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Posts Tagged ‘yonder mountain string band’

A Yonder Mountain New Year

By: Dennis Cook

YMSB by Chad Smith

On December 30 and 31, Yonder Mountain String Band will gather at St. Louis, MO’s The Pageantwith their faithful Kinfolk to ring in the New Year. The NYE show will feature three sets, including one set suggested entirely by the fans – drop your suggestions at yondermountain.com, phantasytour.com or the band’s Facebook or Twitter pages. We grabbed the boys for a few minutes to discuss playing at this special time of year.

JamBase: What is it about New Year’s Eve that floats your boat? It is a special time for both bands and fans.

Dave Johnston: New Year’s Eve is pretty cool because it’s like amateur night [laughs]. There’s a lot of electricity and good vibes going on, and we’re very receptive to that sort of energy. If you put us in that situation we find it to be a good experiential and musical nexus of propulsion to the next year!

Ben Kaufmann: For me – and I guess everybody – it’s a time of reflection or 50-percent reflection, 50-percent looking forward. I get to sit there onstage and think about all the things we’ve done – all the trials & tribulations overcome, the great successes – and the other part of my brain is looking forward to the next year and the things we’re gonna do and the new ideas. It is a very liminal, transitional period of time. I don’t know how the calendar worked 2000 years ago but this was the time picked for the changing of the old from the new, and it’s a very powerful time.

Adam Aijala: It’s also, for a long time now, been a time to let loose, and that definitely goes for bands and fans around the country. There’s a bit of reflection but also a good bit of drinking going on. It’s always been fun for us. I don’t think we’ve missed a New Year’s since we started. It’s one of the bigger shows of the year for us just for the fun factor.

JamBase: New Year’s Eve is one the core tribe of a band comes out because they want to celebrate with YOU.

Adam: That’s probably true. We’ve done New Year’s in St. Louis before but it’s been 10 years. Usually we’re in our home turf, and it’s definitely true there. We also have a good core of fans in the Midwest, so I have a feeling we could be drawing people from as far North as Madison and Milwaukee and East to Indianapolis and people from Champaign, Bend and Chicago, St. Louis folks and Lawrence, KS as well. There’s so much music going on that people have their pick.

What do you get out of a multi-night run as band?

YMSB NYE ’09 by Tobin Voggesser

Adam: We don’t treat it any differently. From night to night, we don’t play the same show, whether or not we’re in the same town. Our crew, obviously, is thrilled when we do multiple nights in the same city and venue because there’s only one load in and load out. For us, the preparation doesn’t seem much different. We want to make it unique every night. There are people following us on any given tour and even if it’s just one or two dudes you don’t want them thinking, “Shit, they did the same tunes last night.”

Dave: Let’s get this straight: It’s not dudes following us, it’s hot chicks. This ain’t an Umphrey’s McGee show. Let’s get that clear. I think multi-night is a lot like multi-ball in pinball – more points, more lights, more bumpers, more flippers. I keep pushing for lasers. We all just saw Roger Waters do The Wall. Lasers and bluegrass, I swear it goes together.

Is there any special thought that goes into a New Year’s Eve show?

Adam Aijala
by Tobin Voggesser

Adam: This year, we decided to do three sets on New Year’s and one of the sets will be built by fans. People can write in on our website, Phantasy Tour or wherever, and we’ve given them carte blanche to suggest anything they want – things we’ve forgotten that we play, things they’ve always wanted us to play, even different jams, different seques. And we’ve been getting some crazy ideas! The more you sit with them and analyze them, the more cool they seem. Some really good ideas. And I think that’s the case with our audience and the audience in this scene. It’s a very educated audience musically. They have such a depth of musical knowledge that these people are throwing out things we’ve heard of but others we need to research. So, this year fans will build their dream setlist, what THEY want to hear, and then it’s up to us to bring it.

This shows a respect for your fans, which has been a hallmark of Yonder since the start. You guys really seem to respect the time and money and affection folks invest in YMSB.

Adam: Absolutely! When you’re a kid and you tell your parents, “I want to be in a band.” Think of the look they give you – that sort of concerned, dropped thing – and now imagine telling them you want to be in a bluegrass band! That’s a brown trouser conversation.

Ben: We’re constantly amazed at the things we get to do. I think back to all the people along the way who said, “You guys will be limited. This is as big as you’ll get,” almost in the sense of don’t dream too big. That’s a horrible thing to suggest to somebody. That being said, when we look back at what we’ve done and look ahead to the dreams we’ve yet to accomplish, it’s massive. I’m shocked by what we get to do, and it’s all because of the fans. If they weren’t there we’d be fucked.

Yonder Mountain String Band Tour Dates :: Yonder Mountain String Band News :: Yonder Mountain String Band Concert Reviews

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Spring Hookahville 2011: hookah, YMSB, Stoopid

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT LEGEND VALLEY, THORNVILLE, OHIO


ekoostik hookah

The initial lineup for Spring hookahville 2011 has been announced. In addition to 2 nights of ekoostik hookah, Yonder Mountain String Band will be
making a return appearance and Slightly
Stoopid
will also perform. Many, many more acts will be announced soon.

This will be the 35th installment of hookahville, which is held twice a year on Memorial and Labor Day weekends.
Spring Hookahville will be held on Memorial Day Weekend 5/28 – 5/30/2011 at Legend Valley in Thornville,
Ohio.

Early bird tickets are now on sale for a limited time for only $50. VIP tickets are also available for $150. Buy tickets
here.


Las Tortugas V | Review | Pics

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: Chad Smith

Las Tortugas – Dance of the Dead V :: 10.28.10-10.31.10 :: Evergreen Lodge :: Groveland, CA

Las Tortugas V by Chad Smith

We are pulled through this life by small miracles. One needn’t be religious or even spiritual to understand this. The muck of bosses, bills and bullshit we trudge through would be simply unbearable if not for the oases along our trek. For several years, a nigh-perfect music festival in the lush Yosemite woods has proven such a blessed respite for a growing tribe, and the fifth anniversary installment was far & away the finest outing yet, one of those small miracles that makes all the weary miles fade and invigorates us for the rocky road ahead.

Las Tortugas V, like previous outings, miniaturized and refined all the best aspects of a festival, throwing an incredible four-day party with an extraordinary soundtrack. While other fests may have bigger names and carnival rides, Tortugas focuses on serious musicians who overflow with passion and heartfelt artistry. This is a showcase for some of the best music coming out of California today paired with kindred spirits from around the country, a place where veterans embarking on a new thang (7 Walkers), utter pros seeking one of the most engaged, joyful audiences they’ve ever encountered (Yonder Mountain String Band), workingman’s lifers (The Mother Hips, ALO, Cornmeal) and crazy talented comers (Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Antioquia, Big Light, Pimps of Joytime) mingle. A feeling of creative freedom and smiling connection with all the things that originally got these players into the music game floats in the air.

And this palpable, happy charge buzzes in equal amplitude from the attendees. Perhaps more than any other festival I’ve experienced, Tortugas creates a beautiful crucible that burns hot and bright because EVERYONE throws a pinch or two into the pot (Jam Cruise is the only thing that compares, though each gathering is singular & beautifully strange in its own way, and something any serious music geek should experience at least once, like Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and a handful of others). With most folks bringing different costumes every day and an all-in enthusiasm that hums loudly before the first set kicks off, Tortugans are a rare breed. The near total absence of thievery, sketchiness and rudeness common at most music fests immediately sets Tortugas apart in a big way. It’s not to say that everyone is cool but un-cool moments are quickly defused, and there’s so much obvious love and care bouncing around the tents and trees that even grumps inclined to kick up dust are charmed into grinning contentment. The depth of conversation and generally open-handed attitude that abounds at Tortugas is a glimpse of our better angels, the way the world might be if we shared our bounty and lived with less fear and worry.

If this seems like an overreach for a music festival it isn’t. Las Tortugas is a playground for music loving people with an amiable synergy that relaxes muscles, eases minds and lifts spirits. Scoff if you must – modern cynicism is hard to shake – but four years running I’ve witnessed this vibe grow & grow & grow, seeing it put the zap – in the best way – on the heads of first timers that leaves them pleasantly shaken by weekend’s end. It is why the vets scheme all year long on how we might delight others, tickling fancies and pricking up ears in any way we can dream up, and then sharing that dream with anyone willing to jump through the looking glass with us.

Nestled in one of the most unique, idyllic settings in the United States (Evergreen Lodge), Las Tortugas situates about a 1000 people in a world apart and lets them share in a fully communal shindig. Each year a couple tunes spring into my head during the course of my wooded walks, a few lines that repeat like mantras as I gather up as much Tortugas mojo as I can before heading homeward. This year it was these verses from Jackson Browne’s “Farther On” and the Grateful Dead’s “The Music Never Stopped.”

Las Tortugas V by Chad Smith

Adrift on an ocean of loneliness
My dreams like nets were thrown
To catch the love that I’d heard of
In books and films and songs
Now there’s a world of illusion and fantasy
In the place where the real world belongs
Still I look for the beauty in songs
To fill my head and lead me on

AndÂ…

There’s a band out on the highway.
They’re high-steppin’ into town.
They’re a rainbow full of sound.
It’s fireworks, calliopes and clowns

And everybody was dancing, drink hoisting blurs of color and laughter that convinced one that the world might not be so bloody awful after all.

