Monday, December 18, 7 p.m.
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, 304 East Third Street, Davenport IA
The Iowa-based indie rockers of The Penny Serfs will play a Moeller Nights concert on December 18, treating audiences to the genre-hopping sound that lead vocalist Michael Loy described to the Prelude Press thusly: “Take The Beatles out for a drink or five; introduce them to Kurt Cobain (preferably under the influence); give them a few topics to discuss (i.e. politics, fear, past, present, and future); convince Paul and John to let Kurt sit in for a few sessions; hit the record button.”
Although the band's musicians formed their quartet in LeClaire, The Penny Serfs is composed of musicians hailing from all across the country: guitarist Loy, bass player Andrew Linley, keyboardist Stu Tenold, and drummer Kyle Lewis. They initially met, however, when touring as employees on the production side of the music business, with Loy also a guitar technician, Lewis a drum and keys technician, and Linley and Tenold as audio engineers. Realizing their shared musical tastes, the artists decided to form a band writing and rehearsing in between tour events, and in September of 2012, The Penny Serfs was born.
Within two months, the group had released its debut album Anna Freud's Defence Mechanisms, and in March of 2015, The Penny Serfs' six-track EP Like Eating Glass captured the attention of national music critics, with Diffuser praising its “toe-tapping, finger-snapping musical arrangements,” and BlackOnTheCanvas.com raving, “An entire spectrum of emotion is explored with a fresh vexation and subtle jeering that I find endearing and honest.” The National's Scott Devendorf, meanwhile, wrote of Like Eating Glass: “The Penny Serfs breturn from the fields shouting their shattered-glass paean to love's demise – join them at the bar!”
The Penny Serfs play the Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel with an opening set by Centaur Noir, tickets are $10, and more information on the evening is available by visiting MoellerNights.com.
