by urban surroundings. "The Chihuahuas" as we affectionately call them, conjure an earnest and cohesive sound from divergent places, the squats of New York and the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. Their live shows have become legendary whether it be as busking or on a stage. They have a certain captivating charisma and charm that won't allow folks to ignore them.

The Chihuahuas are now heading out on tour, in Monkeyclaus' Dirty Bird, a 1964 diesel full size bus. The Dirty Bird was the noble chariot of Virginia's Hackensaw Boys for many years and many thousands of miles, and has been passed along to Monkeyclaus and then lent out to the Casa de Chihuahua for their current adventure. A whole novel could be written about the saga of this bus alone, which after years of inactivity has been brought back to life by band manager "Ray Ray" and family / friend "Bones". The tour will take them from Brooklyn, through Virginia, and to points south until they reach the SXSW festival and leave their mark. Highlight's of the tour will include a gig at legendary dive-bar, the Abbey, in New Orleans (where the booze supposedly never stopped flowing throughout the whole Katrina fiasco) and a huge gig with close friends Leftover Crack in South Carolina, and of course the SXSW madness.

Check out a video Ray Ray made of the Chihuahua's kicking up dirt behind the studio.

The reason, I proclaim the Chihuahuas to be considered dangerous, is that they are a wild wrecking crew, who tear through cases of PBR like rabid dogs. They proclaim this to be their "Virginia Jihad" tour, a name appropriated from close friend and album collaborator Bobby St. Ours. There is danger also in their intensity and lack of pretension. Watch out SXSW. Music this passionate and real can hardly be contained. The Chihuahua's could really give a sh*t about the record business and corporate America itself who they proclaim to be a "reckless cunt." Whoa! Did i mention that they are also really sweet and endearing. You can't write tunes this sweet without a heart of gold.

In their own words the band explains themselves thusly, "Casa De Chihuahua was born in a heat lightning filled blizzard on 2/11/06 at Rockstarbar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Blownout Boot Boys were supposed to play but Piggy got lost on the L train and Nico showed up out of nowwhere and joined the band. The name had to change cuz she's not a boy at all. Didn't had boots neither and they were'nt blown out. The band plays lots of quote unquote "gigs" and makes persons dance. They sing about trains and apocolypses or apocolypsi or whatever and enjoy taking long walks on the beach, going to the theatre, and f*cking."

The band includes, Nico Ramirez: washboard and vocals, Morgan O'Kane: banjo and vocals, Raphael Wintersberger: acccordian, dobro and vocals, Piggy: washtub bass, howls, and percussion, Zack Orion: vocals, guitar, harmonica, suitcase and tambourine and Bobby St. Ours lent his talents to the record on fiddle and vocals. For the current tour and beyond, the band is now joined by Jay Ridgley on drums for a fuller sound. Their album is called "Amat Victoria Curam" which translates to "victory favors those who take pains". They recorded at Monkeyclaus this past autumn. In the words of Nico, "We spent 4 days in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in beautiful Nelson County, Virginia...Many of us would say that the days spent there were amongst the best in our lives; the ones who say otherwise are probably lying for various reasons. What can be agreed upon is that we poured our souls into this one." Yet, another recording that has made the monkey's breast swell with pride.

TOURDATES

March 2nd @ Trash Bar in Brooklyn

March 3rd @ Starr Hill in Charlottesville, VA w/ Holy Bear and Accordion Death Squad

March 5th @ Gourmet Perk's in Asheville, NC

March 6th @ Ground Zero in Spartansburg, SC w/ Leftover Crack and Citizen Fish

March 9th @ The Abbey in New Orleans, LA

March 10th @ Dragon's Den in New Orleans, LA

March 16th @ SXSW Australian Cattle God Records Showcase in Austin, TX

March 17th @ SXSW TBA

March 31st @Starr Hill with Jim Waive and the Hackensaw Boys!

more dates coming soon....

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