What follows are some musical highlights, pointers towards sweet new bands, and a whole bunch of great pictures from Chad Smith, heavy on Tortugans and their mirthful ways. Even if every band isn’t mentioned it’s important to point out that EVERY band that graced a stage at Tortugas V was the real deal, dedicated craftsmen born to meld melody and verse. Where one might wonder at other fests why a band made the lineup, Tortugas only presents quality, ranging from the newly born to the well-seasoned. It’s a formula that’s generated a lot of connections between the bands, resulting in some of the finest sit-ins one can find in the festival world. The sense that we’re ALL in this together – both for this weekend and in a much larger sense – is inescapable on both sides of the stage at Tortugas.

Continue reading for Thursday highlights…

Thursday Highlights

See the full gallery for Thursday here

Theme: Gypsy Circus

Lebo by Chad Smith

1. Lebo :: 2:15-3:30 am. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

With a shortened introductory day, it wasn’t hard to stay up for the first rousing late night set in what turned out to be Tortugas’ finest night owl programming to date. As usual, Thursday felt like a Saturday here, and ALO’s guitar shredder and a special rhythm section were the flaming cherry atop everything. Flowing loose ‘n’ heavy, Dan Lebowitz, playing a hollow-body electric instead of his usual axe, gave us a commanding showcase that reaffirmed his place amongst today’s very best guitarists. Backed by ALO bandmate Dave Brogan (drums) and Tracorum‘s jaw-dropping rhythm section, Ian Herman (drums) and Mark Calderon (bass), Lebo stirred up his own Band of Gypsys roar, jamming with impunity and instigating some of the fiercest rhythm work heard all fest. Lebo’s versatility as a singer also shown through, and the obvious camaraderie these guys displayed made for some of the least predictable, most immediate music I’ve heard from any of them.

2. Poor Man’s Whiskey :: 9:15-10:30 pm :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

PMW pulled off a real neat trick: Playing the iconic, deeply held music of Old & In The Way – an obvious root source for their music – while authoritatively putting their own stamp on the material. For one thing, bassist Aspen holds his own against John Kahn’s original bass work, and he’s got a whole new sonic range to explore with drummer George Smeltz, bringing a whole new beat to things. As great as the musicians were in Old & In The Way, they weren’t exactly forthcoming performers. By contrast, PMW boasts two natural born rock stars in multi-instrumentalist/singers Eli Jebidiah and Josh Brough, who have that thing that gets everyone in the room off. Ably goosed by guitar-mandolin whiz Jason Beard, the boys made the well-tread newly furrowed and showed once again that Poor Man’s Whiskey is one of the premiere country-rock outfits today, a wild bunch that could have handily shared bills with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Goose Creek Symphony and Garcia and his picking pals.

Allie Kral by Chad Smith

3. Cornmeal :: 11:45 pm-1:00 am.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

I like when Chicago’s Cornmeal get weird and they certainly did on this inaugural eve. There’s no doubting their hard strummin’ might – bluegrass doesn’t get more blue or grassy – but like a lot of quality acts lumped into the string band basket, Cornmeal have a LOT more variety in their Crayon box, and they didn’t hesitate to color outside the lines at Tortugas. Especially impressive was their ability to move from incredibly melodic strains to downright psychedelic runs, each feeling a part of the other instead of bordered off segments. The many raised glasses and elevated bonhomie in the tent spoke to their pronounced ability to lift heels, and the whole lot of them is goddamn charming as hell. Extra gold stars for ever-compelling violinist Allie Kral, who seemed possessed in a lovely way at several junctures, and dead-on-it drummer JP Nowak. Also, I’m kind of in love with their easy flowing songwriting and the entire delivery and style of banjoist-singer Wavy Dave Burlingame after this set.

Ones To Watch

Jack Grace Band
Full of good time, bohemian energy of the sort Tom Waits left behind when he grabbed a bullhorn, Grace and his slinky compatriots are a bar band in the archetypal sense, specializing in Latin tinged, gold standard song craft instead of by-the-numbers boogie, but still perfect for tossing back a few. First band to play the Tuolumne Hall and one I came home anxious to explore further.

Dead Winter Carpenters
With members of Montana Slim, it’s no surprise these cats ‘n’ kittens twang a bit, but they do so very winningly, and while their set on Thursday was appropriately uptempo, their recent self-titled debut shows a knack for slower, more meditative fare. They’re still getting their feet fully under them but there’s already some very appealing things happening in this band.

Continue reading for Friday highlights…

Friday Highlights

See the full gallery for Friday here

Theme: Decade Dance (retro looks from TV, history, etc.)

ALO & Friends by Chad Smith

1. ALO :: 2:00-4:00 am. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

What other band could meld Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In The Years” with snippets of The Four Seasons’ “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” with the whole panoply of pop past & future sandwiched in between? Dressed in the outfits from the Man of the World photo/video shoot, ALO lived up to every part of their name at this dawn chasing performance. In fact, keyboardist-singer Zach Gill even got so in touch with his animal side that he started talking to the stuffed birds on the branches decorating the stage late in the set. When these boys are on – and believe you me, this was as ON as I’ve ever seen them – music feels alive and organic, something to be touched and tasted, savored and slathered all over. That its also incredibly tuneful and you can dance to it speaks to their great talent and dedication to making even outside-the-norm music conform to something more sophisticated and thoughtful. After spending the better part of the summer and fall opening up for pal Jack Johnson, ALO played like men balling without a condom for the first time in a LONG time – liberated beasts whose bite set a good many of us free, too.

2. New Monsoon :: 6:15-7:30 pm. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

For a band that doesn’t play out that much anymore, New Monsoon commanded the stage like utter professionals. There’s so much damn talent in this quintet that it remains shocking to me that more people don’t know and adore them. But regardless of stardom, San Francisco’s New Monsoon demonstrated how adept they are at commingling styles and giving all of them rock ‘n’ roll oomph in this early evening set. Filled with rhythm and force, their mix of originals and tasty covers (and a whole lot more well-picked, well-executed covers on Saturday from ZZ Top and more) goes down so smoothly that the many hours of woodshedding and sweat that lay before each performance are invisible. What we got at both sets this Tortugas was a band fully in control of their instruments and material, able to knock it out with aplomb at a moment’s notice. Drinking in electric guitarist Jeff Miller – long a personal favorite – renewed my desire to see him form a Derek & The Dominoes tribute band since he’s one of the few axe slingers who could generate the same guitar magic as Clapton at his inarguable peak.

Pimps of Joytime by Chad Smith

3. Pimps of Joytime :: 8:45-10:00 pm. :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Dressed as ragtag cowpokes, the Pimps offered a master class in funk and its roots, showing equal flair for gutbucket blues, silky soul and myriad other variations on what seem like overplayed, boring forms in lesser hands. This band knows groove, way down in their bones, and they move with harnessed power and abundant natural charisma. Every single time I see the Pimps I like them WAY better. Shooting straight, I haven’t been this wholly charmed by a band in the funk-rock vein since I first saw Prince back in the day. Only Seattle’s Staxx Brothers are competing in the same arena, and rather than play favorites, I’ll just say that anyone who likes to get more than knee-deep as they howl about atomic dogs and funky drummers should get familiar with both. Quickly.

4. Antioquia :: 10:15-11:45 pm. :: The Tavern

With the propulsive energy of Remain In Light Talking Heads and political dance-mindedness of The Clash, SF’s Antioquia turned heads in their Tortugas debut. Admittedly, it wasn’t just their reach-out-and-grab-ya sound alone that did the job. The band set a new fest record for the most exposed flesh by dressing as the cock-socked Red Hot Chili Peppers with lead singer Maddy Streicek dolled up like an actual chili pepper. In their veins flows the sticky stuff that agitated early Brian Eno, the initial wave of jazz-fusion cats, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band and similar inspired wackos. In so many ways, this set showed that Antioquia is exposed, fearless and free of boundaries, and they’ve got the chops to back up the bravado with substance and style.

Continue reading for Saturday highlights…

Saturday Highlights

See the full gallery for Saturday here

Theme: Monsters vs. Aliens

1. 7 Walkers :: 4:00-7:15 am :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Bill Kreutzmann by Chad Smith

Bill Kreutzmann returned to Tortugas with his new labor of love, 7 Walkers. Hitting the stage in the middle of the night and playing till well after sunrise, Billy, Papa Mali, George Porter, Jr. and Matt Hubbard took us into the thickest, headiest swampland, brimming over with bayou shuffles, primal rock, psychedelic sparks and other rich, earthy textures. The only break any of them had during this three-hour-plus journey – and if you took the whole trip you really felt like you’d conquered a major peak – was when Papa and Matt paired off for some harmonica pierced deep blues and tender balladry followed by a bass-drums conversation between Bill and George. Each is a marvel in their own right but the chemistry in 7 Walkers just bowled folks over during this set, where they offered almost all of their fabulous self-titled debut, Dead & New Orleans chestnuts and fat-free jams that pounced and tore at one like a hungry gator. 7 Walkers feels vibrantly alert, alive in all the ways that count, and this only seems like the beginning of more and better music to come. [The band killed it again on Sunday night, only 13 hours after this set, where they leaned more heavily on Dead tunes like "I Know You Rider" and a great "Sugaree" with George on lead vocals. What's so cool about this band is how the familiar numbers feel freshly washed and ready to be pushed into service in the way they handle them. The final encore of "Iko Iko" lit up the tent with a light that comes from within, steering our ragged conga line into folklore and festivity with sure hands and hearts.].

