Demolition String Band

“Demolition String Band’s members are across-the-board connoisseurs; master instrumentalists, lyricists and entertainers while Skye is a vocal treasure.”

-BILLBOARD MAGAZINE

With a shared passion for country, rock ‘n roll, bluegrass and mountain music singer/songwriter Elena Skye (Chicago, IL) and multi-instrumentalist Boo Reiners (Charlotte, N.C.) front the NYC based Demolition String Band. Their paths first crossed in a bookstore in Hoboken, N.J. co-owned and managed by Elena. Elena, who had started playing in bluegrass bands when she was 15 years old, and Boo who had grown up playing guitar and banjo and devouring Flatt & Scruggs records, instantly hit it off. They started getting together to play in the store after hours and pretty soon were inspired to form a band.

“The name Demolition String Band came from the environment around Hoboken at the time. They were demolishing small older homes and putting up big condo complexes to take advantage of the more upscale crowd that was moving into town,” says Elena.

They soon found their way to a growing bluegrass and country scene across the river in the Lower East Side in NYC, leading a bluegrass jam on Sundays on Saint Mark’s Place and playing every Monday night as part of The Alphabet City Opry. They appeared regularly on WKCR’s Moonshine Show and Elena made frequent guest deejay appearances hosting segments such as Women In Bluegrass and The Roots of Country.

Elena and Boo shared more than just a love of bluegrass and began exploring the music of classic country artists like Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. They added a snare drum and Boo picked up his Telecaster and even though they were no longer a true “string band” the name stuck.

“That was a great time for us,” Boo remembers, “We were able to immerse ourselves in music we love, and soon were ready to record an album and hit the road.”

They have since released five albums, toured the USA and Europe and shared bills with a wide range of artists such as The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adam, Joan Osborne, Patti Smith, Ricky Skaggs, Southern Culture On The Skids, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Roger McGuinn. They’ve played everything from pub gigs in Ireland, Irving Plaza in NYC, festivals in the Netherlands and have appeared live on radio shows like WDVX's "Blue Plate Special” (Knoxville TN), “The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour” (Lexington, KY) and WFUV’s “Words & Music Live In Studio A with Rita Houston” (NYC).

They made an appearance on The Conan O’Brian show in a skit starring Amy Poehler, and have had music in the PBS show “History Detectives.” They provided music for the documentary “Burning The Future: Coal In America” about the disastrous effects of mountaintop removal and since donating their music to the film they have performed at various fundraisers for the cause as well as at the “Appalachian Rising” action and conference in Washington, DC.

In September 2014 The Demolition String Band’s song “Go Coney Island, Roll On The Sand” (lyrics Woody Guthrie/music Elena Skye) was included in the Grammy nominated three CD set "My Name Is New York: Ramblin' Around Woody Guthrie's Town." The project includes interviews with Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan, and Woody Guthrie song collaborations by Del McCoury Band, Billy Bragg and Wilco.

In 2015 they plan to release two CDs, the first a collection of Elena’s originals produced by Boo Reiners. The second, “Get Waxed!” is an EP of wax cylinder recordings made at The Thomas Edison Museum where they had been invited to record in front of an audience as part of a celebration of Thomas Edison’s birthday. They just finished their third tour to Ireland where they performed in clubs and pubs around The Emerald Island as well as at The Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival and The Omagh Bluegrass Festival in Northern Ireland.

Whether performing as a four piece rockin’ roots band with drums and bass or as a duo with their banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitars and harmony vocals around a single mic, the passion of this collaboration continues to shine.