White Ghost Shivers: Best Band in the World?

PLATTEVILLE-The Center for the Arts Performing Arts Series at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville presents White Ghost Shivers, October 21st at 7:30pm.

If Tim Burton had collaborated with the Cohen Brothers in creating the musical characters in O' Brother Where Art Thou? they might resemble something similar to the White Ghost Shivers.

A joyous mixture of the absurd and sublime, the eight-piece ensemble gracefully creates a musical amalgam of Hokum Blues, Hillbilly Swing, Country and Hot Jazz. Simultaneously paying respects to their deft musical influences and irreverently destroying any notion of musical purism, they work hard at making it seem easy.

In just a few years, the band's unique and consistently exuberant live show has earned them an ever-expanding loyal fan base. Imagine a smorgasbord of Cab Calloway, circus sideshow, KISS, cabaret, Hee Haw and Robert Johnson served up at Andy Kaufman's bat-mitzvah. Like the great entertainers before them, the band's true gift is their ability to take their eclectic influences and combine them into something they can call their own.

Featuring a 7 foot tall banjo player whose instruments include: tenor banjo, ukulele, guitar, mandolin toe-tappin', mouth rappin' and nose flute, Shorty Stump (oh the irony) is one of those people that you don’t see every day, unless you were looking up, that is. Other band members include: Cella Blue (vocals, slide whistle, kazoo), Duchess Doyle (clarinet, tenor sax, ukulele), Hot Thomas (vocal, violin, tenor banjo), Poppiticus (string bass), and Smokebreak Slemenda (vocals, lead guitar).

Winners of best “Novelty” band at the 2007 Austin Music Awards, they placed in six other categories, including best Jazz, Bluegrass, Experimental, None of the Above, Female Vocals, and Horns.

Tickets for this event are $18 for General Admission $16 for Faculty and Senior Citizens $12 for Kids Under 18 and $5 for UWP Students (with current ID).

Tickets are available through the University Box Office located in the lower level of Ullsvik Hall at Hickory and Main streets in Platteville. The University Box Office is open Monday 8am-5pm, Tuesday 8am-8pm, Wednesday through Friday 8am-5pm and Saturday 10am-2pm. Phone orders can be made by calling (608)-342-1298. Tickets are also available online 24/7 at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu.

The next event in the series is Runt of the Litter on November 12th and 13th and features Bo Eason, a former defensive back for the Houston Oilers in the 1980s. More information on the Performing Arts Series and other performance events can be found at http://uwplatt.edu/arts/cfa.