2. Guitarmageddon:: 3:00-4:15 pm :: Terrapin Big Top Stage

Under the new leadership of PMW’s Eli Jebidiah, this starts-over-the-top celebration of shred science topped themselves with this Prince themed set. Any serious fan of His Purple Mounted Majesty would have stumbled away grinning ear-to-ear after this display that launched with a sizzling reading of “Let’s Go Crazy” but then weaved into killer recent tunes (“Chelsea Rogers,” “Musicology,” “Guitar”), the infamous Black Album (“Rockhard in a Funky Place”) and the choicest medley ever (“Raspberry Beret > Kiss > Sexy MF > Little Red Corvette > 1999″). The core band consisted of Eli (guitar, vocals), absolutely stunning heavy hitter Daria Johnson (drums, vocals), bassist Mark Calderon (doing some primo tough-funk bass faces), Tracorum keyboardist Fletcher Nielsen (the “Doctor” suited up in scrubs!) and guitar marvel Sean Leahy, who also summoned up a host of voices to fill different Prince-ly holes. Guest six-stringers included former Guitarmageddon leader Josh Clark (TLG), NM’s Jeff Miller, Newfangled Wasteland’s Chris Haugen, Tracorum’s Louis XIV-attired Derek Brooker and Big Light’s Jeremy Korpas, with each cameo suiting the songs to a tee and showing off how much amp-rattling guitar talent resides in Northern California today. The material was well rehearsed but not so much so that flashes of inspiration didn’t prevail. The whole gliding, intoxicating set ended in Gold Experience standout “Endorphinmachine.” Let’s hope that tapers were active during this one because the Minneapolis faithful just gotta hear this performance. One of the absolute best times all weekend.

3. Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers :: 4:15-5:15 pm :: Tuolumne Hall

Nicki Bluhm by Chad Smith

It’s a blast to watch an audience be warmed by Nicki and her gifted Gramblers. It starts slow, the potency of their songwriting and their leader’s obvious vocal pow scooping one up, pulling them in close, and whispering sweet, softly wise things in their ears. Once snuggled in, well, they’ve got you and good. Bluhm is a throwback to classics like Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and other strong women who carved their place in the largely male rock game. She’s a far cry from the manufactured divas and half-talents that pass for “female artists” in the mainstream today, and it’s her abiding quality, natural gifts and good instincts for collaborators that are making her an artist to watch VERY closely. The new songs from her forthcoming sophomore album were uniformly excellent, and as ever guitarist Deren Ney is a haunting knockout, especially when he works a slide. Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are the full package, and they left Tortugas with a LOT of new fans this year.

4. Sean Leahy Trio :: 12:00-1:45 pm :: The Tavern

Leahy may be one of THE best guitar players you’ve never heard. His cult amongst Northern Cali musicians and serious music nuts is well established, but it probably wouldn’t have taken more than a single tune at this blazing trio set to win over almost anyone with a six-string boner. Lean, fast and highly interactive, Leahy’s trio consists of himself on electric guitar and lead vocals with Tortugas all-star Mark Calderon on bass (only ALO/Big Light bassist Steve Adams worked as many sets) and drummer Daria Johnson, equally fantabulous here as her Guitarmageddon stint earlier in the day. The gal is a real talent and a show unto herself – just watch her face if you want a whole movie to accompany the music. Blues, classic rock, fleet-fingered jazz and more were explored in this set, and all of it packed with thick, ropy muscle. When Leahy lets go and trusts in his abilities, as he did here, he’s positively superhuman and a joy to watch. Johnson and Calderon are perfect foils, and they even made time for a brief M80 Mailbox cameo, a Leahy project with Dave Brogan and Josh Clark, that included a bruising cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of.”

Ones To Watch

Five Eyed Hand
The Tavern seemed wonderfully afloat when this SF unit unleashed their energetic, free flowing music on Saturday night. For sure there’s a foundation of rock ‘n’ roll but things sizzle and switch around with the technically possessed feel of Weather Report taken down to “Shakedown Street.” Mix in the phased dynamics of Bill Frisell, the swerving violin of Mahavishnu and more than a dollop of quality space rock and you’re getting closer to the ballpark. Five Eyed Hand showed being hard to place is a virtue, and jam kids looking to do some traveling between their ears should definitely investigate their self-titled album and fine live show.

Continue reading for Sunday highlights…

Sunday Highlights

See the full gallery for Sunday here

Theme: The Masquerade Ball – Halloween

1. The Mother Hips :: 5:30-7:00 pm.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

The Mother Hips by Chad Smith

Having seen a ludicrous number of Hips shows (quickly approaching triple digits and spread over the group’s entire history), it’s heartening and more than a little shocking that these guys can still completely blow me away. That’s what happened at this late afternoon set that began with a surprising cover of “Long Black Veil” and seemed like it was going to be one of the band’s cozier, country-tinged daytime sets (“Whiskey On A Southbound,” “Later Days”). Then, they took a wide left turn with a stunning reading of “Young Charles Ives,” fired up the over-thrusters and charged into the unknown, unleashing all the brilliance they possess in a rock show that knocked far more than me back on our heels. Other highlights included “October Teen,” “Chum” and “Precious Opal,” but for sheer audacity and skill it’s hard to beat the rush from “Mission In Vain” into Grateful Dead classic “The Other One,” which the Hips made their own, layering on hard guitar and limber rhythms in a way that nailed the original and infused it with newness. After The Mother Hips recent barnburner at The Fillmore, it’s clear this band is on a very nice tear right now – one more reason to fully commit to one of America’s best bands, as if folks really needed more inducements with the Hips!

2. Yonder Mountain String Band :: 11:00 pm-12:45 am.:: Terrapin Big Top Stage

A couple things struck me quite poignantly at this Yonder performance: 1) What a massively satisfying sound, and 2) how little this music relates to bluegrass despite the stupid label they’ve been given. For just four guys, playing rather quietly, YMSB generates voluminous waves of music, each player accenting and commenting on the lead lines in a clever, unobtrusive way that nonetheless supports the main thrust at all times. In about two hours, one heard echoes of small group jazz from the 20s/30s, 60s modal exploration, hardcore traditional folk, good ol’ fashioned rock, early country music and some of the free-ranging stylistics Oregon introduced to acoustic music.

Yonder Mountain String Band by Chad Smith

There was none of the showy, dick measuring, spotlight grabbing qualities one finds in most actual bluegrass bands, and even when they took solos, they didn’t go on endlessly or freeze out what everyone else was doing. Where at times I’ve found some of Yonder’s selections a little jokey, today’s YMSB came off as relatively serious and considered, but not too much so. There’s no being overly stuffy when you’ve got a natural born court jester like Jeff Austin dancing on the needle’s head, and though a touch jet-lagged, Austin didn’t disappoint. He makes everyone feel welcome and serves as the chief ambassador to Yonder Mountain, though never staying so long in the foreground that the other three guys are overshadowed. Like most aspects of their music, there’s a hearty balance that’s refreshing and worthy of a lot of respect and genuine enthusiasm.

And jeezus can these guys play! As pickers, each is a blast and perfectly attuned to their brethren. A delight in all ways and one of the best closing night exclamation points ever at Tortugas.

3. Tracorum :: 12:45-1:45 am.:: Tuolumne Hall

Sometimes we listen to music without really hearing it. However, when we’re ready to open up and experience a thing as it truly is, well, it can feel like a baptism. Such was my experience with Tracorum on Sunday night. Having enjoyed them at previous Tortugas, this time I got it in a huge way. What they do is rock ‘n’ roll but done so fundamentally right it makes you want to kiss them when they power down their instruments. This night, as the festival raged like we’d never seen before on a Sunday eve, Tracorum embodied our collective high spirits and unspoken ache at this experience coming to a close and put those elements to work in some of the best boogie-minded, straight-great rock heard all weekend. Comparisons to The Band and studio aces The Wrecking Crew flitted through my brain as I danced to the heart of this fleeting makeshift town next to my loose-limbed sisters and brothers. Every aspect was right on the money and every man showed himself a massive talent on their respective instruments, pouring soul into every note, their conviction becoming our own. While they display a lighter hand and more Latin-y hips on their new album, The Lesson, live this band exudes legend-making magic.

4. Big Light :: 12:45-2:00 pm.:: Tuolumne Hall

Big Light belongs on big stages. They are rapidly outgrowing small spaces, pushing their already appealing material into skyward reaching constructs that need room to breath and cavort. A modern rock band to be sure, Big Light betters the majority of the Pitchfork darlings by being able to deliver in a salacious, snarling way live, which is exactly how they charged at folks on this afternoon. A guest turn from Izabella keyboardist Jeff Coleman stirred up the best “Panther” to date, and nothing else was less than excellent. An ever-forward arching NEED to be better is what’s fueling Big Light’s rapid growth. Seeing them onstage in a set like this is to watch evolution take place in real time. It’s exciting and more than a little fun to behold. Based on showings like this, only expect more and finer music from this quartet in the future.

Ones To Watch

Kate Gaffney

Gaffney is a real emerging talent, filling The Tavern with songs that were easy to like but filled with nuances that make you want to hear them again right away. She’s got an instantly likeable voice that’s only growing more subtle and powerful the longer she plies her craft. She’s surrounded herself with top-notch players and keeps adding interesting material to her songbook. So, in short, there’s nothing not to dig about this Bay Area lady.

