Puss n Boots is an American alternative country band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, formed in 2008 that consists of members

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Sasha Dobson Sasha Dobson (born March 31, 1979) is an American jazz singer from Santa Cruz, California. Early life Dobson comes from a musical family. Her father, Smith Dobson (Smith Weed Dobson IV, 1947–2001) was a pianist who recorded with Mark Murphy ...

and

Catherine Popper Catherine Popper (born December 28, 1973) is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Jack White. Popper is also a member of ...

. Their debut full-length album, ''

No Fools, No Fun ''No Fools, No Fun'' is the debut full-length album by Brooklyn-based alt-country trio Puss n Boots, released on July 15, 2014, through Blue Note Records. It is a collection of five original and seven cover songs originally performed by artists i ...

'', was released on July 15, 2014, through

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

History

Formation (2008-2013)

The group formed in 2008 when Jones began playing Brooklyn venues to practice guitar, with the help of Dobson. They were then joined by Popper, and the three began working together to expand creatively. Some of the group's early shows were in front of friends and done just for fun as they covered songs they loved. In an interview with

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

published July 17, 2014, Jones describes the first shows as "never stressful because it was loose and nobody was coming but our friends." Dobson adds, "We were just playing shows and coming together as our schedules went along. It was just about playing music and not having an agenda of any kind." In a July 2014 interview with

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...

, they described the formation of the band:

"Sasha booked a gig at a pool hall for us to learn guitar on ... So, that’s how we started playing guitar, because Sasha and I, we were already singers," said Norah. "We learned enough chords on guitar to get Catherine here to play with us ... We played a lot of gigs when we were all in town just kinda to get together and have fun. And then finally we sounded like a band enough to where we thought we’d make a record."

Since the group came together each member has made attempts at trying new instruments they weren't previously accustomed to. For Jones and Dobson it was

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(and also

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

for Dobson), and for Popper it was

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

''No Fools, No Fun'' (2014-present)

After years of playing small and occasional shows around New York City, the band decided in early 2014 to make a full-length album. On April 21, 2014, a Blue Note Records press release announced that the band would release its debut full-length album, titled "No Fools, No Fun", on July 15, 2014. In support of the album, Puss n Boots toured during the summer and fall of 2014. Along with clubs, the band performed at numerous festivals including the

Clearwater Festival The Clearwater Festival (officially the Great Hudson River Revival) is a music and environmental summer festival and America's oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. This unique event has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June ...

, Green River Festival and the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

. The band then opened for

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

during his tour in July 2015.

Band members

(Adapted from ''No Fools, No Fun'' liner notes) ;Current members *

– vocals, electric guitar, fiddle (2008–present) *

– vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, bass (2008–present) *

– vocals, bass, acoustic guitar (2008–present)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (2014) * ''Sister'' (2020) ;EP * ''Dear Santa'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puss n Boots American alternative country groups Blue Note Records artists Norah Jones