Tumbleweed Stampede

- Athens, GA Indie / Soul

About

Members: Ben Jammin, Cool Whip, Tuna Bear, Peter Pancake, Nic Nasty, Eli Godly, Joshua "Tree" Spilliards

Label: Quality Faucet Records

Bio: Tumbleweed Stampede delivers everything from fighter-jet melodies to big-band brass, adding generous dashes of harmony and playfulness in between. Hot off the release of debut full-length Guts—recorded with Kyle Pulley (The Extraordinaires, Power Animal) in Philadelphia’s Headroom Studio—the boys... See Full Bio

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Status

: a million million thank yous for those who shared a wonderful last show with us last night, and for all of your... http://t.co/fYsa8gsT

Press

"...Tumbleweed Stampede’s sound draws equally on both world music and quirky, under-the-radar American songwriters like Van Dyke Parks and Harry Nilsson"

— Andre Gallant, Athens Banner-Herald

"...frenetic, yet focused, modern college rock with a taste for Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective. Divided pretty cleanly into two halves, Guts' first "side" compiles a singular uplifting instrumental track, a creepy cabaret number, a call-and-response island R&B song and a fairly straightforward guitar pop song with a really good horn-punctuated section...The second half is characterized more by its reserve and attention to detail than anything else. Every instrument is recorded extremely cleanly, and the mix is completely balanced. The bandmembers are fastidious self-editors, and the album is only eight tracks long. Guts is a completely reasonable listening experience and reveals more of its personality with each spin. At first blush, the band may seem like another goofy, good-time party band with an ironic name, but it's actually quite an up-and-comer."

— Gordon Lamb, Flagpole Magazine

“Athens, GA's Tumbleweed Stampede opened up, delivering their uplifting set to an appreciative crowd. Mixing keyboard and even a horn section into their melodic indie-pop, Tumbleweed Stampede touched on influences as various as Afro-Caribbean pop and old-school Southern soul music.”

— Andrew Necci, RVA Magazine

"Tumbleweed Stampede turns out horn-garnished dance rock whose energy is matched only by its melodic sensibility. A Tumbleweed set promises everything from harmonized crooning to full-on, critical mass improvisation. Showcasing an eclectic, spontaneous and communal aesthetic while always keeping the song front and center, this eight-piece band’s every show is a party of the most joyous variety. The occasional mechanized penguin has also been known to pop up on stage. After forming in Athens, GA in the spring of 2010, Tumbleweed Stampede quickly built a reputation as a charming and energetic live band through constant performance in Athens and soon began touring along the east coast from Chapel Hill to Philadelphia to New York City, playing with such groups as Dangerous Ponies, Black Girls, and the Extraordinaires. In December 2010, they released their debut EP, Mean Mugs, on the Athens-based imprint Quality Faucet, whose roster also includes Reptar, Co Co Ri Co, and Semicircle."

— Mo Daddy's Music Club, Asheville, NC, Mo Daddy's Music Club

"Ben from Tumbleweed Stampede an alt-folkie troupe from Athens Georgia sent us over a new track of theirs, Snowmelt. Tally Ho! love garage stompers and blistering lo-fi but sometimes its good to sit back, take stock and listen to something a bit more chill. Snowmelt is the perfect soundtrack to the post gig blues, or hangover heartache, creaking along with Music from the Big Pink style homespun melodies and haunting vocals."

— Tally Ho!, Tally Ho Blog

"Tumbleweed Stampede, another WUOG band, took the stage next... The group plays raucous rock ‘n’ roll with punk influences. Having three guitarists, a drummer, and a bassist; the tiny stage was packed with instruments and people. Their songs were high energy, and often played at brisk tempos. Although clean and chordal, the songs were technical. Wide dynamic changes, bluesy solos, and Flamenco sounding bits energized the crowd, eventually leading to a jump party in the middle of the room.... Their bassist’s high energy moves and flailing was entertaining to watch, and the unison guitar swinging during their last song also helped to keep them not only aurally pleasing, but visually as well. Too many bands just simply stand on the stage and don’t react to the sound of their music. However, Tumbleweed Stampede did not."

— tricalibur, Show Review: WUOG Fest 2010!

“There’s certainly something to be said for fun, isn’t there? Sure, it’s not the most meaningful of emotions, not like angst or rage, but it’s nice to have around, isn’t it? Well, Athens indie pop rock band Tumbleweed Stampede thinks so. Since March, this amalgamation of University friends has been pretty dedicated to the idea in fact, and people seem to agree. It all started simply enough. Lead singer and guitarist Ben Papillon spent his first few years at the University writing songs for fun and occasionally playing with friends, including the band’s lead guitarist, Colin Frawley. They eventually decided to get a band together, and what sprang from their desires was a rather large collection of musicians, a verifiable stampede. It turned out they had just as much vitality as a herd of buffalo.”