Newfangled Wasteland

A Beck cover band is a clever idea. Better still is a Beck cover band that plays nearly unrecognizable versions of Beck’s tunes. Dave Brogan, Chris Haugen, Steve Adams and TLG’s Trevor Garrod hit a sublime groove in their Sunday night set, showing that the longer they toy with these mutations the more they become their own. Said it before but it bears repeating: Festival bookers need to pay attention to this band.

The Hydrodynamics

The Hydrodynamics are the new project of former Blue Turtle Seduction chief songwriter/singer/guitarist Jay Seals. While his old band gave folks warm fuzzies in their festival one-off reunion, it’s clear this is where Seals’ heart is. Filled with hooky, bouncing melodies and abundant female energy, The Hydrodynamics were a touch ragged in their Tortugas debut but it was still evident that this is catchy stuff, pulling from the pop side of The Clash and marrying it to smoother vibes. A young band worth putting on your radar.

Epilogue

There’s no real way to say goodbye to Las Tortugas. Life over these four days is so wonderfully intense and happy that disconnecting from it and returning to time sheets and business calls is inevitably a shock to the system. Still, it’s incredible that Tortugas exists at all. What one finds at Tortugas is the sheer capacity for human beings to share and cavort is FAR greater than we might imagine. This feeling stays with us if we’re conscious about it and nestle away a portion in our breast for the long haul that awaits us beyond Evergreen Lodge. Everywhere one turns at Tortugas is evidence of human ingenuity and compassion delivered with melody and harmony. If you didn’t get kissed, bear hugged or otherwise lovingly groped it’s because you didn’t open your arms. But, as we revel, we’re given chances for revelation, too, and these deeper currents make Tortugas more than just a good time. The idea that we might be better citizens of the world – more loving neighbors, more welcoming strangers – is writ large at Las Tortugas, interwoven with the notes hanging in the air, ephemeral but real all the same.

Continue reading for Thursday/Friday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”16″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=166″);}); 10/28/10 – 10/29/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

Continue reading for Saturday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”25″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=167″);}); 10/30/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

Continue reading for Sunday pictures…

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”60″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=168″);}); 10/31/10 – Las Tortugas Dance of the Dead (Evergreen Lodge) (Groveland, CA) View Photos

JamBase | Delighted
Go See Live Music!


YMSB Cabin Fever Tour

PRE-SALE TICKETING AVAILABLE NOW


Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder Mountain String
Band
have announced dates for their annual Cabin Fever Tour. Pre-Sale Ticketing is underway now. Click
here for more info.

CABIN FEVER DATES:

01.26 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre
01.27 Birmingham, AL Workplay Soundstage
01.28 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom

01.29 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre

01.31 Orlando, FL The Social
02.02 Gainesville, FL The Venue
02.03 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Cafe
02.04 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
02.05 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
02.09 Charleston, SC The Music Farm
02.10 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
02.11 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
02.12 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
02.13 Lexington, KY Buster’s

02.16 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
02.17 Columbus, OH Lifestyle Communities Pavilion

02.18 Covington, KY Madison Theatre
02.19 Madison, WI Orpheum Theatre

02.20 Urbana, IL Canopy Club

Yonder Mountain String
Band
Tour Dates

::
Yonder Mountain String
Band News

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Yonder Mountain String Band
Concert
Reviews


Fourmile Benefit | Colorado | Pics

Images by: Mike Hardaker

Fourmile Canyon Revival :: 10.09.10 :: 1stBank Center :: Broomfield, Colorado

Last Saturday, an unprecedented lineup gathered to raise funds for individuals and families directly affected by the devastating Fourmile Fire near Boulder, CO. The String Cheese Incident, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Yonder Mountain String Band, Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon, along with very special guests Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell and Trey Anastasio gathered for a fine cause. We have Mike Hardaker to thank for this glimpse at this special night.

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”11″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=143″);}); 10/9/10 – Fourmile Benefit @ 1stBank Center (Formerly The Odeum) (Broomfield, CO) View Photos

To donate to the Boulder Mountain Fire Relief Fund visit here.

JamBase | Worthy
Go See Live Music!


JamBase Questionnaire: Trampled By Turtles

Welcome back to JamBase’s baker’s dozen to the bright lights of the music world. Last time we heard from Greensky Bluegrass.

Blinding fast or molasses slow, Minnesota’s Trampled By Turtles are resoundingly convincing. While lazy listeners might categorize them as simply a nu-grass or speedgrass, what truly differentiates this ambitious, deadly serious acoustic quintet from their peers – and hints that TBT might be next in line for the kind of enduring fan bases that have sustained Leftover Salmon and Yonder Mountain String Band – is the fine bone structure beneath the flying fingers and ringing strings.

Primary songwriter and guitarist Dave Simonett is serious business, penning material born of quality rumination and a real dedication to crafting music that reaches into deep water where so many stick to the shallows. Spend a little time with Simonett and you’ll see him studying every last thing around him, digesting it and logging lines for future stanzas. When he talks to you there’s a similar focus and intensity, lights flashing behind his bright eyes but pausing momentarily before he offers up what he’s thinking, and then only in small bursts, like he’s saving the good stuff for his songs. Call it considered wisdom and it’s all over Trampled By Turtles’ music, which breathes and runs with powerful, sympathetic musicianship that one encounters at every show and on the group’s excellent 2010 release Palomino (JamBase review). But, as fine and promising as this band is right now, it feels like they’re just getting started. (Dennis Cook)

Trampled By Turtles is currently on the road with the Infamous Stringdusters on the “Fly Palomino Tour,” but will be playing some headlining shows this weekend. Find full dates here.

Here’s what Simonett had to say to our inquiries.

Dave Simonett (right) with TBT

1. Great music rarely happens withoutÂ…
Honesty

2. The first album I bought wasÂ…
Metallica’s self-titled “black” album

3. The last song or album to really flip my wig wasÂ…
Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone

4. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to beÂ…
Musician

5. My favorite sort of gig isÂ…
Opening for a band I love.

6. One thing I wish people knew about me isÂ…
Not applicable

7. I love the sound ofÂ…
A river

8. One day I hope to make an album as fantastic asÂ…
Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

9. The best meal I ever had on tour was atÂ…
Citizen Kane’s in St. Louis

10. I always find the coolest audiences inÂ…
Minnesota

11. The worst habit I’ve picked up being on the road all the time isÂ…
Record store addiction

12. The Beatles or the Stones? Por que?
For me it’s the Stones. I love how raw and brilliant they are, and to me they epitomize rock ‘n’ roll

13. The craziest thing I ever saw wasÂ…
Our crowd breaking through a line of police at a Minnesota State Fair show.

Greensky Bluegrass Tour Dates :: Greensky Bluegrass News :: Greensky Bluegrass Concert Reviews

JamBase | Hard-Shelled
Go See Live Music!


Las Tortugas V: Daily Schedule Themes, Adds, Camping Update

PREMIERE INTIMATE CALIFORNIA HALLOWEEN FEST FAST APPROACHES

ALO’s
Zach Gill :: Tortugas IV
By Chad Smith

Las Tortugas – Dance of the Dead V has just announced it’s day-by-day schedule. Check it out here.

Taking place October 28-31 at Evergreen Lodge in Yosemite, CA, Las Tortugas has added Five Eyed Hand, DJ No Parking on the Dance Floor, Who’s DunFour (i.e. Nathan Moore and Big Light) and The Trespassers to an already rich lineup that includes headliners Yonder Mountain String Band, ALO, 7 Walkers, The Mother Hips, Tea Leaf Green and Cornmeal for more
than 30 acts over four days.

One of the great pleasures of Las Tortugas is the daily pageant of costumes that attendees bust out in an elongated celebration of the Halloween spirit. This year’s themes are:

Thursday, October 28 – GYPSY CIRCUS: There are many roles in a circus and many types of gypsies in the
world. What is your interpretation of a Gypsy Circus? Gypsy pirates, dancers, carnies, ringmasters…the list goes on
forever.

Friday, October 29 – DECADE DANCE: Represent your favorite decade in any way you like. Retro cinema,
political statements, historical figures and pop culture are all fine starting points. Time is your plaything!

Saturday, October 30 – MONSTERS vs. ALIENS: Are you a monster or an alien or a monster-alien? Join
your fellow species to unite, multiply, divide or whatever else it is monsters and aliens do.

Sunday, October 31 – THE MASQUERADE BALL: It’s Halloween so come as you wish. Some good ideas
suggested to the festival include Solid Gold, glitter & glam, midnight in the garden of good & evil, wild animal
kingdom, and psychedelic superheroes. Let your imagination roam and then come freak freely with the rainbow
flock!

For those that can’t make the full festival, new ticketing options are now available, with 3-Day Tickets (Fri-Sun) and
2-Day Tickets (Sat-Sun) offered here.

While on-site camping has sold out, the National Forest Service has granted the festival a permit for a unique
camping opportunity just steps away from Evergreen Lodge in what they are calling the Emerald Forest. This
camping area was a huge success last year, and it will provide our guests with a safe and controlled camping area
across the street from Evergreen Lodge. Just like on-site camping, the cost is $15 per camper per night, and there is a 3 night minimum stay required. There is also a one ticket requirement per camper (either the three night or four night ticketing options will satisfy this requirement). There is limited availability for off-site camping, so call the Lodge asap at 209/379-2606 to reserve your off site spot in the Emerald Forest.

