Americana made up of Florida swamp music, folk, country, zydeco, and bluegrass.

12 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Americana, WORLD: Zydeco

Show all album songs: Living In Matlacha Songs


Details:
The Yard Dogs are one of southwest Florida's hottest bands, performing uplifting and entertaining music which blends Zydeco, blues, blue grass, Cajun, country, folk and rock which they call "Florida Swamp Music". The Yard Dogs unique sound is due to the mixture of three eclectic musical instruments and musicians.

Charlie Kuchler on accordion and keyboards is a lifelong musician and has performed with C.J. Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco and Jimmy Buffett. He has performed at such venues as the House of Blues, Milwaukee's Summerfest and Ohio's famous Put-In-Bay. He has shared the stage with U-2, Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon and others. Along with being an accomplished musician Charlie has also been a booking agent, national talent buyer and promoter.

Kip Lawrence performs on a guit-jo which is 6 string banjo with incredible percussive qualities. In 1999 he recorded a solo CD "Alone With A Song" and toured the East coast after receiving radio air play. He has co-written songs with Johnny "Rockaday" McKenzie and Austin Church who wrote Jimmy Buffett's "Brand New Country Star". He has shared the stage with hit makers Gretchen Peters ("Independence Day") and Chuck Cannon (writer of many of Toby Keith's songs).

It's hard to believe a graduate from West Point would end up playing a bass instrument called a Rhumba Box, harmonica and a scrub board for a living, but that's just what Brian Travis did. Brian has developed as a musician by accompanying fellow performers on stage at gigs and open jams. He also learned to use 3 chords to write numerous entertaining and poignant songs. He was soon in a duo that played weekly at the musical Mecca known as Bert's Bar in Matlacha, Florida. That's where he met Charlie and Kip at an open stage jam session. As the 3 played together they developed a huge following and are drawing large crowds at many SW Florida venues.

The Yard Dogs live show is upbeat, entertaining and fun. Charlie and Kip dance through the crowd, via wireless microphones, exhorting the audience to a frenzy while Brian holds down the bass and occasionally steps out front with his blues harp and scrub board. You never have a dull show with the Yard Dogs. Just ask one of their many fans.

The Yard Dogs have played many of the top venues in Florida including Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa and The Green Parrot and Schooner's Wharf in Key West. In August of 2005 and 2006 they performed at the Wisconsin State Fair. The Yard Dogs recently toured the Mid-west with stops in Milwaukee, Madison, The Wisconsin Dells and The Yard Arm on the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa. They are enjoyed by thousands at many festivals like The Cajun/Zydeco Festval in Deerfield Beach, The Watertown Riverfest in Watertown, Wisconsin, The SW Florida Music Festival and The Cajun-Fest in North Fort Myers, to name a few. They also have sold 1000's of copies of their first CD "Live at Bert's Bar". Their second CD "Welcome to Paradise", released in November 2004, is selling briskly. They're 3rd CD "Matlacha Reeboks" truly shows their musicianship and writing abilities. Their 4th cd was released in November of 2007 and was recorded live at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. Entitled "Are We In Canada Yet?" it's the closest thing yet to a live Yard Dog show.
It's always Mardi Gras with The Yard Dogsâ¦they even bring the beads!!!!