Reed Turchi and the Caterwauls

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“This is why they call it the dirty South.” American Songwriter

“Vital, live, and essential.” Living Blues Magazine

“…like ZZ Top fuzz choked out by weeds, though a few lysergic licks leach through…Dr. John-like hoodoo vocals over a swampy, psychedelic guitar lifted from Tony Joe White’s back pages. “The record rolls like the Mississippi hills, but Turchi—born wanderers who travel to the Triangle so often they seem more local than regional—embraces multiple Deep South strains.” -Indy Weekly

“Turchi cook up a swampy gumbo of blues and Memphis soul, highlighted by killer slide-guitar grooves.” Bucket Full of Nails

“Turchi claims new ground for Southern rock and roll music.” Country Fried Rock

The Caterwauls are at the intersection of Desert Blues and Southern Soul, with tastes of funk, indie-rock, and gospel all blended in.

Raised in the Swannanoa Valley just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, Reed Turchi grew up playing piano, focusing on boogie woogie and New Orleans styles before becoming infatuated with slide guitar. While learning Hill Country Blues (RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Mississippi Fred McDowell) firsthand in North Mississippi, he founded his blues-rock trio “TURCHI,” which released its debut album Road Ends in Water in 2012. Called “everything a blues fan could want” (LA Examiner), the album featured guest Luther Dickinson on three tracks.

After four albums fronting his blues-rock trio, Reed Turchi released his solo debut, Speaking in Shadows, March 4th 2016 on Devil Down Records. To implement the new album’s sound live, Reed assembled The Caterwauls: Memphis drummer Andrew McNeill, Nashville-based slide guitarist Joey Fletcher and singer/keyboardist Heather Moulder. On stage, Turchi and Moulder switch between lead and supporting vocals — his voice a drawling rasp, hers a soulful croon. Their performances showcase a wide range of musical and songwriting influences–from Randy Newman and JJ Cale to Beck, T Rex, and Tinariwen—combined with Turchi’s trademark kudzu boogie, driven by infectious guitar hooks and punching rhythm.

Speaking in Shadows features an all-star group of musicians, including drummer Paul Taylor, saxophonist Art Edmaiston (Gregg Allman Band), Andrew Trube and Anthony Farrell (Greyhounds), and renowned Italian guitarist Adriano Viterbini. Full of finely crafted songs built on a foundation of Memphis groove and fat-back rhythm, fresh textures abound, from the carnival of sounds on tongue-in-cheek “Drawn and Quartered” to the heartbreaking vocals of Heather Moulder on the spare, haunting lead track “Pass Me Over.” As a songwriter, Reed confidently mines the classic blues/rock vein in “Offamymind” (“Well I can barely walk, so I guess I oughta/ Get behind this wheel and drive”), shifts gears to the satirical “Everybody’s Waiting (for the end to come),” and turns introspective in “Looking Up Past Midnight.”