Jeremiah Birnbaum: What the papers say.

"As smooth and palatable as the finest Tennessee sippin' whiskey, The Ramblers will be unleashing their very own distinguishable brand of soul music fused with the sweetest elements of Americana on Rebel Spirit audiences this month. The band's strength lays in a gritty, feel-good roots sound that can't fail but to stir the soul and warm the blood. The Ramblers flourish in a live environment, feeding off of the raw, muddy atmosphere and delivering the type of un-shackled blues music that has stood the test of time. In our current climate, who couldn't use the pick me up!?" -Joel Crane, www.rebelspiritmusic.com

Jan 2009: Voted one of the Top Ten Gigs of 2008 by BobMcKee, Local Music Now: http://www.meetnowlive.com/blog/local-music-now/new-yorks-top-ten-live-music-gigs-of-2008/

From Glide Magazine, Jan 21 2009, Under The Radar Bands:

"The Ramblers [are] rambling along with ironic momentum having released their self-titled debut at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble in June of 2008 and touring heavily, supporting some notable names like the Levon Helm Band and Greensky Bluegrass.

"The Ramblers churn out a honey-laced law-runnin’ sound that unsurprisingly calls upon The Band. Several spins in, another familiar name also pops up with lead singer Jeremiah Birnbaum’s serene vocals reminiscent of one Reid Genauer, a number of tunes definitely have an Assembly of Dust vibe (see Always Another Way to Be Gone). Between their spunky country blues, patient soulful ballads and hands-on-waists boot tappin’ jamborees, the Ramblers are bound to find a niche of fans looking for some genuine American rock n’ roll. Considering that the going rate for the former generation of this like-minded sound is charging about $100 a ticket these days, the Ramblers might just bank out on this recession thing too. And hell, a nitrous tank showed up at their December show in Brooklyn, so that has to count for something, right?" -Ryan Dembinsky, www.glidemagazine.com

Jeremiah Birnbaum’s self-produced EP, Dawn, is full of sweet-voiced singer-songwriterly numbers, proving that the young New Jersey native is talented...

"rootsy, soulful troubadour..."

Jeremiah's music has the intricately ethereal nature of Jeff Buckley at times, and the lonely grit of Johnny Cash at others. The trite "rising star" denotation might actually mean something when applied to this bluesy guitar slinger's live performances. Keep your eye (and ear) out. - Sarah Royal

Jeremiah Birnbaum brings a hint of soul to the world of folk. His strong vocals and evocative piano flourishes recall a young Van Morrison or an upbeat Mark Kozelek. Birnbaum has reinvigorated the singer-songwriter tradition.

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I finally got to see a Ramblers show last night. I’ve seen my buddy, Jeremiah Birnbaum (above), play solo gigs as well as playing in other people’s bands, and as part of the Late Night at Rockwood house band, but I had never been able to make it to one of the many shows performed over the past year by his band, THE RAMBLERS.

I guess I wasn’t really aware of who exactly, other than Jeremiah, made up this band. But I can tell you this... as soon as I saw them assembled on the stage, I KNEW they were gonna be good before they played a single note. I had seen each one of these band members DOZENS of times as super talented ’hired guns’ for other people’s bands.

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John Embree, Caz Ishijima, Mark Marshall and Jeremiah are the core group - between them they have worked with numerous others including; Misty Boyce, Bryan Dunn, Shanna Zell, Lara Ewen, Marwood, Shwa......... on and on and on, and no matter where they play, or who they play with, they stand out as stunning musicians in their own right. So naturally, when you put them together they become a kind of super group of side men and blow you away with their chops. Such was the case last night. Because they are such beloved, talented, reliable, professional players for others, they get lots of fun local musicians to join them onstage doing harmonica, piano or harmonies.




The sound is rootsy, bluesy rock with plenty of opportunity for Mark Marshall to shine on mind blowing guitar licks. Mark Marshall is, without argument, one of the greatest guitar players in NYC today. John, who I had seen on drums many times, blew me away with his vocals - taking the lead on several songs. My favorite song of the night was "Picture of a Prayer" which Bryan Dunn joined in on for some great harmony. You can have a listen to that one on the Rambler’s page: http://www.myspace.com/theramblersnyc

The amazing guitar chops of Mark Marshall and Jeremiah Birnbaum

Even before the Ramblers show I had been rolling around the idea of my next Urban Folk article being about the extremely talented unsung heroes of the indie music scene, the super hot ’Hired Guns’....... this has just solidified the concept. I’m now going to start doing some e-mail intrviews with some of the best in NYC like

Ryan Vaughn - Drums

Tony Macelli - Bass

Tarah Reynolds - Violen and string arranger

Jim Macnamara - Stand up Bass

and , of course, all the guys who make up the Ramblers.

One of the finest guitar players on the New York songwriter circuit, Jeremiah generously bestowed some new folk-blues numbers on an appreciative and attentive audience. Uncanny were the strong orchestrations put together by Jeremiah and djembe percussionist John Embree. They "jammed" without ever over doing it. Sweet. Also, this performance yielded one of the best covers every played at the Jezebel Music Showcase; a tasty, slow, and off-kilter rendition of Dylan's "Just Like a Woman."- Gabriel Levitt

Jeremiah Birnbaum's eclectic singer/songwriter compositions reveal a traveling soul beneath his poppy jazz-rock exterior. Lyrically influenced by such writers as Steinbeck and Dylan Thomas, Birnbaum crafts mellifluous words to mesh with his precisely built tunes

"Birnbaum's music is being heard on radio stations across the globe and he's becoming quite the MidPoint veteran. He is an ASCAPLUS Popular Music Award (an award for ASCAP writer members) recipient, he opened for Suzanne Vega and he's been featured as a Spotlight Artist on SonicBids." (Cincinnati City Beat, Sept. 21, 2006)

...refined voice...polished musicianship...emotion-driven music...a riotously fun time.