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Okay, I'll admit. I don't always tell
the truth. "Do I look fat in these pants?"
"Oh...no...you look great!" (Of course you look fat, otherwise
you wouldn't be asking.) You know, lies like that. The lies that
keep you from getting your butt kicked by a large angry woman wearing
pants that have been stretched well beyond the strength rating for any
natural fibers.
I also occasionally lie on my taxes.
It would be easy to lie right now- tell you all types of
glowing things about the Bottom Dwellers, a country band based in Woodland.
You know, stuff like: "This is a great bunch of guys." Or, "Man,
their music jams!" But I'm not going to lie to you. You deserve more
than that.
I'm not going to lie, because I don't have to.
This is a great
bunch of guys, and their music does jam.
Of all the stories I've done on InsideWoodland, the most
fun I've had so far was sitting in on a rehearsal
with the Bottom Dwellers. Part of it was the guys in the band. We stood
around and just shot the shit for about 45 minutes before they even picked
up their instruments. We talked about music, our jobs, and everything
else. It was relaxed and easy.
Then they started to play some music. I really had no idea
what to expect, maybe some amateur version of Kenny Chesney or something.
You know, a real crap-bucket.
But I didn't get that. They picked up their
instruments, and immediately jumped into an up-tempo country song called
The Devil. I stood right next to the band, and right in the middle
of the music. Man- it sounded good. They play well- just
up front and out there. You could tell these guys knew what they were
doing. There were no excuses, no false starts, no mumbling into the mike.
It was the real deal.
I was impressed.
So take a look at the pictures, and learn a little more
about this local band.
And I promise you, there is a big bonus later on this page- music
to download and listen to!
Adam is a high-school math teacher
in Winters. He's never had any of his current students at shows,
but he's seen a lot of ex-students, especially when they play
at Ludy's.
Most embarrassing album he ever owned
Adam was into The Grateful Dead when he was younger, and didn't
really have any embarrassing albums. But he did once own a Shaun
Cassidy shirt.
"We're against new commercial country."
(But I did get all the Bottom Dwellers to admit that
Shania Twain videos were hot.)
Adam and Ivan are the two main song writers- but no matter
who writes the lyrics, the entire band figures out what their
own piece of the music should sound like.
"We're Yolo County's Finest"
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Chris once got so tired and
drunk at a private party gig, he 'fell asleep' (passed out)
while playing the drums. But he did say that everyone else at
the party was so drunk they didn't even notice.
Best Quote: "(Def Lepard's)
Pyromania was a monumental album."
Most embarrassing album he ever owned
Night Ranger Midnight Madness.
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Ivan is a former breakdancer
"I used to bring my own cardboard."
Most embarrassing album he ever owned
Three different Enya albums. (Three?!?)
Do you always dress like a cowboy?
"No, I wore this because you were coming to take
pictures." (If I was from NASA, would he have dressed
up like Buzz Lightyear?)
Ivan built his own guitar- it took
about three months to complete- it's the one in the picture.
Best Quote: "What was that
song about? I don't even know...And I wrote it."
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Mark is a web designer at RH Philips Winery.
(Ivan works there too) He also maintains the Bottom
Dwellers website.
Most embarrassing album he ever owned
Jennifer Love Hewitt's Let's Go Bang.
IW: How many groupies do you have?
Mark: "Four...our wives."
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| No shows found. Stay tuned for more. |
The Bottom Dwellers play a lot of different shows - in the
summer they usually play about twice a month. Not bad for a garage band
from Woodland. At some of the shows they are the headliner, and get to
play for quite a while - sometimes 30 or 40 songs in a night. But some
bar gigs are short- only about 45 minutes. Which is too bad, because that
is when they are just getting warmed up.
They usually get paid a percentage of the bar's cover charge.
Any beer they drink comes out of their pay. Once they were at a bar where
the crowd was really small- but the Bottom Dwellers drank a lot of beer.
After the show, they ended up owing the bar $50.
Strangest thing that happened at a gig:
We played at an old folks home once...
Just imagine they aren't in a garage, and there is no gold foam on
the wall..
That's exactly what the shows are like.
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Hey- this is music, no sense in just talking
about it-
why not give it a listen?
Here are 5 tracks off of the album, American Twang.
Click on the titles to listen
to the songs right now. Or, right-click on the
title and choose 'Save As.' Then you can save the songs to your
computer and listen to them over and over again!
All of the songs on the album were written by the Bottom Dwellers.
According to Adam: "We're not a cover band, but we do play
requests." They only do the requests during shows, their
album is 100% Woodland grown.
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| Bottom
Dweller |
This song just makes me think about being 3 beers
down on my way to a six-pack. (And I don't even drink) It's real
mellow and it flows through the longest track on the CD at 5 minutes
and 28 seconds. At the end they take off on a little guitar jam
that could have been 3 times longer and I would have been happy-
great concert jam potential. But I still want to know, who is
the one with sweat running down their face? Because if it HER, I'm
cool with it. If it is HIM, well then I need to clean this icky
feeling off of my body. |
| California
Roads |
Think Johnny Cash in the cab of a truck- getting a contact high
off Willie Nelson as he plays guitar
chords. But it's a quick one, less than 2 minutes. |
| Chicken
Coop |
Smokey, low and warm. That's the guitar- real bass, not that crap
you hear coming out of Hondas. The lyrics are cool, because they're
singing about growin' up in a Northern California town. It's also
got some guitar that reminds me of CCR that I really wish just went
on and on. You might be surprised by the chorus, but it flows.
I think this is my favorite song on the album. |
| Hey
California |
This would be a great driving song. This one is a little faster
and brighter than Chicken Coop or Bottom Dweller.
