mischief brew ~ barratry call

Mischief Brew is an Anarchist folk-punk band. It is a wicked concoction by Erik Petersen -- a musical feast falling somewhere between the categories of pirate punk, Celtic folk, gypsy swing, devilish jazz, American olde-tyme and country. It's good music to stomp, kick, pogo, jitterbug, waltz, drink, twist and shout to -- whether the performance is solo acoustic or with a backing band of accordion, drums, and mandolin.

Erik started making music at a young age, but it wasn't until age 16 that he started playing shows with his punk band, The Orphans. Influenced by "Fresh Fruit"-era Dead Kennedys and "Worlds Apart"-era Subhumans, the band had released a 7" ("Anthems for Doomed Youth," 1996) before half of them were even old enough to drive. They officially disbanded in 2000 and Erik continued to make music...digging into the past for a more traditional sound to mix with punk ideals. The result was "Mirth," a demo of acoustic punk influenced by medieval danses and raucous Romany dust-raising ditties (2000). The tape was rough and scratchy - yet it was clear that there were solid anthems buried under that hiss, which was evident by the scope of the tape, spanning city and state. Logically, a live show was expected -- and despite the drums and extra instrumentation on the tape (all layered on a four-track recorder), there was no band. Over the years, seeing "Mischief Brew" on a flyer meant you were just seeing Erik Petersen with an acoustic guitar or mandolin.

• Category

  • Music

• License

  • Standard YouTube License