cary novotny
The Badlanders
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The Badlanders are a new country band and brainchild of South Dakota native Cary Novotny and take their namesake from the unique, desolate natural wonder known as the Badlands. Novotny moved to the bluegrass of southern Kentucky at the age of 12, where he began his musical career learning the classical guitar and absorbing the deep country and bluegrass musical culture of the region. After moving to the Northwest and playing many years in various Irish, folk and popular music bands, including Cul an Ti and the Hanz Araki band, Novotny returned to explore his Kentucky country and Americana roots and has now become a regular in the Nashville area music scene as a performing singer/songwriter.
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Eddie Parente has been prominent in Northwest country and folk music circles, playing and recording with a number of respected traditional bands throughout the years. Although widely known for his virtuosic innovative fiddle playing, Eddie is also an accomplished viola and mandolin player. Eddie has composed and recorded many original tunes, which have in turn been recorded and played by other musicians. Eddie also composes, and performs Celtic, Jazz, Gypsy Jazz and Classical music.
Pete Burak has been one of the finest steel guitar players in the Northwest for almost three decades and currently leads the band Rhapsody in Red. His band credits also include many respected and critically acclaimed artists such as Elisabeth Ames and the Countrypolitans as well as the aleb Klauder Band.
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Acoustic and Electric Bassist, Matthew Rotchford has performed throughout the Northwest for three decades with various jazz ensembles, trios, rock bands, Irish bands, and folk and blues groups. He has performed and/or recorded with artists including Arnie Carruthers, Al-Andalus, Ethel Ennis, Vagabond Opera, Ritchie Cole, Jeremy Wilson, Wynton Marsalis, Hank Cramer, Dan Maher, Susannah Mars, Norman Leyden, Cronin Tierney, Paul Brainard, Bahttsi, Thomas Rheingans, Obo Addy, Catherine Loyer, Bobby Shew, Jameson Wandling, St. James's Gate, and The Tiki Men.
Dennis Elmer has been playing drums and vibes professionally for thirty-five years in many Northwest bands in the rock, country, blues and jazz world. He has performed with many successful bands, including St. James’s Gate, Big Yellow Taxi, the Reverb Brothers and as a Church musician. Dennis has a BA in music performance from Marylhurst College.
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Other Players Appearing with the Badlanders in the Nashville Area
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Frank Lawrence: bass player from Woodbury, Kentucky who Cary Novotny met while the two attended Warren Central High School together in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Frank is very experienced bass player and singer who has played professionally for 40 years and whose appearances include the Grand Ole Opry.
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“Herricane” Camille Wallin: journeywoman acclaimed bass player and singer with decades of experience touring and performing as a solo artist and with many high level country acts.
Nathan Place: Drummer based in Nashville who plays countless performance on the legendary lower Broadway honky-tonk scene in Nashville and is in demand by many great country bands in the area.
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Rich Mossman: Highly sought after Nashville-based drummer who has 4 decades of experience playing with a wide variety of rock, country, jazz and other ensembles. Rich has also gained a reputation for his tremendous skills as a studio music producer in Nashville.
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Matthew Clinkenbeard: virtuosic guitar genius whose innovative playing is featured in many respected jazz ensembles and has earned him a spot playing with many well-known artists, including Derryl Perry, Crystal Gayle, and Amanda Raye.
Together, the Badlanders combine the unique songwriting of Cary Novotny with inventive covers from every era of country music for a sound that evokes everything from the quiet desolation of the Great Plains, to modern bluegrass to the honky-tonks of Texas and Nashville.
Irish Music Projects
Cary maintains a busy schedule as a guitar accompanist in the world of Celtic music and has recorded and performed with many other great Irish musicians in the world, including Kevin Burke, The Bridies, Johnny Connolly, Hanz Araki, Laurence Nugent, Colleen Raney, Brongaene Griffin Colin Farrell, and the touring Irish dance show “Celtic Legends.”
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Cul an Ti
After Cary took a family trip to the West of Ireland and rediscovered his Irish roots from his Mother’s side of the family who had emigrated from Ireland, Novotny began learning many of the great songs from the Irish folk music canon, as well as the tools to become a great accompanist of traditional Irish instrumental tunes. From 1995 to the present, Novotny performed in “Cul an Ti,” which went on to become one of the most successful traditional Irish bands in the Northwest with hundreds of performances of a mixture of lively traditional Irish tunes and many of the great Irish folk songs.
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Tradmill
California-based fiddle player John Weed of "Molly's Revenge" fame joins Novotny and Johnny Connolly in a high energy yet subtle and diverse celtic music trio [photo attached] which has recently begun performing together on the west coast and plans to be playing more together in the future.
Cary & the
Soulard Boys
Novotny occasionally teams up with two St. Louis-based Irish music masters, Dan Lowery on the flute and Kevin Buckley on the fiddle, for a rollicking trio that plays a mixture of traditional Irish, Americana, folk and country music. Kevin currently tours with the highly -acclaimed band "Jig Jam," and Dan Lowery is a veteran performer with many top tier Irish music artists, including the Bronx Boys and Caitlin Warbelow. Dan, originally from Texas is also known for his beautiful Willie Nelson-like guitar playing and soulful voice. Kevin also is deeply steeped in many American folk and country music traditions, and is an excellent guitar player and singer as well.
Seamus Egan band
Portland-based Irish tenor banjo player Seamus Egan originally from Cloghan, County Offaly, Ireland teams up with long time friend Novotny to lead a high energy ensemble for occasional performances during St. Patrick's Day week and other events throughout the year. Other frequent members include Matt Rotchford on bass, Joe Trump on percussion and fiddle players Erik Killips and Django Amerson.
Máire Egan
A star of the legendary house band "SinÉRí-Rá" (shin-ay ree ra) at the Nine Fine Irishman pub at the New York New York casino on the Las Vegas strip, Maire Egan is a fiddle player and singer of extraordinary skill, energy, charm and effervescence on stage. Maire, sister of Seamus Egan, is a veteran of the phenomenal touring shows Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and Celtic Tiger. Egan and Novotny occasionally team up for performances at the legendary John D. McGurk's in St. Louis and other venues on the West coast and in Nashville along with usual suspects, including Johnny Connolly, Seamus Egan, Dan Lowery, and Kevin Buckley.
Johnny Connolly &
Cary Novotny Duo
Johnny Connolly and Cary Novotny Duo: Having performed together for hundreds of performances over the last 25 years, Johnny and Cary team up for a powerful traditional Irish music duo. Johnny Connolly (button accordion) has one solo recording on Green Linnet Records, "Bridgetown," and has most recently toured with the legendary band “Solas.”