Elena Skye & The Demolition String Band

Elena Skye & The Demoltion String Band is a hot band with a fresh take on the retro honky tonk sound. Founded in 1996 by singer/songwriter Elena Skye and guitarist Boo Reiners, The Demolition String Band has become an exciting and familiar presence in the alt country and bluegrass scene in New York City.

"One Dog Town," the debut CD by Elena Skye & The Demolition String Band, was released in October of '98 on North Hollow Records of Vermont. The album was produced by Greg Garing with Boo Reiners and John Siket (Soul Asylum, Lemonheads, Dave Mathews Band) engineering in Hoboken's Mutiny Zoo studio. Heartfelt performances were captured in the spot where a honk-a-billy swagger, a good bluegrass raisin' and some rock and roll battle scars nudge bump and grind into each other in an oily dirt lot at a country fairgrounds.

Elena Skye & The Demolition String Band and "One Dog Town," have received enthusiastic reviews in The New York Times, Billboard, The Village Voice, Country Standard Time, Creative Loafing, and local magazines and papers across the country.

Skye & Reiners have straddled the fence of bluegrass, leaning heavily into honky tonk, fueled by years of rock 'n roll posturing. Their involvement in the bluegrass world included co-hosting a jam at Coney Island High on St. Marks Place for over a year, and working as two of the main orgainizers of The St. Mark's Bluegrass Festival in '97, Manhattan's first bluegrass festival.

Skye and Reiners were featured members of Greg Garing's Alphabet City Opry for over a year. The Alphabet City Opry, located at 9C in the lower east side of Manhattan, became a sold out/standing room only scene and received rave reviews in The New York Times, Billboard, The Daily News and The Village Voice.

In February '99, after opening for Ricky Skaggs And Kentucky Thunder at Irving Plaza, they began touring extensively to enthusiastic audiences through out Viriginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, and New England. Currently they can be seen in NYC at Hogs and Heifers, The Bottom Line, 9C and more, check the Touring Schedule page for more information.

They toured extensively in September and October of '99 in support of the release of their new single - Like a Prayer- produced by Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (Bottle Rockets, Mojo Nixon, Blood Ornages, Nils Lifgren), which is currently getting lots of spins on radio, PLEASE CALL YOUR LOCAL STATION AND REQUEST LIKE A PRAYER BY ELENA SKYE & DSB!!!

In Billboard, February 19, 2000 article by Jim Bessman: "Like a Prayer" has also received the imprimatur of none other than Madonna's longtime spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg. 'It reminds me of Les Paul and Mary Ford on speed,' say's Rosenberg, who uses the Skye version as her home answering machine's outgoing message. 'It's one of the greatest songs Madonna's ever written, and I thought no one could possibly cover it. But [Skye's] version is so heartfelt, it sounds like she wrote it. And the arrangement is outstanding: I can't sit still when I hear it; I am catapulted out of my chair.'"

Current airplay:

WFDU, 89.1 FM, Teaneck, NJ (201) 692-2012

WFUV, 90.7 FM, Bronx, NY (718) 365-8050

WKCR, 89.9 FM, NYC, (212) 854-9290

WDHC 93.5 FM, Berkeley Springs, WV (304) 258-1010

WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham, NC (919) 684-2957

WRAS 88.5 FM, Atlanta, GA (404) 651-4488 (cowtippers Delight, tuesdays @ 10:00pm)

WMLB 1170 AM, Cumming, GA (770) 887-3136

WJJC 1270 AM, Commerce, GA (706) 335-1270

WJTH 900 AM, Calhoun, GA (706) 629-6397

WFPK 91.9 FM, Louisville, KY (502) 574-1752

WMKY 90.3 FM, Moorhead & 89.3 FM Inez, KY (606) 783-2001 (Sat afternoons)