Las Tortugas V Artist
Lineup

Las Tortugas V Schedule
Las Tortugas V General
Info

Las Tortugas
Photos

JamBase review of Las Tortugas IV


Yonder Mountain String Band: NYE Shows

PRE-SALE TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW


Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder Mountain String
Band

have announced two New Years Eve shows on December 30 and 31 at The Pageant in St. Louis.

Two day and single day tickets are now available for pre-sale. Click here for tickets.

Yonder Mountain String
Band
Tour Dates

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Yonder Mountain String
Band News

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Yonder Mountain String Band
Concert
Reviews


YMSB: Tour Dates

TOUR KICKS OFF ON OCTOBER 2; HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS ON OCTOBER 3; YONDER’S HARVEST
FEST OCTOBER 15 & 16


Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder Mountain String
Band
have announced they will hit the road for a string of fall dates. The tour kicks off with Widespread Panic in Charleston, SC at
Patriot’s Point on October 2 before heading out to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for
the 10th Anniversary of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival on October 3. Yonder’s Harvest Fest is on Oct. 15 & 16
and the annual Kinfolk Celebration in Chicago will feature 2 nights at the House of Blues on November 5 & 6. The
rest of the dates are below.

**Pre-Sale Ticketing begins Tuesday at Noon (local time)

09.05 Taos, NM Taos Mtn Music Fest

10.02 Charleston, SC Patriot’s Point opening for WSP
10.03 San Fransisco, CA Hardly Strictly

10.15-16 Ozark, AR Harvest Music Festival
10.15 Ozark, AR Harvest Music Festival Adam & Larry Keel perform

10.19 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
10.22 New York, NY Nokia Theater
10.23 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
10.24 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall
10.27-28 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
10.30 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
11.04 Indianapolis, IN Vogue Theater
11.05-06 Chicago, IL House of Blues

Yonder Mountain String
Band
Tour Dates

::
Yonder Mountain String
Band News

::
Yonder Mountain String Band
Concert
Reviews


Jerry Jams for Rex Benefit Album w/ Phish, SCI, Widespread

MAJOR ACTS HONOR GARCIA FOR A GOOD CAUSE

August 9, 2010 marks the 15-year anniversary of legendary musician and Grateful Dead co-founder Jerry Garcia‘s death. As a way to honor his musical and community legacy, the gifted musicians on this compilation have generously contributed stirring live performances of Jerry Garcia songs to benefit The Rex Foundation. Available in a variety of formats, Jerry Jams for Rex was brought to life by Brad Serling of nugs.net and includes four exclusive previously unreleased live Garcia songs from Phish, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, The String Cheese Incident and Keller & The Keels. Other artists featured on the album include The Black Crowes, Yonder Mountain String Band and more. All proceeds are a contribution to the Rex Foundation.

Furthering what Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead started 26 years ago, the Rex Foundation endeavors to fund grassroots programs that are often under the radar of larger funding entities, yet work in bold, innovative ways to carry out essential work toward a healthy environment, promotion of the arts, protection of indigenous cultures, assisting others less fortunate, building strong communities, and educating children and adults. The Rex Foundation has distributed $8.6 million in grants to over 1,000 programs across the U.S. and internationally, while also carrying out fundraising initiatives that foster creativity and positive community connections. Visit www.rexfoundation.org for a complete list of grantees and information about current initiatives.

Jerry Jams for Rex is possible because of the honorable contributions of music, resources and know-how of the participating artists and people involved in the initiative. The Rex Foundation extends its heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the generosity of spirit and action to all the people involved in creating Jerry Jams for Rex, as well as to all the people who purchase the compilation. Together, we honor Jerry Garcia and demonstrate the positive power of music and community spirit.

TRACK LIST
1. Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers – Lady With A Fan (7/25/2009 – The Biltmore, Asheville, NC) *
2. The String Cheese Incident – Eyes of the World (8/1/2001 – Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA) *
3. Railroad Earth – Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (7/29/2006 – Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ)
4. The Black Crowes – Sugaree (8/1/2006 LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH)
5. Moonalice – Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad (7/22/2010 – The Silvermoon Brewery, Bend, OR) **
6. Yonder Mountain String Band – Reuben And Cherise (12/31/2009 – Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO)
7. The Waybacks – Dupree’s Diamond Blues (4/26/2007 – Watson Stage, MerleFest, NC)
8. Widespread Panic – Cream Puff War (7/26/2010 Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN)
9. Keller & The Keels – Mountains of the Moon (6/17/2010 – Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride, CO) *
10. Hot Buttered Rum – Cumberland Blues (3/21/2009 – Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA) **
11. Steve Kimock Crazy Engine – Stella Blue (7/25/2009 – Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA) **
12. Phish – Terrapin Station (8/9/1998 – Virginia Beach Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA) *

* previously unreleased, exclusive to Jerry Jams
** bonus download only tracks, not on the CD

The compilation is available now in CD, MP3, FLAC, and Apple Lossless at LiveDownloads and iTunes


moe.down XI: Nas & Damian Marley Lotus, The Black Keys

NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY, LOTUS, ORGONE JOIN THE BLACK KEYS, JAKOB DYLYAN & MORE AT
MOE.DOWN


moe.

moe. is very excited to
announce the final lineup of artists for their annual Labor Day weekend festival, moe.down. Joining moe. will be: The Black Keys, Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Mike Gordon, Lotus, Jakob Dylan, Punch Brothers, Built to Spill, Tortoise, Ryan Montbleau Band, The Macpodz, The Brew, Turbine, Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds, Orgone, and Monkey Wrench.

This 3 day event has become known for its laid back vibe and great music, as well as its intimate and scenic setting.
With only 2 stages, bands never overlap and patrons never miss a beat!

This year, moe.down has a new home in Mohawk, NY at Gelston Castle Estate. As in the past, the price of admission
includes camping. A limited number of Early Bird Tickets are on sale now through moe.ticketing for $110.

moe.down has a history of bringing a diverse collection of artists to the festival over its 10 year history. Bands that
have played in the past include The Flaming Lips, Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party, Cake, The Roots, Method Man and
Redman, The Wailers, Ani DiFranco, Amos Lee, Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood, Yonder Mountain String Band, The
Avett Brothers and more.

moe. tour dates:

July 16 – 6th Annual Targhee Festival – Alta, WY

July 17 – Northwest String Summit North – Plains, OR
August 1 – Fuji Rock Festival – Niigata, Japan
Sept 3-5 – MOE.DOWN 11 Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY

moe.
Tour Dates

::
moe. News ::
moe.
Concert
Reviews


Blind Boys Host Lincoln Center Concert Series

RALPH STANLEY, YONDER MOUNTAIN, AARON NEVILLE, JOAN OSBORNE, CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE, &
MORE TO APPEAR


Blind Boys of Alabama

Tonight is the second night of a three-night concert series curated by The Blind Boys of Alabama. The
three Lincoln Center Festival celebrations showcase The Blind Boys’
great range, starting with an opening night concert
with Yo La Tengo and Yim Yames of
My Morning Jacket. The second
concert spotlights country music
with Yonder Mountain String Band,
Texas Swing
sensations Ray Benson and Jason Roberts of Asleep at the Wheel, and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley
performing songs from The Blind Boy’s upcoming
CD. The final evening, The Blind Boys Family
Revival, will feature songs from all of the group’s
Grammy Award-winning albums and include duets
with Aaron Neville, Joan Osborne, Hot 8 Brass Band, Dan Zanes, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, and others to be
announced at a
later date.

July 14, 8 p.m.
The Unbroken Circle with Dr. Ralph Stanley and Friends
Yonder Mountain String Band

Ray Benson and Jason Roberts of Asleep at the Wheel
Ralph Stanley
Allison Moorer
One hour and 30 minutes; no intermission (approx.)

July 16, 8 p.m.
Blind Boys Family Revival
Aaron Neville
Joan Osborne
Hot 8 Brass Band
Dan Zanes
John Hammond
Charlie Musselwhite
Additional artists to be announced

Two hours and 40 minutes; one 20 minute intermission (approx.)

Alice Tully Hall, 65th Street and Broadway, New York, NY
Tickets: $35, 45 (each concert)

Click here to buy tickets.

Blind Boys of Alabama
Tour Dates

::
Blind Boys of Alabama
News
::
Blind Boys of Alabama
Concert
Reviews


Goose On The Lake | 06.04-06.05 | Kentucky

Words by: Dennis Cook | Images by: Mareo Speedwagon

Goose On The Lake Festival :: 06.04.10-06.05.10 :: Settle Lake :: Allegre, KY

Goose Creek’s Charlie Gearheart

Most festivals are pleasant distractions from our normal life, opportunities to check out multiple bands, get a little loaded, dance some and then depart with a commemorative t-shirt. But some fests are experiences that strike to the core of us, reminding us what’s good about human beings, especially creative ones that make the air vibrate with song. Goose On The Lake offered two days where kindness and happiness reigned and our better angels winged carefree and delighted.

Very quietly, this small gathering on a private farm in rural Kentucky has evolved into one of the coolest secrets in the summer festival season. Built around an annual celebration of country rock pioneers Goose Creek Symphony, this is a place where real musicians find audiences receptive and attentive to whatever is dished out because it’s done with real heart, blister-won skill and raw talent. And beyond the offerings onstage, Goose On The Lake had the chillest, wonderfully mature group of freak flag waving free spirits you’d ever want to find. Taken together, the music, bucolic setting and primo companionship carved out a little piece of heaven on earth.

