KXCI-FM Music Mix Program
Jim Foley of KXCI-FM, Tuscon, Arizona, Community Radio, frequently plays Uncle Dirtytoes and describes them as "Fairport Convention-style electro-acoustic Brit-folk with good swing and strong female harmony vocals." Thanks, Jim!
​
​
​
PitchWeekly
Klammies (Kansas City-Lawrence Area Music Awards)
Uncle Dirtytoes was nominated for Best Folk Act in 1996 & 1997.
BUZZBOX by Curt Flowers (PitchWeekly, 3/20/97)
Guitarist Darrell Lea only half-jokingly describes the letter from Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson to his Uncle Dirtytoes bandmate Maria Anthony (acoustic guitar, lead vocals) as the "package from an icon." Anthony had sent Anderson a copy of UDT's debut CD Foot to the Path, that they released themselves last fall, and the handwritten response she received in return, was what you might call beyond her expectations.
​
"He was very gracious," she says, trying to look modest when she shouldn't have to in the wake of Lea's perfectly worded phrase. "He said that he enjoyed the music and wished us our due success." While there are several traditional songs on the CD that have been played for generations, Anthony writes the bulk of the band's original material, and don't you just bet that The Tullster took note of her exceptional abilities, encouraging her and offering a second wish for good luck. Pretty much the equivalent of a letter from Albini if you ask me.
​
Anthony, Lea and the rest of the Lawrence-based group, Megan Hurt (violin, backing vocals), Mark von Schlemmer (bass), Roger Holden (electric guitar) and Jim Mechler (drums) started kicking out the electric, folk-rock jams in '91. Mechler split for law school after they recorded Foot to the Path last spring with Bart Biechele at West End Studios in Kansas City, and Mike Fitzgerald, late of The Lonesome Houndogs, has since stepped in.
​
If it's true that good things come to those who wait, then it makes perfect sense for the recognition they've received as of late to be hitting full-stride in the months to come. Dirty Linen, billed as the "Definitive magazine of Folk, Electric-Folk and World Music," recently took a shining to the band's sound, saying that they show that "you can play within the tradition and still sound fresh," and the disc's getting airtime on college, commercial and public radio stations not only in the area, but from states as far away as Michigan, Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut. "I sent out about four or five copies of the CD when it first came out, but it was kind of expensive and I figured what's the point," Anthony says. "But then after the review in Dirty Linen, people from all sorts of places were calling me up and asking for copies to play on the air, so it's been really nice."
​
Their live show is well-honed and rollicking with Holden whipping-out the snaky leads with feels ranging from a slowly burning ember to a raging blaze alongside Anthony's light and ultra-melodic vocals while the rest of the band plays it pro as well. Foot to the Path is available at what we like to call the cooler record shops and on your computer screen at CDnow.com, and as well you can check out their page at http://www.forthrt.com/~dirtytoes.
​
