Jennifer Markey
From Minnewiki
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Biography
Some of my first memories are of singing with my mom, but it was when my friend and roommate at the time, Kris, suggested I sing karaoke at Waldo's, a biker bar in the Camden neighborhood in North Minneapolis, that I caught the bug. That night I sang "Me and Bobby McGee", Janis-style, for a bunch of Hell's Angels. They freaked out! I couldn't believe THAT came out of ME! I sang karaoke anywhere I could.
I settled down and got married in 2001 and laid it to rest. My husband and I rarely went out. I found the Country Jam at the Hexagon bar in South Minneapolis in January, 2003, and I sang "Walkin' After Midnight". I was there every week for several months-I drove there in a snowstorm to sing one week. Finally, Dan Gaarder got fed up with me not knowing what keys my songs were in; he asked me if I owned a guitar. I did but I hadn't played it in years. He encouraged me to pick it up again. I did, and I started learning how to play and sing simultaneously!
I divorced that spring, and met Jon (see Jennifer's friends). We started going to all the Mayslack's open stage Mondays, performing and meeting many well-respected local musicians. It was there that I met Rich Mattson, Sherwin Linton and Wayne McFarlane, people I still am proud to associate myself with to this day.
While performing at the Hexagon, I met Richard Gunderson, bass player for the Dieselfitters, who were just getting a jam started at the Eagles' club in South Mineapolis. I started showing up to that, too, working on my stage presence, guitar playing and vocal skills. About a year later, Richard asked me to join the band.
I began writing songs in late 2005, with the help of Mr. Dan Gaarder. His assistance with chord structuring and lyric-writing gave me just the push I needed to begin writing songs on my own. I asked him to be my guitar player, then enlisted Kevin Anthony, who had just moved to town from New York by way of Texas, to play fiddle. Kevin's other band, the Twin City Playboys, had this great upright bass player named Eric Paulson, who Kevin said would be thrilled to play with me too. We started rehearsing together in February 2006 and played our first show at Lee's Liquor Lounge in March.
Bands
Discography
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Reviews
"... this past Saturday night, I ventured into the 331 Club in Minneapolis and encountered Jennifer Markey and her Buckboard Boys, a four-piece roots country band who played original music, covers of Charley Pride and Patsy Cline and an impressive number of countrified covers of the Thompson Twins ("Hold Me Now"), Journey ("Lights") and even Gonzo from The Muppet Movie ("I'm Going to Go Back There Someday"). Lead singer Jennifer Markey's lugubrious voice packs a lot of power and endurance, while the Buckboard Boys enhance her rhythm guitar with plucked-out passing tones, a strong bassline and expressive fiddle fills."
Luke Taylor, gather.com
