BOOT JUICE is a seven-piece high-energy rock ‘n’ roll / Americana act from Northern California, notori-ous for their barn-burning live shows that get entire crowds on their feet dancing: a reputation earned from recent performances at legendary venues like The Fillmore and Dillon Amphitheater, festival sets at Treefort, High Sierra, and Golden Road Gathering, and packed club shows all across America during their many years on the road.
The group’s fervently-anticipated fourth album, Keeping Out Of The Ground (out 3/20) exemplifies the tradition of kickass eclectic American rock ‘n’ roll: With three vocalists, dueling acoustic and electric-guitar shredding, a bawdy horn section, and driving, soulful rhythms, the album offers everything from groovy, danceable bangers (“Hard Time for Hard Times”, “Slingshot”, “Struggles”) to heavy, show-stopping rock anthems (“Try Again Tomorrow”, “Rise and Shine”, “Boise”), and tender, swinging ballads (“Anywhere With You”, “Love From Here”, “Keeping Out of the Ground”). Throughout it all, the band sends a poignant message: Despite everything going on in the world and the hopelessness creeping in around us, the best thing we can do is push it through, keep ourselves out of the ground, keep showing up for ourselves and our neighbors, and forgive ourselves when we just need to try again tomorrow.
Though they call the Sacramento, California area home, Boot Juice originated in 2017 deep in the moun-tains and rivers of Idaho and Northern California, where husband-and-wife duo Connor Herdt (vocals / acoustic guitar) and Jessica Stoll (vocals, mandolin) worked outdoor jobs like raft-guiding and ski patrol. Herdt’s close friend and former member, Evan Daly (vocals / electric guitar), would often come out to visit and the two would do what they’ve done since they were young kids: sit around and shred on guitar togeth-er for hours. Stoll, who has done all of the band’s artwork (album covers, merch designs, tour / show posters – you name it) since the band’s early days, joined the band as a vocalist and mandolin player, balancing Herdt’s heartfelt crooning and Daly’s raspy, rock ‘n’ roll bellows with her soulful, resonant pipes.
