Folk-rockers the Ballroom Thieves got their start in a Stonehill College dorm room, where Devin Mauch put a djembe on its side and began pounding it with a stick while Martin Earley played acoustic guitar. “Dorm rooms are too small to have a full drum set, so we wanted to get the big sound of a drum set without actually having all the parts,” singer/songwriter Earley says. “It’s just kind of evolved.”
Evolved is an understatement—and that extends beyond Mauch’s setup, which now includes a snare, a floor tom, cymbals and some bells around his legs. The Ballroom Thieves released their fabulous debut album, A Wolf in the Doorway, in April and earned an opening slot at Boston Calling in May. Now the four-year-old trio is slated to perform at the Newport Folk Festival on July 26. “It’s one of our favorite places in the world,” metaphor-rooted songwriter Earley says of that landmark folk fest. “It was more of a ‘Holy shit’ moment rather than ‘This is expected.’ ”
The Ballroom Thieves did expect to gain a solid replacement on cello when the classically trained Calin Peters joined two years ago. “It’s just a really versatile instrument, so it allows us to keep our band kinda small,” says Earley, who plays some hollow-bodied electric guitar. But Peters has broadened the trio’s sound in unanticipated ways, adding electric bass to sinewy blues-rocker “Wolf” and not only joining in harmonies but serving as an enchanting lead vocal on “Bury Me Smiling.”
“We’ve done some things where all three of us play drums onstage or people switch roles,” Earley says of a sound that’s passionate and anthemic enough to appeal to fans of both the Lone Bellow and Dispatch. “It’s about having a good time while we play these songs.”
Sound Check
From the Allston underground to the platform of Boston Calling, from soul-pop to folk-rock and garage-punk, our city produces scores of great original
By Paul Robicheau | Photo Credit: Eric Jones | July 17, 2015
The Ballroom Thieves
Folk-rockers the Ballroom Thieves got their start in a Stonehill College dorm room, where Devin Mauch put a djembe on its side and began pounding it with a stick while Martin Earley played acoustic guitar. “Dorm rooms are too small to have a full drum set, so we wanted to get the big sound of a drum set without actually having all the parts,” singer/songwriter Earley says. “It’s just kind of evolved.”
Evolved is an understatement—and that extends beyond Mauch’s setup, which now includes a snare, a floor tom, cymbals and some bells around his legs. The Ballroom Thieves released their fabulous debut album, A Wolf in the Doorway, in April and earned an opening slot at Boston Calling in May. Now the four-year-old trio is slated to perform at the Newport Folk Festival on July 26. “It’s one of our favorite places in the world,” metaphor-rooted songwriter Earley says of that landmark folk fest. “It was more of a ‘Holy shit’ moment rather than ‘This is expected.’ ”
The Ballroom Thieves did expect to gain a solid replacement on cello when the classically trained Calin Peters joined two years ago. “It’s just a really versatile instrument, so it allows us to keep our band kinda small,” says Earley, who plays some hollow-bodied electric guitar. But Peters has broadened the trio’s sound in unanticipated ways, adding electric bass to sinewy blues-rocker “Wolf” and not only joining in harmonies but serving as an enchanting lead vocal on “Bury Me Smiling.”
“We’ve done some things where all three of us play drums onstage or people switch roles,” Earley says of a sound that’s passionate and anthemic enough to appeal to fans of both the Lone Bellow and Dispatch. “It’s about having a good time while we play these songs.”
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