Lloyd Settle

“I have the same dream all the old hippies have. I’m just doing something about it,” said Lloyd Settle, the host to Goose On The Lake along with Donna Settle, two of most hospitable folks on the planet. Weeks of land clearing and organizing go into making their farm ready for the 800 or so folks that roll in during the first weekend in June.

This year marked the fest’s 15th year, and Goose Creek Symphony’s 40th anniversary as a band. Diehards who’ve been rolling on the Creek since the early ’70s mingled with youngsters who likely picked up on them from their parents or perhaps one of the many shout outs from heavily influenced descendents like Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, String Cheese Incident, Uncle Tupelo, Great American Taxi and many, many others. Goose Creek gives more codified critics’ darlings Gram Parsons and The Byrds a run for their money in terms of originality, vision and plain old execution. In their early days they opened for the likes of Stevie Wonder, Cheech & Chong and other ’70s luminaries, but despite denting the charts a few times, Goose Creek has remained largely a cult affair, though a fierce, exceedingly dedicated cult that includes numerous top flight musicians like Sam Bush, Vince Herman and Tim Carbone. There’s a strong sense of family and instant fellowship at the Lake simply because of the band that serves as its foundation. Super cool things tend to beget more super cool, copacetic things, and Goose Creek is as copacetic and super cool as they come – survivors and innovators to this day, music makers driven first by the music in their blood and everything else secondary behind it.

Benny Skyn

Music began on Friday afternoon with serious singer-songwriter find Benny Skyn. Standing solo with an electric guitar, a tough life written large in his body, Skyn has the lilt of vintage John Prine and the punkish feel of early Billy Bragg. Within a couple numbers it became obvious that he’s one of the most quotable, memorable lyricist to come along in a spell, dishing out doozies like, “All those intelligent things that you said won’t get this trash out of my head,” and telling black edged tales of men who get mean when you won’t take a sip of their liquor while thanking the Lord for the hard times (and meaning it, too). Skyn is a songwriter’s songwriter like Kristofferson or as he himself noted, “Singing songs written by Jesus and Tom T. Hall. Did you ever hear a Tom T. Hall song? It might make you wanna write a song, too.” Listening to Skyn made me want to pick up a guitar and find a song to thank him for the purity and grit of what he does.

Nashville’s The 5 Tones threw down a hard blues-rock gauntlet next, and the juxtaposition, like many this weekend, was sharp and exciting. There’s not a lot of acts on the bill but the quality of each cracks like a whip, drawing one’s attention quickly and continually rewarding it. Musicians are appreciated at Goose On The Lake, and that simple fact seemed to bring out the best in each performer. The sweat plastered t-shirts and contorted faces of The 5 Tones spoke volumes about the trio’s dedication to get right down to the ground water in their genre, digging ferociously with tangy harp, slicing guitar and a rhythm section that just didn’t quit. The encore cover of the North Mississippi Allstars’ “Po’ Black Maddie” is another clue to their sound, but these guys take it all the way out, separating themselves a good distance from the many who toy around in these dark waters. Kindred contemporaries include Super 400 and Rose Hill Drive, and as the next performer noted during their set, “They’ve got a Robin Trower Bridge of Sighs thing going on.” All good stuff and reasons to keep an ear bent towards The 5 Tones.

Dave Gleason

Dave Gleason and The Golden Cadillacs nailed the California country rock sound with an inviting personality and perfect ear for ancestors ripe for resurrection. They’ve got real affection for Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Bob Dylan and “those strange but great Waylon Jennings records.” Few have a mastery of this genre like Gleason, who really groks country’s full sweep from oldies like Webb Pierce and Lefty Frizzell to modern greats like Dwight Yoakam and Rodney Crowell and everything in between. Suited up and looking like the full pros they are, this band slathered raw rock ‘n’ roll all over twangy-ass country and the mixture is just fuckin’ delightful. Seriously, if you’re having a bad time listening to these quality weepies and boot-scootin’ jumpers then you might want to drink moreÂ…or lessÂ…or something. Gleason sings with one of the most naturally appealing voices to emerge in the past decade, and the tear in his beer seems genuine. He feels this music in a way most of Nashville has forgotten, and one can feel the difference as his music washes over you.

Friday evening’s Goose Creek Symphony set was a hopping hodgepodge of deep album cuts and rarely played numbers, with most of the heavy hittin’ fan favorites saved for Saturday night. Friday was for connoisseurs, and as a 25-year hardcore listener seeing them play live for the very first time I was in hog heaven. That word ‘heaven’ keeps popping up simply because it hangs close to this gathering. Perhaps others’ vision of paradise is different than my own, but outside of the sweltering, hellishly humid southern heat, this is a pretty nice approximation of what at least one corner of heaven looks like in my mind. And you couldn’t ask for a much better soundtrack than the Goose, who started off with a patient, phenomenal reading of “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad,” which like many songs other bands have popularized sounds utterly new in their hands.

Goose Creek Symphony

“Think I’ll let my hair grow long, think I’ll grow a beard/ Think I’ll go out and smoke some pot and start acting weird/ ‘Cause I’ve always been a leader/ I ain’t ever been no backseater/ I’ll do anything but cut off my peter/ ’cause I want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star.” Thus begins “Number One Gravy Band,” one of many devastatingly enjoyable pieces trotted out this night.

What’s stunning is the band’s leader and chief songwriter Charlie Gearheart – as big and amazing a character as ever breathed life into this stupid, angry, rough world – is in his seventies and fellow original member/co-founder Paul “Pearl” Stradlin is no spring chicken either. The rest of the band is a mix of ages, some quite young, but all stellar players with clear dedication to knocking this music into the cosmos. Yet, Stradlin and Gearheart pitched in as hard as anyone, and neither this set nor Saturday’s were short affairs. They all seem powered by this music, which similarly eases invigorating sap into the listener. Folks looked positively lit up across the lawn as night fell, sunburnt flesh cooling as Goose Creek’s energy moved along the grass and into our limbs. Sure, strong corn liquor and pleasant smells in the air didn’t hurt, but the key ingredient was the songs and their sublime performances – subtlety is a huge factor in Goose Creek’s appeal and longevity.

Gearheart declared near the end, “We’ll end early enough for folks to get back to their tent and get some.” Afterwards, Lloyd announced, “If you think music can’t free people then take another puff!”

Backstage View by Dennis Cook

Saturday, the smell of KP’s Smokehouse filtered into the far reaches of the farm, luring one in like a cartoon hound lifted off the ground by the smell of food. Pulled pork sandwiches, rib eyes on a bun, bologna sandwiches and more fed the masses, and all served with a big smile. One rarely failed to make a new friend or grow to adore the proprietors a little more each time they ponied up to their table to slather on finger lickin’ sauces on meat that made me glad to be an omnivore. And the warmth and grinning sweetness of KP’s extended to the merch folks, security staff and everyone else charged with keeping this enterprise moving. Really, just about the kindest, nicest folks I’ve ever encountered at a fest anywhere; absolutely on par with my West Coast fave, Las Tortugas.

Many people floated on the large, private lake during the afternoon, paddling around and sharing brews and laughter on the water. Long before music started up again with two more fantastic sets by Benny Skyn and Dave Gleason and his boys, laughter and gently splashing water provided a charming backdrop to relaxin’ in the shade.

Frank Hudson

What drew a number of folks into the sunshine was the vintage acoustic snap of Mr. Frank Hudson, a renowned guitar picker who played with the likes of Merle Travis and learned his craft from the same old soul that taught Chet Atkins how to play. Mr. Hudson is pure class and was kind enough to let me sit at his heel earlier in the day before his set while he explained some of the nuances and history of the southern guitar style he practices. And he even offered me a pull from his small bottle of Old No. 7. Like I said, pure class. His set was like a great living jukebox full of wonderful songs like “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” It’s a deceptively simple thing he does, but the way he provides rhythm for his lead lines, in a sense accompanying himself and easing into songs with weathered grace is a wonderful thing to behold. Add in his seasoned stage patter – “Can you hear me? If you can hear me I’m playing too loud” – and Hudson proved a total crowd charmer and deservedly so.

Paul Burch & The WPA Ball Club were another surprise winner following Hudson, bringing in oodles of swing into country, folk and jazz inflected songs that touched on both American and English traditional music and then snatched it by the arm into modernity. Accordion, fiddle and Burch’s guitar danced continually, creating a much fuller sound than one might expect from a trio. With an inviting voice and a big songbook full of quality material, Burch and the WPA evoked the past in a way that makes it new.

Wanda Jackson

They were followed by a short set from Nashville’s Heath Haynes & The Hi-Dollars, who took us back to ’50s ground zero rock with real aplomb. A blur of happy energy, they came on with an 88-key, unruly guitar assault anchored by a rhythm section so tight it wouldn’t leak a drop. Bar band staples like “That’s All Right, Mama” and “Six Days On The Road” bucked with life when they played ‘em, and then they transformed into the backing band for Saturday’s other headliner, Wanda Jackson.

