MusicTree Festival will be going down June 7 – 11 in Manchester, Tennessee. We will be publishing info and features about the bands as we close in on this event. Feel free to check out our coverage from 2012.

Let everyone know who you are, where you are from and what style of music you play.

We are a blues/folk band from Portland, TN called The Django Riders

What do you do for fun? You know…besides music?

(Jay Cathcart/Lead Singer & Rhythm Guitar) – Jay’s really into standup comedy (John Mulaney, Hannibal Buress, Daniel Tosh) and also a big movie nerd, but his true passion is illegal back room gambling rings and drinking imported tea while dressed in full drag.

(Josh Gentry/Drums) – Josh races dirt bikes and fixes air conditioners and that’s not even the funny part he also is a huge supporter of OJ Simpson and runs a process meat and pack bunny farm.

(Chuck Radin/Bass) – Chuck actually spends most of his free time in his home studio doing recordings and also playing with his self titled band Radin. 5 years from now someone will tell Chuck he is legally blind in both eyes and the world he actually thought was real was nothing but pure infinite darkness. Chuck also spends his days trying to finish his time machine and learning the english language.

(Tim Cathcart/Lead Guitar) – Tim likes to chill by the pool and loves him some good ol Football. He was also dared to light a mysterious box on fire one time, and everyone knows Tim doesn’t turn down a dare so he covered that bad boy in some lighter fluid and set it aflame, needless to say it was a box of small kittens and an unnamed boy which is why Tim is no longer allowed at Animal Shelters or Elementary Schools anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5vGnjVk-qQ

What was the last song you listened to?

(Jay) – House On Fire – Fitz And The Tantrums

(Josh) – Moneygrabber – Fitz And The Tantrums

(Chuck) – Gasoline – Seether

(Tim) – That’s The Trouble With Never – Van Halen

What did you listen to when you were younger? What do you listen to now? Have your tastes changed?

(Jay) – When Jay was younger he was really into R&B and Rock as he got older his taste progressed more to Funk, Soul, Folk, and Blues music. But you can still no doubt tell that rap and r&b play roles in the music he writes, but he really enjoys all music as long as he thinks it sounds good.

(Josh) – When Josh was younger he listened to more heavy metal now it’s more of soul and r&b music but he still keeps some of the hard rock roots

(Chuck) – Chuck mostly listened to Rock and Top 40 music now he really enjoys pretty much all genres of music.

(Tim) – When Tim was younger he was really into Rock and Hard Core Old Country. Not much has really changed for Tim’s musical taste except he has a very high appreciation for the Blues now also.

Was there an “ah-ha” moment in your life when you knew music would be the path you were going to walk?

(Jay) – When he went to see one of his favorite bands play live he knew that’s what he wanted to do from that point, also when he started writing music he realized how much he enjoyed putting his thoughts down on paper.

(Josh) – Getting his first drum set it was instant love

(Chuck) – Chuck says it’s just something he always kind of knew and was interested in from a very young age

(Tim) – The day he heard Eruption by Eddie Van Halen

How did you hear about Music Tree Fest?

We played it last year but I believe how we first heard about it was good ol Craigslist (the place where all musicians go to complain)

How do you feel about being a part of Music Tree Festival?

It’s such an honor and a great experience. There’s just something special about being apart of such a big festival with so many bands. It’s almost like you’re playing for a cause.

Do you have plans for Bonnaroo?

To sit on the couch and listen to everyone talk about how hot it is on the news, and when we sit on our couch we do it in the nude…..everyday….and we don’t clean the couch….ever.

Do you have an album available? Where can we get it? Where can people connect with you online?

We have a live album that’s been out for awhile but we are releasing our debut studio single in 2 weeks. The single will be called “Fever” and you will be able to get it from pretty much all the major places Itunes, Amazon, etc. The easiest place to find it however will be our website www.TheDjangoRiders.com and www.facebook.com/TheDjangoRiders

Any last thoughts? Shout outs?

Just want to give a big shout out to our hero penicillin, and also our engineer and producer Graham Waks of Left + Right studio

Also, Tori Harris of Tori Harris Photography deserves a huge shout out. If it wasn’t for her we would never have a video or picture posted.