CURRENT MISSION

Create and share uncompromised Americana and contemporized Western

ABOUT ME

www.Lauraandthekilledmen.com

Sam Golden: vocals, guitar
Seth Vietti: drums, vocals
Bjorgvin Benediktsson: bass, vocals, guitar
Laura Kepner-Adney: guitar, percussion, vocals

Laura and the Killed Men steep their songs in the lore of the American West, refracting its triumphs and tragedies through an intimate lens. Laura Kepner-Adney, the lead singer and guitarist in the Tucson-based band, shades her spellbinding voice with echoes of country and Appalachia. Her expansive songwriting, honed from seven years in the critically acclaimed ensemble Silver Thread Trio, highlights her connection to Arizona’s unforgiving environment. For Laura and the Killed Men’s first LP, Everchanging Trail, Kepner-Adney, in collaboration with songwriting partner and lead guitarist Sam Golden, has developed a style that weaves together all the diverse and disparate elements of what has defined country music throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and forges something timelessly familiar yet wholly unique. Bob Hanshaw and Björgvin Benediktsson, sharing bass duties, and Seth Vietti, drums, supply soaring vocal harmonies and a tightly refined backbeat. After making their debut opening for Mavis Staples, Laura and the Killed Men recorded the One Bell hybrid CD/analog record and embarked on a nine-week national tour. Their first full-length album, Everchanging Trail (released April 2016), uses songs they wrote on their 12,000-mile journey around the country.

PHILOSOPHY

Sam: "Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand."

Bjorgvin: Everything that is good will either die or get ruined. (corollary: enjoy it while you've got it.)

Laura: when in doubt, force it.

Seth: "...and so the universal thump is passed round, and all hands should rub each other's shoulder-blades, and be content."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
Laura and the Killed Men is going on a nationwide tour in the Spring of 2016. We heard about couch surfing from a friend of ours, and we are excited to take part!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
Over the course of a combined 12 weeks on the road, we've surfed after many shows. Super rad hospitality and such.

Interests

Antiquing, classical music, spirits/brewing/distilling, languages and writing, teaching, hiking, calligraphy and pens, feminism and social justice, Weird Twitter, bartending/mixology, luthiery, cooking, reading, American history, traveling

• writing
• environment
• womens rights
• cooking
• cocktails
• flying
• reading
• traveling
• music
• classical music
• country music
• guitar
• drums
• hiking
• surfing
• calligraphy
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

St Vincent, Owen Pallett, Tuneyards, Talking Heads, Beach Boys, Animal Collective, Tinariwen, Schubert, Bach, Radiohead

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Opened for Mavis Staples at the Fox Theatre!

Teach, Learn, Share

SOMETHING WE CAN TEACH

Most topics in music theory; lots of music history; language tidbits; shit about U.S. Presidents; really anything related to our interests.

SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN

Better Spanish.

SOMETHING WE CAN SHARE

Our music, our stories, our helping hands for cooking, cleaning, repairs and so on.

What I Can Share with Hosts

MUSIC!