Blackbird RAUM plays a misleading set of instruments: washtub bass, washboard, accordion, mandolin and banjo. From the looks of it it should be bluegrass, gypsy music or jug band music. Actually we play music that is influenced by anarchopunk, fantasy metal, and songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Kurt Cobain. We scream really loud in five part harmony and mostly sing about impending ecological doom and people sniffing glue because they don’t have enough food. Our shows usually have crowd surfing and people doing some sort of hybrid mosh/waltz.  We strive to make music that is somehow both extremely fun and terribly depressing.

From the press:

Even the most avid music lover—that insatiable individual who hunts euphonious euphoria on a daily basis —rarely finds a piece of music that knocks him or her to the ground, breathless. It’s inevitable when listening to music in abundance: The more you hear, the greater your immunity toward that which is merely passable. Bands must then either attempt innovation or excel past others in its genre to receive attention. Sometimes, however, both occur at once. Such is the case with anarcho-Americana band Blackbird Raum’s 2007 LP, Purse Seine—a mix of raw creativity and old-fashioned genre tunes that left me openmouthed and sputtering even before the first track’s final accordion sting had faded to sonorous black.http://www.rabbitholemusic.com/wordpress/?p=147

“Whatever you or you, or you hail for inspiration is pretty wounded”-daniel D, myspace.com

…the punk/folk band Blackbird Raum plays and utterly blows my mind. They’re all fine musicians, well-rehearsed–but it’s the washboard player who floors me most thoroughly, outdoing the accordion, banjo, washtub bass, musical saw and mandolin, playing ridiculous fills, constantly varying rhythms at blinding tempi. All this unamplified, saturated with friendship between the band members. A young woman with a sprig of fern in her hair dances with another woman, and their closeness is the perfect beautiful compliment, until I forget about them completely in the thrill of the songs.

http://ndgwriting.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

A handful of tattered musicians and their equally tattered instruments emit something completely unexpected, and completely out of the ordinary here: music. Real music. Something at once soulful and light-hearted, it’s so good it stops me in my tracks. And I’m not the only one. About two-dozen spectators are slowly creeping toward the impromptu concert. Even the napping cyclists are sitting up to take notice. I’ve stumbled upon the very first chords of something truly special, and the opportunity does not escape me.

http://cerezasytigres.blogspot.com/2008/07/taking-flight-with-blackbird-raum-cause.html

“i like the instrumental intro, but the overall impression seems to be very nostalgic and depressive. if i were in the band, i would get rid of the vocalist and get that trumpet player back. i would also get the accordionist (you) to play short syncopated chords and notes, instead of staying on one chord for a long time. that would make the music more upbeat. (in other words, the old raum sound that you guys used to have). the kid with the washboard seemed like an extra.” -Leonid Miretsky, critic and musical genius

They’ve been described with a number of adjectives, including folk, celtic, punk, jug-band, protest, etc. You’ve never heard their precise genre because there is no major record label actively promoting bands like themselves, and major distribution has never before been available to music with no existing and clearly defined market. Their music is energetic dancing music largely inspired by Irish Folk, and hits you over the head with some stark realities of what we’ve done to our world.

http://couranttimes.com/2008/10/13/who-is-blackbird-raum/