“Keep listening and eventually we’ll play one you like,” the vintage rock queen declared, and they pretty much walked the line throughout their enjoyable, oldies rich set. Jackson arrived in the 1950s with one of the most distinctive voices to ever hit rock ‘n’ roll, and she’s largely maintained it, though it sometimes took a bit to warm up or cracked occasionally. So be it; she’s rock royalty and still offered up good times decked out in the most fringe I’ve ever seen on one shirt and a simply classic wig. When she let out a still-girlish squeal on monsters like “Fujiyama Mama” and “Riot In Cell Block No. 9″ it raised your pulse a bit and reminded one how essential sex is to rock, which oddly didn’t jar against the welcome gospel pieces and Jesus-saved-me rap also included in her set.

The main attraction for most, based solely on the sheer numbers on the lawn and their hooting enthusiasm, was Goose Creek‘s fest closing set. Without exaggeration, this performance ranked with the best I’ve seen by any band, every bit the equal to the transcendent experiences I’ve had with the Grateful Dead, Radiohead, The Black Crowes and other giants. What Goose Creek share with this bunch is the same undeniable originality, sheer talent and resounding conviction. One can play music to entertain and shake a coin out of folks’ pockets, but for some it’s a calling and a privilege to get up on stages and make music. A strong sense of ritual infused this show, with sage burning and a low, percussion driven ‘ohm’ building into the first song proper, a stunning reading of “These Hills” from 2002′s I Don’t Know album followed by their theme song, “Welcome To Goose Creek.” In just two numbers one was struck by a sound forged over a lifetime, a music born from craggy, private places but delivered in a way that makes people dance away their troubles and rejoice in the now.

Goose Creek Symphony

The sensation of being present at a real happening only intensified as the set continued. “It looks like a good night out there. Might as well be,” quipped Gearheart, a master of verbal sleight of hand peppered with wisdom you can use. And all six guys up there with him exuded the same heartfelt dedication to creating something good and useful and sweet for folks. By set’s end I was certain that Goose Creek Symphony ranks amongst the best outfits rock has ever given us. They’ve got the chops, diversity and songbook to rival the mighty Grateful Dead, plus their harmonies are way better and they’re a whole lot less self-important about what they do (especially these days). ‘Down to earth’ is a common expression but this bunch really is earthy and blue collar as a tattered, beloved pair of Levi’s. But they’re also pretty goddamn brainy and culturally savvy, and there are sections that nail some of the same magic one finds in The Beatles or Pink Floyd – two obvious influences that Goose Creek weaves into their own music masterfully, as in the Wish You Were Here like rendition of “I Don’t Know” this night. The Goose can also get funky as fuck, and the low end generally swerves and pops with an unpredictable but right on time cadence. And somehow the fiddle fits into all of it. That’s a neat trick.

Watching the sweaty, dazed young faces along the rail it was clear this isn’t some nostalgia kick. This music has the power to directly connect to real music people, the sort open to the kind of blackly humorous, intricately woven yet rowdily delivered music that Goose Creek Symphony lays down. There were plenty of gray hairs like myself – freakin’ as well as our bodies allow – but the younger fans reveal the huge potential for this music to light up myriad lives. It’s right in front of us, waiting to lift your heels and twist your brain. And thankfully so is Goose On The Lake. Here’s to Year 16 in 2011 and many more for Goose Creek themselves.

See many more pics from this wonderful festival here.

JamBase | Kentucky
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Yonder Mountain String Band: New Tour Dates

NEW ALBUM THE SHOW AVAILABLE NOW


Yonder Mountain String Band

Yonder Mountain
String
Band
have announced dates for an August tour. You will be able to order
tickets

exclusively through Yonder ticketing starting June 15 at 10 am local time.

08.12 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
08.13 Flagstaff, AZ Pine Mountain Amphitheatre

08.14 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
08.15 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
08.18 Tuscon, AZ Club Congress
08.19 San Diego, CA House of Blues
08.20 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
08.21 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theater
08.26 Denver, CO Ogden Theater
08.27 Morrison, CO Red Rocks

Yonder
Mountain String
Band
Tour Dates

::
Yonder
Mountain String
Band News
::
Yonder
Mountain String Band
Concert
Reviews


Summer Camp Stream Schedule

A CHANCE TO WATCH MOE., STS9, UMPH AND MORE FROM COMFORT OF HOME!

The broadcast schedule for the free iClips stream of Summer Camp 2010 has been announced. All times are CST, and the schedule is subject to change without notice, but this should help y’all plan your weekend a bit. Thanks to iClips for sharing the fun with live music obsessed folks that can’t make it to Camp.

Watch the Summer Camp stream here.

UM’s Ryan Stasik by Brian Spady

Friday, May 28

4:00 – Family Groove Company
5:15 – moe.
6:00 – STS9
7:15 – Cornmeal
8:00 – Umphrey’s McGee
9:15 – Yonder Mountain String Band
10:30 – Umphrey’s McGee
12:00 – Gov’t Mule

Saturday, May 29

1:00 – Backyard Tire Fire
2:15 – Rev. Peytons Big Damn Band
3:30 – Steel Pulse
5:00 – Slightly Stoopid
6:15 – ALO
7:00 – Umphrey’s McGee
8:15 – Keller Williams
9:00 – Umphrey’s McGee
10:15 – moe.

Sunday, May 30

2:00 – Umphrey’s McGee
3:15 – That 1 Guy
4:00 – The New Mastersounds
5:00 – Hot Buttered Rum
6:00 – Railroad Earth
7:15 – The Avett Brothers
8:30 – TBA
9:30 – moe.


30db | 05.20 | S.F.

Words by: Eric Podolsky | Images by: Brian Spady

30db :: 05.20.10 :: Great American Music Hall :: San Francisco, CA


Austin & Bayliss – 30db :: 05.20

“This is the fifth show we’ve ever played,” mandolinist Jeff Austin told the crowd at Great American Music Hall shortly after his new band 30db finished its second song. Considering this fact, the impressive size of the audience showed that these musicians’ reputations precede them. 30db’s roots stem from a casual musical relationship which formed between Yonder Mountain String Band‘s Austin and Umphrey’s McGee‘s Brendan Bayliss, eventually growing into a supergroup of sorts as their music called to be fleshed out. So, they recruited Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars/Hill Country Revue) to rock the drums, Nick Forster of Hot Rize to bring his professionalism on guitar and lap steel, and bassist Eric Thorin of Open Road to complete a fully-formed, well-oiled rock band.

Taking the stage to a casual, if not curious, audience, 30db introduced their music to our ears for the first time, and let the strength of the well-crafted songs from their debut album One Man Show do the heavy lifting throughout the night. First and foremost, Austin’s good-humored vocal delivery and excellent harmonizing with Bayliss stood out as the backbone of the music. The tunes were delivered in a straightforward rock format, notably punctuated by the hard strumming of Austin, whose mandolin sprinkles were just audible poking over the top of the music. Bayliss and Forster shared some soaring guitar line harmonies, though for much of the set Bayliss played acoustic and Forster shone on slide lap steel. Dickinson’s rock-solid drumming was the driving force in the band as they powered their way though the catchy, almost radio-friendly choruses of songs like “One Man Show,” “Liar,” and “Susannah,” arguably their strongest tune.

Other times, the band brought it down and let the music breathe, evoking almost U2-like wide open spaces with the lap steel and mandolin taking the forefront. A spot-on cover of The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” had Austin and Bayliss nailing the vocal harmonies. When the rock was brought back, the band used the rollicking, Southern-tinged tune “Grave” as their jam vehicle for the night, and everyone got some time in the spotlight, notably Forster, who ripped it on the lap steel.

After a single set, Austin and Bayliss reemerged on their own for an acoustic mini-set “encore,” which was arguably the highlight of the night. Their chemistry was uncanny, and it was very apparent that these guys get off on each other musically, both backstage and onstage. Introducing a gorgeous instrumental as “Psychotic Dive Bombing Hummingbirds of Colorado,” their combined acoustic chops were fluid, rapid, and playful. After a few more well-crafted, smile-inducing tunes and a couple of dueling solos, the rest of the band returned to flesh out the music, with Forster’s lap steel chiming and echoing though the open spaces of the music (think Chris Isaak). This segued into a sped-up, chugging modern rock take on Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” which closed the show with abandon as Austin’s yearning tenor yelped out each verse one by one.

This band has only begun to realize its potential. Interestingly enough, its quality brand of catchy melodic rock is probably more accessible to the masses than its members’ full-time bands. Here’s hoping they treat this group as more than just a side-project and give the music the time it needs to mature.

var siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”9″;$(document).ready( function() { $(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=57″);}); 30db at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA 30db photo gallery from Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA on May 20, 2010… View Photos

30db Tour Dates :: 30db News :: 30db Concert Reviews

JamBase | In Harmony
Go See Live Music!


JamBase Questionnaire: Jeff Austin

Welcome back to JamBase’s regular feature where we put a baker’s dozen of probing, wide-ranging questions to the bright lights in the jam scene (and beyond) in order to expose juicy tidbits about their musical minds. Last week we heard from John Butler and upcoming weeks will include insights from Trampled By Turtles, Cornmeal and more!

