Bringing universal themes of love, life and the road, Side st. Reny blends roots 'n blues based acoustic fingerstyle and slide guitar with original poignant songwriting. Reny's syncopated, soulful Smokey vocals together with Bell's high harmonies evoke images of a delta juke joint and will draw you in instantly. The result of their efforts is a seemingly organic blend of the elements, sewing 100 plus yrs of American music into a rich tapestry of eclectic yet somehow familiar sounds all their own.
Side st. Reny aka 'Slim Pickins' - I was born of a beautiful man who died from an ugly habit and a wonderful woman who was destined to live with the ramifications those choices brought to their life. I was raised by my dear artistic mother and an abusive alchoholic stepfather who shall be forever cursed by the Karma created by his actions towards us.
I have been half way around the world and back again. Recorded vocals for some major label releases and have shared the stage with many major acts, none of which are of any significance at this point in time and have no real bearing on the direction my life has taken in the last ten years, or the direction I am heading.
It was the distain for the pop driven youth obsessed music industry and the tribulations it put me and so many innocent victims through, that led me to the realization that there must be another route. And the discovery that a career based around truthful songwriting and real feeling far outweighed the need for money or adulation by the masses. Though I've faltered over the years, I will never settle for anything less than my hearts contentment and true expression.
Oh yeah, somewhere along the way I fell in love with pre-war blues, which subsequently became, over time, the catalyst for the most of the music I write and the reason I play that old 1932' National resonator guitar. It was also the discovery of the first two Jim Jarmusch movies, along with vital changes in the world that led me to a new found love and respect for the good and bad side of human nature, a love for the truly flawed individuals that are the real back bone of the world we live in.
Lil'Bell aka 'Mariposa' - Bell is the product of an adulterous love affair, raised by a classically "Catholic" mother who can never seem to live down her mistakes even after fleeing their native Colombia. She is, and always has been a lover and not a fighter, although she does have her bouts with rage, especially against those who would hold her or those she loves down or keep them from reaching their goals in life. She is also a devout follower of the church of Frida Kahlo and a wonderful painter in her own rite who has yet to realize her full potential.
Bell and I met in New York's lower east side some twelve years ago and has been by my side ever since. She has aspirations of world travel and all the accoutrements than come with being a musician looking at the world from a stage. In short she is a real artist with a real artistic soul and a big heart to match.
