User:Chasemitch

Wrinkle Neck Mules
The Wrinkle Neck Mules is a country band from Richmond, Virginia. Their sound can be, at times, very similar to bluegrass with strong banjos and mandolins, and at other times like rock with a great electric guitar. Their diverse sound makes them a very unique band to match their very unique band name.

History:
The Wrinkle Neck Mules is a five-member band that formed in late 1999 and has been focused around Richmond, Virginia. What started as a college band that played mostly cover songs in fraternity houses, became a full throttle band, writing and producing their own songs. The band has gathered quite a following and has been on numerous tours throughout the U. S. and even parts of Europe.

At this point, they have released three albums. Their first record, Minor Enough, was released in 2003 and featured thirteen tracks, including their first two trademark songs: Minor Enough and No Consolation. The album was self-recorded and produced, but still has a very professional sound, which inspired them to continue to chase their dreams of becoming a well-known country and bluegrass band. The album achieved moderate success in Richmond and gained a small but growing fan base. With the success of Minor Enough the Mules took to the road, playing mostly in the South, but reaching as far as the U.K.

In 2005, the band met with Chris Kress, producer for The Dave Matthews Band, and teamed up with him to create a six-song disc, Liza. However, it was not until March 7, 2006, that they released their second album, Pull the Brake. Pull the Brake featured fifteen new tracks, and after considering many studios they released the album with Shut Eye Records. The Mules made their radio debut with several songs from this album, most notably their single “Mecklenberg County”.

The Mules released their most recent album, The Wicks Have Met, on May 22, 2007. The record has had the most success of any of their albums to this point, featuring songs like, “Cumberland Sound” and “Bells & Whistles”. The Mules have currently had several of their songs from The Wicks Have Met appear in Jamie Howard’s “Bass: The Movie”, a film about fly fishing that is scheduled to play in select theaters and air on ESPN. The band has recently started to record a new album that band member, Andy Stpanian, described as having “snowballed far beyond our collective imaginations.” The Mules plan to release their next album early in the summer of 2009.

The Band Members:
Andy Stepanian (vocal, guitar, mandolin)

Mason Brent (vocal, guitar, mandolin, pedal steel)

Brian Gregory (vocal, bass)

Stuart Gunter (drums)

Chase Heard (vocal, guitar, banjo)

Future Plans:
Currently, The Wrinkle Neck Mules have two records in the making, and regularly play at the local venues in Richmond and Charlottesville, and other southern states. The Mules plan to release their fourth album, which they have not, yet, given a title, in the summer of 2009, and the fifth does not, yet, have a scheduled release date. This year, the band plans to go on tour with more regularity than they have the previous three years, and they may be touring in Europe for their second time.

Discography:
1. Minor Enough- 2003. Singles- “Minor Enough” and “No Consolation”

2. Pull the Brake- 2006. Singles- “Mecklenberg County” and “Liza”

3. The Wicks Have Met- 2007. Singles- “Cumberland Sound”, “Black Skies and the High and Mighty”, and “Bells & Whistles”

Sources:
Crowson, Jason. "Wrinkle Neck Mules Biography". March 17 2007 Last.fm. April 3, 2009 .

Berk, Blevins, et al. “Andy Stephanian of Wrinkle Neck Mules In The Butter Room”. October 7 2008The Butter Room. April 3,2009 

Stephanian, Brent, et al. “Listen” February, 2009 Wrinkle Neck Mules April 3,2009 