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Tabitha Clancy interviews
Samuel Saint Thomas for
Upstate Live
Surely seeing or hearing a name like Bovine Social Club would conjure up images of cattle gathering. Is there a club for such a thing? Well in a sense, yes. In this case people are not coming together to discuss cows or any such variation.  instead, this is a band with a unique and humorous outlook rich in Americana roots. UpstateLIVE caught up with lead singer and guitarist, Samuel Saint Thomas and talked about his band co-founded by Jeff Barg (drummer).
Tabitha Clancy: You and your bandmates have many years experience as musicians. How did Bovine Social Club come together?
Samuel Saint Thomas: I had taken some time off to study. To be honest, I burned out as a singer-songwriter. During the time I was a singer-songwriter, I had worked with a lot of different people – almost all of the guys from Railroad Earth at one point. I was in the same bands in the same neighborhood. One of the people in that scene was Jeff Barg, our drummer now. I had seen him around a couple of times and every time I’d see him he’d say, “Why don’t we start a band?” We both ended up at the same table at Tim Carbone’s birthday party. Jeff was pretty forceful at that time. So I said, “I’m going to think about this.”
And we put together a list of things, a guide as to how we were going to go about this. We started planning that night. Over the next year the band went into development. By that time I had completed my graduate education. We were really inspired as well by what was going on with Railroad Earth (RRE). Next thing I know, Johnny Grubb had left RRE and he came on board and helped to get us started. I guess at the end of that year of development, Tim Carbone had heard about the project. I went to see him play somewhere and he came up to me... read more.
BCS Lands a Stellar Jamband Review! Yeehaw!
All of us in Bovine Social Club are deeply humbled and shocked at the stunning review by Brian Robbins that appeared last night in Jambands.com! Long after midnight, Twitter, email, and texts went off the hook. It is in these moments that  we are encouraged to pick up our instruments and go into the world and let our little light shine! Our sincere hope is that you'll 'share' this light with your friends. Thanks everyone! Enjoy!
Published:
2013/01/03
by Brian Robbins
"Combining the eclectic acoustic bounce of early Boris Garcia, the worldgrass vibe of Railroad Earth, and a grittiness all of their own that’s nothing but real, Bovine Social Club’s self-titled debut album is ten tracks of fun, fun, fun – and great musicianship.
It certainly didn’t hurt matters that BSC’s maiden voyage in the studio was skippered by Tim Carbone. Railroad Earth’s fiddling guitarist has plenty of production magic to his credit – albums by the previously-mentioned Boris Garcia, The Ragbirds, Great American Taxi, David Gans, Greensky Bluegrass, and his own project The Contribution, to name a few – managing to add another dimension to the sound of whatever already-talented band he works with. Oftentimes Carbone has also added some fine fiddle to complement his collaborators’ sound, but he doesn’t pick up the bow for Bovine Social Club. The killer fiddle you hear throughout the album is..." Read More
Bovine Social Club Completes Five State Summer Tour
We did it folks, we took it on the road! That's right, five states of Festivals and Class A venues on our first summer tour. Stage after stage we served up all the hits live off our new record produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth.
Our virgin date out of town at Frendly Gathering in VT with Railroad Earth was brilliant. We played in a giant tepee! Then on to Tupelo Music Hall, VT, the best sounding room of all our musical adventures. When we played that room we knew at the first song what we were capable of.
Show by show, Hobo Stage, Caffe Lena, The Mount, Black Potatoe Fest, Sagemore, The Fountain House, Musikfest, our energy built. We threw down at every single one, as if we were paid millions, some in 100  degrees, changing clothes in Porta-potties, and other wonderful thrills.
But nothing prepared us for what went down at Baltimore's Hot August Blues and Roots Festival. Being treated very well by the promoters aside, the audience went wack, they loved it! Every song, every solo, hollas and cheers! It was off the hook, people. And the handshakes and autographs! Unlike any other show. The whole thing threw us for sure.
We're still not sure if all of it was real. Yet, for the first time, we knew for certain something was up. True, we've been working hard on our thing for the last year or so, so maybe we deserved it. But still, it was mighty humbling seeing all those faces all over that grassy hill yelling for more BSC! And righteous or not, it sure feels like a turn in the road.
BSC Releases Long Awaited Self-Titled Debut Record
Lots of y'all know we've worked real hard on our ten song debut over the winter and spring. With the help of Kickstarter, we were "signed" by the people, 66 of 'em.  120% of our goal was reached and we were off! Our very favorite '66' gathered together for a bash of all bashes on May 20th to celebrate the release of what we think will set our stage for a mighty fine year. On June the 6th "Bovine Social Club" went on sale in hundreds of dowload outlets around the world for a mere ten bucks.
The same day, a radio airplay promotion was launched to 230 Americana radio stations across the U.S. And we've already garnered rotation on a half dozen! Mooo! If your favorite station is not playing your favorite BSC track, give 'em a holla. Give us a holla too, then we'll holla at 'em too. Together we'll make a great big holla till the bovines come home. And hey, you want a real CD? A tee-shirt to match? You'll have to come to a show!
Bovine Social Club Gets Signed!
66 people think so much of BSC that they got behind our recording and invested $6000. Signed by the people. Hell yeah! Woot! This is certainly one sure way to beat the 1%. People financing is old school and brand new all at the same time. Wow. Now we can get busy and finish up our ten song debut with Tim Carbone. This to us is absolutely an amazing treat so early in our new band's career.
Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth
Produces Bovine's First CD
Carbone came calling. A lot of you already know that he plays violin with the nationally known roots band, Railroad Earth. What you might not know is that he's equally known as a national level producer. "I wanna produce Bovine's record,"  he said, "Come on. You write some really great songs. They're timeless. People need to hear them. Now get busy. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse." And we did. Classically trained violinist Seth Mandel bought a mandolin and Juju guitarist Johnny Smith bought a banjo. We recruited bassist Scot Hornick from the New York jazz scene. Tim stopped by to coach the hours upon hours of hacking at arrangements and parts and harmonies. We were off and running! Watch
Bovine Social Club Launches
"Our Super Major Big Fans Gallery" on Facebook
Check and see if you've been snapped and tagged. Perhaps you've seen some of these folks at the shows. It sure is a good-lookin bunch of people though, smiles to boot. Check out the Gallery.
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