Biography

The Horse Flies have just released their first full-length studio album in many years –“Until the Ocean” -- the first since the passing of their beloved bass-player and friend, John Hayward.  The Horse Flies are indeed back!

Together since 1981, The Horse Flies were one of the earliest bands to bring a punkish energy to traditional American music and then to move beyond, creating a sound that still today is wholly unique and fresh. With artful original songs, a wild groove-oriented approach to fiddle music, powerful instrumental skills, improvising prowess, and emotive singing the Horse Flies’ music reaches audiences from folk to alternative to jamband and more.

Critics have said:
“ ... a world without the Horse Flies' wholly unique music would be a much, much poorer place.”  (Melody Maker, London).
“A band that's earned a buzz ... The Horse Flies churn out swirling, addictive songs, blending tradition with invention.”  (Rolling Stone). "The Horse Flies combine musical and lyrical quirkiness with beguiling wit and intelligence …  a melange of rock, folk, and minimalism … music that challenges the brain without sacrificing the groove."  (Chicago Tribune). "Music of astonishing centrifugal force ... breathtakingly complex rhythms ... unexpectedly rich textures ... stunningly modern ... gravity and grace ... their ancient, yet modern sound and their easy, seemingly limitless energy make The Horse Flies special."  (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland).  "The textures are a blend of the ancient and the ultra modern. Realism coexists with surrealism, and synthetics and acoustics are interwoven.  A record of dark brilliance."  (Melody Maker, London).  "Demented, post-modern mountain music ..." (Village Voice, New York).  "The Horse Flies have figured out how to hold a hoedown in a physics lab."  (New York Times)
"Brilliantly peculiar ... new music with gnarled and twisted roots." (The Boston Herald).   "Bewitching and beguiling ... a band for our trying times" (The Dallas Observer).

The Horseflies will release their eighth album, Until the Ocean in June 2008. Their other albums are: Gravity Dance (MCA), Human Fly (Rounder/MCA), In the Dance Tent (Live and Kicking), Two Traditions (Callin' the Kettle Black), Chokers and Flies (Rounder), Where the Rivers Flow North (film score, Alcazar Records), and A Stranger in the Kingdom (film score) and appeared on a number of compilation recordings. Both Human Fly and Gravity Dance reached the top 40 on the Gavin and CMJ charts.  Gravity Dance was nominated for a New York Award.

The band has been written about in major publications such as Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, New Musical Express (London), Melody Maker (London) …

They have performed throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe at major venues such as the Central Park Summerstage (NYC, U.S.), WOMAD (Toronto, Canada), Big Beat Festival (Vienna, Austria), Vancouver Folk Festival (Vancouver, Canada), Birmingham City Stages (Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.), Independence Days (Berlin, Germany), Philadelphia Folk Festival (Philadelphia, PA, U.S.), Tonder Festival (Denmark), and the Telluride Festival.  They have also appeared numerous times on radio and television programs including MTV News, MTV’s Week in Rock, Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, The Entertainers, and many more.

During the summers of 2000 and 2004, Flies Judy Hyman and Richie Stearns joined pop singer Natalie Merchant’s band. An album of the music from those tours titled "The House Carpenter's Daughter" was released in September 2003 on Myth America Records. The album's lead cut, "Sally Ann", is a song by Flies' Jeff Claus, which Natalie’s band performed on Late Night with David Letterman in August 2004 and which also appears on Ms. Merchant’s Greatest Hits album.

The Horse Flies are:  Judy Hyman (violin, vocals), Jeff Claus (guitar, banjo uke, vocals), Richie Stearns (banjo, vocals), Taki Masuko (percussion), Jay Olsa (bass) and Rick Hansen (accordion, Moog, organ).

Contact: info@thehorseflies.com