Devil in a Woodpile, they play blues. They also play country. Ragtime. Hot Jazz. Hillbilly. It's all the same to them. It's all taken from the same deep, muddy well called American Music that existed long before wise guy marketing goons and interweb algorithms decided to categorize and sub-categorize the whole mess.
Rick "Cookin'" Sherry is the living, breathing, carnival barker fronting the trio. He's got an uncanny ability to channel the blues roots of a 30's juke joint wailer through his 21st century foghorn pipes, creating an outright eerie (and slightly unhinged) persona; the ghost of Skip James or Big Bill Broonzy come to life. He scrapes a washboard, pounds a marching drum with a foot pedal, and whoops on his harmonica like only a top-notch bad ass would--punctuating it all with a crash symbol. He's now splitting his time with the Sanctified Grumblers.
Bassist Tom Ray learned how to play stand up from Willie Dixon. He's played with the Bottle Rockets, Waco Brothers, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts and currently in Neko Case's band. His hobbies are fishing (don't ask him about it, he'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know), motor sports, and maintaining his legendary utility belt--he's like some sort of bass-playin' super hero. Guitarist Joel Paterson is one of the best in Chi-town. He's played with Kelly Hogan's jazz posse, The Wooden Leg, released his own pedal steel record (which we highly recommend) and can be found on stages all over town with anyone with the sense to let him play. We don't think Joel has any hobbies.
Devil was the backing band for ground zero Delta bluesman David "Honeyboy" Edwards. They were also the backing force in the kiddie punk supergroup the Wee Hairy Beasties.
Devil In A Woodpile doesn’t have to turn it up to 11 to get their point across--one listen to their raunchy, acoustic mayhem and you’ll be convinced.
- "The Pagans Had It Right" on Bloodshot's 13 Days of Xmas
- "Sloppy Drunk Blues" on Bloodshot Six Pack to Go: Working Songs for the Drinking Class
- Charlie Parr covers Devil's "Manifold" on While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records
- "Shake It And Break It" video on the DVD Bloodied But Unbowed
- "Rock Island Line" w/ Jane Baxter Miller on Poor Little Knitter on the Road
- "Easy Ridin' Mama" on Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records
- "Funky Butt" on The Bottle Let Me Down
- "Hanged Man" on Pine Valley Cosmonauts' Executioner's Last Songs: Volume One
- "John Hardy" Rick Sherry on the Pine Valley Cosmonauts' Executioner's Last Songs: Volumes Two and Three
- "Got Just What I Want" on For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records
- "Stealin'" on Old Town School Songbook: Volume 4
- "Salty Dog" on Old Town School Songbook: Volume 1