Who We Are: The Chicken Tractor is an old time Country and Americana band based in Central Pennsylvania. We are: Jimmy James Baughman (upright bass, vocals), Nell Hanssen (guitar, trumpet, vocals), Kai Schafft (vocals, clawhammer banjo, and guitar), Gary Gyekis (drums), and assorted others, as we desire, including frequent appearances by Dr. Dave Mudgett on the pedal steel and electric guitar.
What We Play: The Chicken Tractor plays American Rural Music. We draw our roots from old 78 rpm records, rural church music, mountain murder ballads, classic country and honky tonk, string band and old time music, all run through the cosmic filter of predecessors and inspirants such as Dr. Humphrey Bates and his Possum Hunters, Lily Mae Ledford, Gram Parsons, Sarah, A.P. and Mother Maybelle, George Jones, the Louvin Brothers, Blind Willie Johnson, Walt Whitman, Carl Smith, Wade Ward, the Wringers, Eugene Chadbourne, Daniel A.I.U. Higgs, The MacGillicuddies, Gaither Carlton, Clarence Ashley, Charlie Poole, Frank Proffitt, Fred Cockerham, Charlie Feathers The Wayward Girls, Brother Claude Ely, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Uncle Dave Macon, Hazel Dickens, Hasil Adkins, Ola Belle Reed, and Arthur E. Brumley.
Recordings: In 2011 we released our second cd, Nightclub Jacks and Undertakers, which country music fan blog Family Reunion Country named album of the week. Turnstiled and Junkpiled wrote about Nightclub Jacks, "Chicken Tractor Deluxe has a wide variety of vocal styling and country-based influence. The brass tinged, "When That Great Ship Went Down" is straight up Levon Helm while "The Cuckoo" sounds like it could have come from a Steve Earle, Del McCoury session. The Bluegrassy, "Father Bed" is a little bit Doc Watson and "Reuben's Train" conjures up memories of the fine tuned roots rock Beggar's Banquet-era Rolling Stones." Nightclub Jacks follows Chicken Tractor Deluxe's debut cd Tin Can Holler, released in 2009. Both are available as cds and digital downloads online through CD Baby and amazon.com.
Where We Have Played: The Elk Creek Café (Milheim, PA), Red Horse Tavern (Pleasant Gap, PA), Selin's Grove Brewing Company (Selinsgrove, PA), Zeno's (State College, PA) The Farmageddon Festival (Newfield, NY), the Pourhouse (Trumansurg, NY), the Rongovian Embassy (Trumansburg, NY), The Bullfrog Brewery (Williamsport, PA), Castaways (Ithaca, NY), The Lost Dog (Ithaca, NY), Felicia's Atomic Lounge (Ithaca, NY), The Smoked Country Jam Festival (Loganton, PA), The State College Arts Festival, The Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival, Heritage Days Festival (Turbotville, PA), The Lewisburg Arts Festival, The Northumberland County Fair, among other venues and events.
How To Contact: Email at chickentractor@gmail.com. Or call (814) 349-8944. Look for Chicken Tractor Deluxe on Facebook and ReverbNation as well.