We can all sing along with this one. "California, treat me
right!" What the heck are his "Funky lookin' pants"
anyway? |
| Reno |
Like Hey California, this is another up tempo driving
song. Crap, I almost want to drive over the mountains, just so I
can sing this song as I hit the Donner Pass. Great song, but totally
different from the first 3. Too bad 'Woodland' just doesn't
make a good song lyric... |
Music generously provided by the Bottom Dwellers.
So take it, listen to it, and enjoy it.
Before they get some big record contract, and sue
us all.
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"The neighbors sometimes applaud
when we're done."
I sat in on a Wednesday night rehearsal in Mark's garage
near downtown Woodland. The one-car garage was half dedicated to the rehearsal
space, and half to mundane things like laundry, and household storage.
The area they play in has some additions to create a different
ambiance- egg carton foam up on the walls, a few funky lights, and a bottle
opener stuck to the wall. This isn't some sort of high-class studio, but
it works.
An artist needs to get inspiration from somewhere...
They've chosen John Travolta.
During this rehearsal they were working on the playlist for their
next gig- you can see the playlist
behind Ivan. In the background you see Chris on the drums...I feel sorry
for drummers though,
they're never in any good pictures.
Mark is a pretty quiet guy and doesn't like too much attention.
Sometimes he just tries to blend in...
But I think the shirt matching the wall was going too far.
So that's it- that's the Bottom Dwellers.
Yolo County's finest.
I highly recommend you try to catch one of their shows- and even buy their
CD.
The calendar here will stay up to date, so keep coming
back to check.
This is a good band, and it's another opportunity to support artists in
Woodland.
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From: Fifth Groupie - Date: 28-Jul-05 |
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I've seen these guys strum, drum and sing more times than a squirrel scores an acorn in one lifetime and skin me if they ain't one of best darn entertainment troupes around.
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From: Fifth Dweller - Date: 02-Aug-05 |
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I play the mouth harp in the band, and if they ever try to leave me out of an interview again, I'm gonna take away their sideburn mousse.
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From: Maria - Date: 08-Aug-05 |
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The Bottom Dwellers are really good! Take it from me - one of the wife groupies. Yes I'm a wife. Chris's wife to be exact. This is the first band he has ever played country with. In fact, it is the first time he has played country music at all. His other bands included: blues, rock, funk, punk.....
Anyway, check them out if you have the chance.
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From: King Bubba - Date: 19-Aug-05 |
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Reckon I'll skeedaddle on over to the fair, git me a roasted ear and catch them dweller fellers. Hot Damn!!!
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From: A new fan - Date: 23-Aug-05 |
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These Bottom Dwellers were SO GREAT at the fair! Thanks for exposing us to them, insidewoodland.com!
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From: Impressed - Date: 23-Aug-05 |
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I checked these "Dweller fellers" out at the fair, and was very impressed. They mostly played their own music while a lot of the other bands did cover after cover. Picked up a CD and my kid and I can't stop dancin to it. These guys got TALENT!
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From: nearby dweller - Date: |
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What's with these guys' sideburns? HAHAHAHA! WOOOO!
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From: roberto alderete III - Date: |
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ha, adam was my geometry teacher at whs, and chris used to live down the street from me. i would watch his old band practice at their house. anyway, i dont think this comment really matters, but i just wanted to put forth my two cents.
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From: Mr. InsideWoodland - Date: |
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Wow- the Bottom Dweller's at Al's. The world has come full circle, and it has a new epicenter- the Pile. Two of my favorite parts of Woodland together- this should be good. Now if only I could get some fine ladies to meet me at the Nacho Cart, the evening will be complete.
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From: Christy - Date: 14-Nov-05 |
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I saw them play Saturday at Morrison's downstairs bar. They were great! Real fun to listen to while eating and drinking in the bar. Where can we get some CD's?
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From: Bull Fiddle Bottom Dweller - Date: 17-Nov-05 |
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Thanks Christy! We plan to come back real soon. Sign our mailing list and we'll let you know when.
Bottom Dwellers CDs are available on bottomdwellersmucic.com, iTunes, CDBaby.com and at any performance. 18 songs. $12 online, $10 at the show!
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From: Rachel Mison - Date: 21-Dec-05 |
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I don't think that your music is that good if you ask me.also you should play something else instead of country music don't you think.sorry if this is a little hard but I'am going to speak my mind if I do't like something,but thank you anyway Bull Fiddle Bottom Dweller.I don't like you at all.
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From: Stephaine R. - Date: 21-Dec-05 |
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Ivan you can breakdance I think that, that is so cool that you can do that, I wish i could breakdance like you.Could you show how to breakdance or send a picture of you breakdancing I think you are cool, beacuse can brakdance, breakdancer's are hot to me and very sexy too.Don;t think that I'am crazy because I can be!
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From: KiKi H. - Date: 05-Jan-06 |
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Who are you kidding girls, Woodland needs more kick-ass dirt music like these guys. Rachel should get tucked in by her mommy, because I'm going to shake my tail for Adam. Join me, Stephanie?
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From: Sandy Ledesma - Date: 22-Dec-06 |
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Oh my...love the name! Dont ask how I found this website...weird. Glad to see music is still a part of your life Mark! Feliz Ano Nuevo Fellas!
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From: HIPPIE PHIL&LEESA - Date: 01-Jun-09 |
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ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE & HEAR YOU DUDES PLAY......SEE YA UP FRONT AGAIN!!!!!!LOVE OUR 2 CD'S TURNING ALL OUR FRIENDS ON TOO !!!!!
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