San Diego Reader

Dave Lowenstein: Banjo, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals | Mark Markowitz: Drums | Brennan Orndorff: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals

Genre: Country, Rock

Sound description: Raw and dirty mixture of country, bluegrass, and bluesy rock, often both heartfelt and satirical at the same time.

RIYL: Shoestring Strap, Johnny Cash, Old 97's, Son Volt, the Band, the Jayhawks

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Related Links

• Mudgrass website

• Facebook

Synoposis

Inception: San Diego, 2010

Influences: Old 97's, Son Volt, Wilco, Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo, Jayhawks, Ryan Adams, Hank Williamses, Hank Thompson, Bobby Bare, Townes Van Zandt, Willie, Waylon, Merle, Junior Brown, Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, Emmylou, the Grateful Dead

Background:

Formed in late 2010, Mudgrass includes Dave Lowenstein (bass, vocals), Brennan Orndorff (guitar, vocals), and Mark Markowitz (drums), all of whom played with Shoestring Strap until that band split in late 2007.

The band took their name from a 2007 Shoestring Strap full-length. “When Shoestring Strap put out Mudgrass, some of the copies came out with a guy talking about religion on the CD,” says Lowenstein. “The CD factory gave us 1,025 new copies for free to make up for their massive error. Then, the band broke up like a month later.”

“When we got back together as a trio, we weren't sure what to call the band, Mudgrass became the obvious choice, since we still have hundreds of Mudgrass CDs. We just tell people that album is called Shoestring Strap.”

Their 2012 Just That Way album, recorded live, includes a mash-up pairing the Who's “Pinball Wizard” with Johnny Cash's “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Discography