Music – Madison
"Within the apocalyptic resonance of this shout, 10,000 sparkling daisies will bloom at the end of a gun and force their roots down through the barrel in order to make Love to the trigger, of this we are sure." -Flowpoetry
Venice Gas House Trolley (Madison, WI) grooves body and mind creating a unique and organic live music experience. VGHT's original jam-based songs and poems transport audiences on a creatively wild and transformational trip through darkness and into the light. Spoken of by fans as "A Cerebral Groove" and "Sacred Existential Fusion Rock," VGHT brings a sense of passion and performance to every live show. The Trolley's appearances include festivals such as The Tall Tree Lake Music Festival (Goreville, IL), The Muddy River Jam Fest (Woodstown, NJ), The Overgrown Music & Arts Festival (Belmont, NY), The Michigan Peace Fest (Lacota, MI), The 40th Annual Midwest Harvest Fest (Madison, WI) and over 200 performances from Wisconsin to New York City.
Praised by the media and fans alike for their new approach to words and intense yet chilled psychedelic jam, VGHT has emerged as originators of their own genre. Venice Gas House Trolley features Flowpoetry, a finalist for the 2009 MNSWA "Urban Griot" International/National Performer of the Year and a three-time Madison Area Music Awards finalist. VGHT encapsulates the dirty 1960s rock of Jefferson Airplane, the slinky but aggressive and funky grooves of Claypool, the eccentric and experimental sounds of Zappa, the eclectic jam and fun attitude of Phish, the rockin' hip-hop and reggae beats of 311, and the flowin' words of Tom Waits. Through this creative mix, the band has released three full length domestic CDs and has placed tracks on British compilations.
"They'll tickle your synapses as they inspire your limbs to dance!", raves The Isthmus Weekly (Madison, WI).
"[Flowpoetry's] verses find the right rhythm and pitch for every approach (and) he reads them with an ease that lets the music sing. …(The Trolley) makes the relationship between words and music feel new again." The Isthmus (Madison, WI)
"The Trolley carves out a tribal, ambient, dreamy vibe.... They're a musical group that have finally arrived." The Isthmus (Madison, WI)
"[Flowpoetry is] one of the most unique and riveting performers on the Midwestern musical and artistic landscape. The group [Venice Gas House Trolley] is on the cutting edge of the nationwide expansion of new forms of spoken word.... The band is unique, theatrical and musical." DeKalb Chronicle (DeKalb, IL)
"...very chill yet gripping. The band [Venice Gas House Trolley] is on a mission to bridge the gap between poetry and music and does so.... ...some hip jive cat daddy." Gapers Block Presents: Transmission (Chicago, IL)