— Chris Miller, The Red And Black

“The fresh highlight of the night came from one of Athens hardest-working bands, Tumbleweed Stampede. They hit the stage with their thrilling combustion of folk jam goodness. From the moment they began not a body was still. The good vibes radiated off the singlet wearin', birthday havin', shake-what-your-mama-gave-you, bass player, Tuna Fortuna, as the room jumped with a little left over holiday joy. The sweet smell of groove in the air swayed with the dancing people in to the wee hours of the night. The show marked the beginning of Tumbleweed Stampede's 2011 Mean Mugs EP tour, that took them up the East Cost, making stops in Chapel Hill (NC), Richmond (VA), Philly, NYC, and Brooklyn (Whoa!). As for the future, the new partnership between The Max Canada and Wonder.Lab productions is proving to be a much needed asset to the Athens music community.”

— Andrew Klein, WonderLab: REVIEWS

“RB:So why don’t you tell me about what the album is like,are there any thematic elements running through it? BP:I picture the album as like,your friend moves into a new house,&each room has a record player in it,&each room is painted a different color.&as you walk through you get to experience each room separately.You know,there’ll be a post-rock room&a showtunes room&a reggae room—there’s no reggae room,actually,on this album.Next album.There is a reggaeton room though,that’s track three.Intergalactic travel’s definitely a theme on this album,right? DF:There’s aliens BP:There’s aliens on a few tracks SP:&trolls CF:Yeah,celestial trolls BP:Space trolls...To me the concept is like, experimentation with form,every song is its own planet RB:So if you had to describe the album for people who don’t know what music type accompanies celestial trolls,how would you characterize this album? BP:It’s a hot twist,man.It’s hot DF:Hot tunes SP:You’re not going to get the answe”

— Jessica Roberts, The Red And Black

“Tumbleweed Stampede can be thought of as exactly that; a throng of musicians — eight in total — who take over any stage it happens to be on with its personal brand of dance-friendly tunes. The band’s newest album, “Guts,” which was partially recorded in Athens as well as in a warehouse in Philadelphia, is being celebrated with a CD release party.”

— Jessica Roberts, The Red And Black

“Tumbleweed Stampede fit right in with Quality Faucet Records, bringing a combination of light-hearted frivolity and delightful harmonies along with them.... If you find some of Tumbleweed's label mates a bit hard to swallow, you needn't worry about these guys. They resemble the finer E6 bands instrumentation wise. There's a bit of Reptar in there too but it's more lyric and less dance than that. A pretty nicely balanced band I'd say.”

— Jordan Stepp, Athens Music Junkie

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Recent Blogs

Tumbleweed Stampede Mobile App
Dec 7, 2011
Now all you crazy fun-lovin kids can carry us with you to the near and far (and ... [more]

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Songs

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Play "The Hot Twist"

The Hot Twist

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Lost Boys

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Play "Apologetics"

Apologetics

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The Dolphin

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Videos

Tumbleweed Stampede "Lost Boys" official video

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Shows

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2012
Oct 13

Sycamore Deli
Blacksburg, VA, US | 8:00pm
Sycamore Deli
Blacksburg, VA, US
Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:00pm
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2012
Oct 6

40 Watt Club
Athens, GA, US | 7:00pm
40 Watt Club
Athens, GA, US
Sat Oct 06, 2012 7:00pm
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2012
Jun 22

Georgia Theatre
Athens, GA, US | 9:00pm
Georgia Theatre
Athens, GA, US
Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:00pm
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2012
May 26

40 Watt Club
Athens, GA, US | 8:00pm
40 Watt Club
Athens, GA, US
Sat May 26, 2012 8:00pm
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Details

Benefit show for Aimee Copeland. All proceeds go to support her and help cover medical expenses. Viking Progress - 9:30 pm The Breaks - 10:30 pm Eddie and the Public Speakers - 11:30 pm Tumbleweed Stampede - 12:30 am
2012
Apr 20

Caledonia Lounge
Athens, GA, US | 9:00pm
Caledonia Lounge
Athens, GA, US
Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:00pm
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Comments

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Didorion
Nice indie music,your guitar style is called Juju music "african.All the best Didorion
Five Drexler
I just came across your page and became a fan. Id appreciate it, if you could return the favor and fan me back. Thanks
Bubbojones
What's up ourstage fam? Droppin by to show ur page some luv here on reverb, and the music's great here also. (lol), blessings.
ChewLouie
hey, really enjoyed your page. Keep up the good work.
Maxlink AkA Dark Angel
very best to you
Ghosts of Dixie
Great sounding music my friend :) it really made my day. Keep fighting the good fight, cuz where would this world be without us dreamers!