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About the Band
Lonesome Bert & the Skinny Lizards coalesced out of the musical mythosphere in August 2005 when Chris Clark, freshly
relocated from south Florida, hauled his standup bass up to the art gallery where Lonesome Bert Hodge was busking with his
drummer friend Steve Mitherz, and suggested a sit-in set. The resulting fusion of Chris' edgy high-temp fingerwork and
Lonesome Bert's bouncy folk-style lyrics, propelled by Steve's djembe drum, convinced the three that the future looked good in
conjunction, so conjoined they were.
Today, dozens of gigs and one 12-cut CD later, the group is picking up speed and honing its harmonies. Lonesome Bert writes
much of the material himself, drawing on a widely travelled history of airlines, military service and urban living on top of a
charmed childhood in small-town Florida. He sings songs about Hastings, and the Rodman Dam, and the way the music
sounded on the car radio late at night all the way from Nashville. His lines are quirky and thought-provoking and sometimes
poignant, but always lively, served up over what he calls "the bumptime boogie beat" that evolved from Tom Paxton and Merle
Travis style fingerpicking. Some of the songs have a crypto-liberal political tinge to them, because Bert likes to skewer
"institutional answers to individual questions." Chris also writes and sings songs characterized by high energy and humor,
addressing topics like vanishing hippies and the tyranny of the electronic age.
The trio makes a regular appearance every Wednesday, 5:30-9 at the Florida Cracker Cafe in downtown St Augustine. They also
entertain monthly for every First Friday Art Walk at the Premier Properties real estate office(88 Riberia St). Other randomized
appearances such as the Milltop, the Council on Aging, and the Earth Day Festival are all announced on their web site
www.theskinnylizard.com.
relocated from south Florida, hauled his standup bass up to the art gallery where Lonesome Bert Hodge was busking with his
drummer friend Steve Mitherz, and suggested a sit-in set. The resulting fusion of Chris' edgy high-temp fingerwork and
Lonesome Bert's bouncy folk-style lyrics, propelled by Steve's djembe drum, convinced the three that the future looked good in
conjunction, so conjoined they were.
Today, dozens of gigs and one 12-cut CD later, the group is picking up speed and honing its harmonies. Lonesome Bert writes
much of the material himself, drawing on a widely travelled history of airlines, military service and urban living on top of a
charmed childhood in small-town Florida. He sings songs about Hastings, and the Rodman Dam, and the way the music
sounded on the car radio late at night all the way from Nashville. His lines are quirky and thought-provoking and sometimes
poignant, but always lively, served up over what he calls "the bumptime boogie beat" that evolved from Tom Paxton and Merle
Travis style fingerpicking. Some of the songs have a crypto-liberal political tinge to them, because Bert likes to skewer
"institutional answers to individual questions." Chris also writes and sings songs characterized by high energy and humor,
addressing topics like vanishing hippies and the tyranny of the electronic age.
The trio makes a regular appearance every Wednesday, 5:30-9 at the Florida Cracker Cafe in downtown St Augustine. They also
entertain monthly for every First Friday Art Walk at the Premier Properties real estate office(88 Riberia St). Other randomized
appearances such as the Milltop, the Council on Aging, and the Earth Day Festival are all announced on their web site
www.theskinnylizard.com.
| LIVE Gig Dates |
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!!FEATURED GIGS!!
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Bert Hodge Chris Clark Steve Mitherz
Vocals/Guitar Upright Bass/Vocals Pandeiro/Vocals
Visit the T-Shirt SHOP!!
Visit Bert's Myspace
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