The Milk Carton Kids + Gaby Moreno October 21, 2011

Their songs disguise the youth of the members of the band. Befittingly, so do the old guitars they play and old clothing they wear. But to be sure, The Milk Carton Kids have something new to present: harmonies & minimalist instrumentation which are a clear reference to times passed.To present it they use two guitars and two voices, they labor over the arrangements, they record themselves live, and they release their music on their own label, and for free.

A performance by The Milk Carton Kids is a quiet and intricate affair. Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan have enjoyed intently listening audiences across the country and abroad in their respective solo careers, but an even greater sense of urgency and demand of attention is palpable now that they've come together as The Milk Carton Kids.

As solo artists they have 10 releases between them. As a band their career is off to an auspicious start. Starting from a highly regarded position among their peers, they've opened for the art-piano-pop critical darling Vienna Teng, Grammy nominated friend and fan Sara Bareilles, and now will take to the entire U.S. and Canada this summer supporting one of the consummate songwriters of their generation, Joe Purdy. Despite the decision to stick to acoustic guitars in their own show, both Ryan and Pattengale are multi-instrumentalists and will also comprise Purdy's backing band, joining him on bass, pedal steel guitar, piano, and harmonies.

Their first collaborative release, RETROSPECT, is a live album due out March 15th, 2011 that represents the culmination of the past year of live performance. A collection of songs from each of their solo careers, written separately but reinterpreted and performed as the duo now called The Milk Carton Kids, RETROSPECT will be released under the name "Kenneth Pattengale & Joey Ryan".

The first official release of The Milk Carton Kids, entitled PROLOGUE, is comprised of original songs written by the duo for this project. It is slated for release later in 2011 on their own Milk Carton Records.
http://www.themilkcartonkids.com/

In 2006, Moreno won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with her song "Escondidos," first in the Latin category, then overall. That success gave her the confidence to produce her debut album, Still The Unknown. The album was played on KCRW and NPR, getting excellent reviews praising its sparse, elegant sound and Moreno's quietly soulful vocals. The record's success led to opening slots on tours with Tracy Chapman and Ani DiFranco. In 2010, an instrumental piece Moreno wrote with musician friend Vincent Jones was selected as the theme for the new NBC show Parks and Recreation. The theme earned an Emmy Nomination. Moreno's tunes were also used on E!'s Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Lincoln Heights and Ghost Whisperer on ABC and MTV's The Hills.

Moreno co-produced Illustrated Songs with engineer Ryan Freeland (Aimee Mann, Grant-Lee Phillips, Ray LaMontagne). In the summer of 2010, Moreno played the Roskilde Festival in Denmark with singer/composer Van Dyke Parks, performing traditional Latin American songs mixed with Calypso and Americana music. Parks and Moreno are planning a recorded collaboration of standards, but in the meantime Moreno will stay busy touring Europe and the US to support Illustrated Songs.
http://www.gaby-moreno.com/

Official Website: http://www.jamminjava.com/