Boris Garcia
In early 2005 a few friends with a common love of all forms of traditional American music – Folk, Rock, Pop and Bluegrass – decided that studio time would be no more expensive a hobby than anything else, so they pooled their resources to make a record, thus Boris Garcia was born, eventually spawning a CD of Folk/Bluegrass-inflected tunes with the primary goal being fun - fun for the players and, especially, fun for the listener. The band had no more expectations for the CD than to pass it along to other music lovers for their private enjoyment.
After creating a disc it was proud of (the debut Family Reunion), Boris decided it would be fun to play a gig or two. The band set up residency in the tiny Mermaid Inn outside of Philadelphia, where Boris found that the virtuosity and passion that permeates its personnel changed the live performance into something akin to an acoustic Jam festival, complete with twirling tie-dyed dancers and 10-minute improvisations. And, of course, mandolins. From there, armed with a CD and a growing, devoted audience, “the band that wasn’t” embarked on a journey that almost sounds like a movie script. In the short time since Boris Garcia accidentally formed, it has:
- Sold through two pressings of Family Reunion
- Sold out the upstairs room at Philadelphia’s World Café Live – twice – setting an all-time attendance record
- Been heard on over 40 radio stations nationwide
- Performed at a series of Folk, Bluegrass and Jam festivals including the Dancing Wu Li Festival and culminating this August on the main stage of the 45th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival
- Shared stages with Jackson Browne, Hot Tuna, David Bromberg, Amos Lee, The Duhks, James Hunter, Blues Traveler, Railroad Earth, Steve Kimock, Karl Denson, Keller Williams, and others
Boris Garcia has now released its second Porchwerk Records release, Mother’s Finest. It’s a collection of eleven new songs that are thoughtful and playful, simple yet intricate and, most of all, entertaining. yo.
