When Squirrel Butter isn't drawing crowds at Pike Place Market, the Seattle sweetheart Old Time duo is busy playing concerts, leading jams, and organizing the Emerald City's hot Old Time scene. A splinter group of The Tallboys, Squirrel Butter is comprised of Charlie Beck and Charmaine "Lady Li-Lei" Slaven, who are both proving to be leaders in the bourgeoning Northwest roots genre. Charlie Beck plays banjo and guitar, amongst other instruments, while Charmaine is best known for her clean, virtuosic buckdancing, which she somehow does while playing guitar. They combine rip-roaring old-time tunes with funky hokum songs and country blues picking, both on banjo and guitar. Their new CD, Renderings, also features both Charlie and Charmaine on fiddle, in addition to all their other instruments and Charmaine's dancing. It's an impressive amount of music being made by this young couple! Squirrel Butter's sound is authentic, raw, and true to tradition. Give them a listen and you'll be amazed that such full sounds can come from two lovebirds who only play with what they can carry on their backs from one gig to the next.

When Squirrel Butter isn't drawing crowds at Pike Place Market, the Seattle sweetheart Old Time duo is busy playing concerts, leading jams, and organizing the Emerald City's hot Old Time scene. A splinter group of The Tallboys, Squirrel Butter is comprised of Charlie Beck and Charmaine "Lady Li-Lei" Slaven, who are both proving to be leaders in the bourgeoning Northwest roots genre.

Charlie Beck plays banjo and guitar, amongst other instruments, while Charmaine is best known for her clean, virtuosic buckdancing, which she somehow does while playing guitar. They combine rip-roaring old-time tunes with funky hokum songs and country blues picking, both on banjo and guitar. Their new CD, Renderings, also features both Charlie and Charmaine on fiddle, in addition to all their other instruments and Charmaine's dancing. It's an impressive amount of music being made by this young couple!

Squirrel Butter's sound is authentic, raw, and true to tradition. Give them a listen and you'll be amazed that such full sounds can come from two lovebirds who only play with what they can carry on their backs from one gig to the next.

- Devon Leger, Hearth Music