About the
Band
The Flat Mountain Girls
are a high-energy old-time string band based in Portland, Oregon.
The Flats are known for tight,
raw three-part harmonies, powerful fiddling, and performances that explode
with irrepressible glee and bawdy humor.
Their repertoire includes
arrangements of Carter Family classics, traditional songs from the Southern
mountains, cowboy yodels, romping fiddle tunes, and the occasional original,
combining tremendous enthusiasm with great respect for the old-time
tradition.
With Lisa
Marsicek playing fiddle, Rachel Gold
on banjo, Nann Alleman on guitar and Laura
Quigley on bass, the Flat Mountain Girls bring foot-stomping
fun to every performance.
Lisa
Marsicek - fiddle, vocals
Lisa
Marsicek's love for old-time music began with an obsession with
78 RPM records and the gems those old records contained.
Lisa started playing fiddle
in Chicago in the early 1990's, and with a solid foundation in Midwestern
tunes, she moved to Georgia to learn Southern fiddle styles.
Lisa performed with the Sugar
Beats, and recorded with Freakwater on "Feels Like the
Third Time". A twist of fate brought her to Portland where she
co-founded the Flat Mountain Girls, as well as Miz Kitty's
Parlour, a 1920's style vaudeville show. She also plays fiddle with
the Sassparilla Jug Band.
Lisa's fiddle playing has
an unmistakable drive that takes over your feet!
Rachel
Gold - banjo, vocals
Rachel
Gold has been playing old-time and bluegrass music since falling
in love with the Carter Family ten years ago.
She performed with The Potbelly
Boys and The Bristol Sisters before seeing the light and moving to Portland,
where she co-founded the Flat Mountain Girls in 2001.
Rachel also plays guitar
and sings in Whiskey Puppy. Her energy, humor, and love for old
string band music are reflected in her powerful performances, old-style
no-holds-barred lead and harmony singing, and maniacal obsession with
both gingham and old-time song lyrics.
Back to Top
Nann
Alleman - guitar, spoons,
vocals
Nann
Allemann got hornswaggled into joining the Flat Mountain Girls
in the Summer of 2003.
Nann has been playing music
since she was in diapers. Nann played with her first band, Mad Hattie,
for two years, which she co-founded in 1997. She currently heads her
own crazy roots band, Spigot.
She brings a driving guitar,
masterful songwriting, heartbreaking harmonies, powerful lead singing,
and an unmatchable stage presence to the Flat Mountain Girls.
Laura
Quigley - bass
Laura
Quigley has been singing all her life, informally harmonizing with
her mom, Carol, and, for years, training and singing in jazz and classical
choirs in high school and college in Eugene, OR.
She also studied theater and music at Portland State University. Laura
began teaching herself the upright acoustic bass in 1998, and in 2001
became the Washington State Champion Bass Player and has been called
upon by artists such as Laurie Lewis and Jim Page.
She is the bass player for several Portland bands including Misty
River and Midnight Serenaders.
The Flat Mountain Girls are thrilled to have her aboard!
Back
to Top
|