“When you walk into a club you expect to see a band with a good singer or a good guitar player, but this band has it all — tight vocals, great guitar playing and a natural rhythm.” — Tim Finn (Crowded House).

“Working with the Carpenter Ants is a special kind of pleasure. Their music has passion and joy, a deeply felt soul that reaches right down to the boots. When I sing with them I know I'll get 100 percent commitment. The Ants love making music and it shines through everything they do.” — Kevin Coyne.

“The Carpenter Ants make a joyful, righteous noise. They sound so good that it surprises me every time I hear them. It's Saturday night and Sunday morning all rolled into one.” — Bill “Hot Rod Lincoln” Kirchen

“Brothers and sisters, from the land of Jesco White and Hasil Adkins comes one of the most anointed bands I've heard in coon ages. Anyone who digs Steve Ferguson & NRBQ, Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys, Hank Williams Sr, & vintage Lonnie Mack will dig these guys. Praise the Lord and pass the plate!” — Greg Martin (Kentucky Headhunters).

“These guys are as good as anyone on TV.” — The Amazing Delores.

Even the best bands come and go but the Carpenter Ants have been around — with virtually the same lineup — for more than 16 years. The Ants have defied the odds and outlasted most of their peers for a number of reasons. First and foremost, regardless of the occasion, the band never fails to have a good time. And, after more than 2,000 performances, the members still like and respect each other — and you can feel it in their music.

Having evolved into WV’s premiere rhythm & blues group, the band has unearthed a wealth of classic and forgotten American music. The Ants wail through classic R&B, country-swamp and gospel-soul with equal conviction. A few years back, the band caught the ear of famed singer/songwriter/producer/rock ‘n’ roller Don Dixon. The upshot was the band’s second record, the all-gospel Picnic With the Lord. Last year, Dixon anxiously signed on to produce the group’s third effort, Ants In Your Pants, and steered the band to Scott Beal’s Gaff Music. The disc will be released in Spring, 2004.

The core of the group consists of guitarist Michael Lipton, drummer Jupiter Little, bassist Ted Harrison and vocalist/saxophonist Charlie Tee. A revolving cast of auxiliary Ants include singer/songwriter Larry Groce, host of the internationally syndicated radio show “Mountain Stage,” ex-NRBQ guitarist Steve Ferguson and Robert Shafer, one of the country’s premiere Telecaster slingers and two-time national flatpicking champion.

“Guest” Ants — sitting in for sets that ping-pong from rock ‘n’ roll and blues to country — have included Radney Foster, Bill Lloyd, Don Dixon, Rodney Crowell, Robyn Hitchcock, Taj Mahal, the late Luther Allison, English rock legend Kevin Coyne, Bill Kirchen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Howard Levy, ex-Replacement Slim Dunlap, Marshall Crenshaw, John Mooney and Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor..

The group’s trademark sound — rich, soulful harmonies, stinging solos and a rock-solid rhythm section — captures that rare, loose-but-tight feel, and has won the band international as well as regional fans. The Ants have twice traveled to Moscow. The trips found the group performing at a variety of venues including the 3,500-seat Russia Concert Hall, the city’s most prestigious room, a Letterman-styled TV show with a national audience of 100 million (!!), funky clubs and gaudy casinos.

Individually, the resumes are equally impressive. As the house guitarist on the nationally syndicated radio and TV show “Mountain Stage,” Lipton has played behind dozens of guests including Dr. John, Gatemouth Brown, Warren Zevon, Bob Geldoff, Fontella Bass, Don Dixon and Tracy Nelson. He has played on and/or produced nationally distributed CDs for Southern Culture on the Skids, Speed The Plough, Kevin Coyne, the Amazing Delores, Robert Shafer, Winston Walls and Steve Ferguson. In addition, he has toured with Ferguson, Coyne (in Europe and the U.S.) and zydeco accordionist Al Rapone, and scored three feature-length films for WV filmmaker Danny Boyd.

Charlie Tee has played with a number of national artists including David Sanborn and the Chantelles, and Ted Harrison and Jupiter Little have opened for Diamond Rio, Charlie Daniels, Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

For info and/or booking call Michael Lipton: 304/342.4412
Fax; 304/342.7646
http://www.carpenterants.net/