The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - BIO Known for keeping the hammer down to the tune of 200+ live shows a year, the ironically-named three-piece has developed a following that extends well beyond the borders of their Brown County Indiana home. The band is just off a 30-show, 5-country European tour that featured 12 festival appearances, several sold-out theaters.
A lifelong student of American roots and blues music styles, and a self-proclaimed disciple of country-blues pioneers like Charley Patton and Mississippi Fred McDowell, The Reverend (Josh) Peyton has always been committed to authenticity. His guitar technique is widely esteemed, not only for its it virtuosity, but for its ability to assimilate the spirits of these past masters, electrifying and invigorating their voices for a modern audience. Valuing playfulness and adventure above all, the charismatic multi-instrumentalist has innovated a way to plug in and play most anything you can lay hands on. At any time during a show he may produce an instrument built from a cigar box, or an axe handle, or a can of ham. And play it well.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band’s last two releases “Between the Ditches” (2012) and “So Delicious” (2015) both debuted at #1 on blues radio charts, and a forthcoming “Front Porch Sessions” release due in early-2017 spotlights Rev’s folkier influences. A listen to the BDB catalog quickly reveals a deep respect for tradition and hard work, a love of family and an affinity for home cooking, pickup trucks, screen doors and all things true to the midwestern iconography.
As channeled through the Big Damn Band, however, the Reverend's mostly-original sets evoke energies easily compared to blue-collar, homespun, punk-rock. Wife Breezy Peyton keeps the fire to The Rev’s feet with an aggressive attack on washboard while drummer Maxwell Joseph bangs out time for the fist-pumping faithful on little more than a stripped down kit and a pickle bucket. When the band does touch on a cover song, their imprint is so pronounced and their delivery so uniquely engaging as to redefine the number.