Jeff Austin by Tobin Voggesser

Hair flying, sweat pouring off of him, fingers a happy blur, Jeff Austin is a sight and a half. He’s also a surefire catalyst to anybody onstage with him. Some players excel in the role of trickster and instigator, and Austin exudes a heady musk full of mischief and in-the-moment jubilation that makes nostrils flare. He is a smile (or salty tear) transmogrified into musical notes. There’s no doubting his sincerity or passion – it vibrates in every fiber of his being and presence. In his long-standing role in Yonder Mountain String Band he is the ringmaster for their idiosyncratic circus that reminds us of the vaudeville and traveling show roots of their big string thing. As a guest with myriad other bands, he’s a free spirit that frees up others. And the boy can play a pretty dang good mandolin on top of everything else.

His new project is 30db, a spirited, crazy charming collaboration with Umphrey’s McGee singer-guitarist Brendan Bayliss. Their debut studio effort, One Man Show, arrives May 11 on SCI Fidelity. It’s a swell, press-repeat kind of rock affair that wraps a fine pop streak with the vibe of vintage Poco, The Byrds and other folk-tinged, vinyl-era rock combos, giving one the sense 30db is the 21st century answer to Loggins & Messina, except their mamas CAN dance to their rock ‘n’ roll. This pairing is melodically ripe and filled with thoughtful, catchy verses that stick around after the music stops. 30db begins their first tour tonight at the Barrymore Theatre in Madison, WI. Then it’s on to Chicago, Boulder, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and an appearance at Summer Camp 2010. Find full 30db tour dates here. Joining Austin and Bayliss for these shows is the stellar assemblage of Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, Hill Country Revue), Eric Thorin and Nick Forster.

(Dennis Cook)

Here’s what Austin had to say to our inquiries.

1. Great music rarely happens withoutÂ…
Listening. It’s amazing how many great collaborations go to shit when no one is listening.

2. The first album I bought wasÂ…
I’m pretty sure it was Freeze Frame by the J Geils BandÂ…vinyl, of course. I was pretty damn young. The one that made the most impact was American Beauty by the Grateful Dead. Big life changer, right there.

3. The last song or album to really flip my wig wasÂ…
The Devil You Know by Todd Snider. Every damn track made me pull the car over and just rock out for a bit. Best album in the last ten years as far as I’m concerned.

4. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to beÂ…
What I am now, a full time musician. The path has been a little different, but I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do with my life since I was very, very young. I’m really glad I have a mom that always encouraged me and let me follow my dreams.

5. My favorite sort of gig isÂ…
Packed to the rafters…50,000 folks at a festival like Bonnaroo or RothburyÂ…Telluride Bluegrass Fest in front of 10,000 people is the best gig to play all year…and Red Rocks…just mind-blowing.

6. One thing I wish people knew about me isÂ…
I cannot get you Telluride Phish tickets. No, really, stop asking me, please

7. I love the sound ofÂ…
My house when it’s quiet. When my girlfriend and the dog and cats are sleeping, the silence is really quite beautiful.

8. One day I hope to make an album as fantastic asÂ…
Demon Days by Gorillaz. Fucking rock show from top to bottom.

9. The best meal I ever had on tour was atÂ…
McMahon’s Steakhouse in Arizona. It was my birthday and we ate for hours; finished the meal with a magnum of Nicholas Feuillatte 1999 champagne. Pretty hard to beat that one.

10. I always find the coolest audiences inÂ…
Wherever folks are all there for the same reason and the energy is really flowing, be it 100 or 20,000 folks. When a crowd is all there for the same reason it just takes on a life of it’s own.

11. The worst habit I’ve picked up being on the road all the time isÂ…
The ability to sleep until 3p.m. That’s a tough thing to shake off when you get back home.

12. The Beatles or the Stones? Por que?
The Beatles, because they are just the best.

13. The craziest thing I ever saw wasÂ…
The international space station flying over the bowl at Horning’s Hideout at String Summit 2009. Folks thought I was crazy making them all look up. But, when that sucker flew over, three thousand faces all turned skyward, staring at an object floating thousands of miles up in space – and realizing there were humans in that machine looking right back at us. Everything stopped for this amazing moment…and the roar after it passed from view was just incredible. Really a moment I’ll never forget.

30db Tour Dates :: 30db News :: 30db Concert Reviews

Yonder Mountain String Band Tour Dates :: Yonder Mountain String Band News :: Yonder Mountain String Band Concert Reviews

JamBase | Always Up
Go See Live Music!


Danny Barnes: It’s All So Elemental

By: Sarah Hagerman

Danny Barnes

The rapid changes that have occurred in the music industry in the last decade have left a lot of folks sour as they wistfully long for the good old days. But not Danny Barnes.

“I can’t understand it,” he says, regarding that negative outlook. “When I was a kid it was hard to get music. I lived in this little town north of [Austin] and it was so hard to get records. I would mail order these records out of magazines, and because of the heat a lot of them would come warped. It would take weeks to get a record. Now you can sit in your hotel and just have access to all this stuff. I’m working on this theory of the universal set that includes all existing data. It’s this massive thing that we have access to now, but man, we didn’t have that back then. It was hard to get books and records and movies. Now, the database that we’re working with is so gigantic. The whole way data is operating now is just amazing to me because I’m talking about making ideas. Holy cow, there’s just so much stuff out there to work on because we’ve got this giant database.”

He mentions sitting in a hotel room before a Yonder Mountain String Band gig, shuffling through the iTunes of others in the hotel and finding “Jay-Z, Metallica, Kitty Wells, Beethoven, The Beatles, Bob Marley and Bill Monroe. And everybody’s doing this. I think the whole iPod shuffle thing has just totally changed the way we hear music. The whole genre-based way of looking at stuff is becoming more and more invalid as time goes by because people are really aware of everything.”

For some, this new method of listening to music constitutes mere consumption. But where others see closed doors, Barnes sees creative possibilities. In some ways, his take on things reminds me of these wise words from Louis C.K., albeit delivered in a gentle Texas accent with more joy and less misanthropy. It’s a refreshing perspective (especially if you’re prone to misanthropy yourself).

“I think putting [music] in a new context is the point,” Barnes says. “To me, art is recontextualizing things and making a new context for myself. I hope that we can have the freedom to do that. That’s what I really enjoy and get off on, that idea of making those contexts. I grew up on traditional American stuff that’s been played in my house since I was a kid. I think if you discovered it in middle life you may yearn for some other period, or some [perceived] purity of it that wasn’t there to begin with. You may have a different view of it.”

Danny Barnes by Michael Short
dannybarnes.com

“It’s like the way DJs build things out of other things,” he continues. “I think that’s a totally valid approach. We need that vantage point. They have a way of looking at music that a traditional musician might not. They have this way of melting and realigning things and using things chopped up and moved around. Man, that’s where it’s at! I do not see the problem with that. I think it’s, like, the bomb! I get so jacked up about it, I rise out of bed and I’m just so excited about work and about music and about finding new things. To me, it’s a very rich experience as a fan. Then, when you go to make these ideas you got all this stuff to draw upon. I just think it’s a golden time for ideas.”

It may seem odd to a lot of folks to hear a banjo player praise DJs, but those folks don’t know Barnes. Creating new contexts has always been a mark of his music, from Bad Livers through his prolific solo output. Whether playing his own folkTronics, where armed with a banjo and his Ableton software he crafts a whole auditory world, or sharing stages with artists from YMSB to Robert Earl Keen, or even picking up a Flying V electric guitar and playing his songs with the hard-rocking members of Honky (which also features Jeff Pinkus from Butthole Surfers), Barnes is an artist that trusts his inner compass. It may point in directions that seem far flung to some, but if there’s any justice, people will catch up eventually.

His latest album, Pizza Box (released last October online and in-stores January 2010 on ATO Records), brilliantly combines his diverse musical explorations – electronic pulses, bloodshot country ballads, skittering free-form banjo lines, Bill Frisell-inspired sonic blooms and even balls-to-the-walls rock adrenaline. But in Barnes’ hands, these contrasting elements meld so effortlessly you can’t detect the seams. It’s simply his sound, and it’s never sounded better. Powered with premium studio gas to rev it up to 11, this record is big, rich and full of heart. It’s the product of an artist who never stops studying, listening, and perhaps most importantly, being an enthusiastic music fan.

“What I’m always interested in doing is propelling acoustic music forward,” Barnes reflects. “Pushing it into the modern world and using it as a form for contemporary expression. I’ve enjoyed being in bluegrass and country music. I like that music, but what I really enjoy is its potential in the pop realm, the way you can use the forms and elements in a pop way so it speaks to more people. I think that’s the most valuable thing really, because people can pick up on that so easily. If you put away some kind of banjo cantata, you’re speaking above people a lot of the time, regular people that have jobs. [But] you can speak to someone whose five years old with a good song.”

“One of the things that I’ve matured [about] and come to understand about myself on this particular record is that I’m best suited for idea generating,” he says. “In this particular instance, the banjo is really used as a tool, a supporting role to get the idea across rather than the idea itself. I wrote a lot of the songs on the banjo, which makes different ideas come out than just [writing] on the guitar. That’s a trick I learned from John Hartford, that writing pop songs on a banjo gives you a different little trip. Your foundation is a little skewed, which is really cool.”

Danny Barnes

He’s being quite modest here, as anyone who’s seen Barnes play can testify, he’s a banjo-wielding maniac of the highest caliber. But Pizza Box could certainly reach a wider audience. The bluegrass and country entry points often associated with Barnes’ music are not prerequisites to buy a ticket for this ride. However, that fact provided considerable difficulties when he was initially trying to find any label support.

“I worked on [the songs] for about three years and I just didn’t really have an outlet for [them],” says Barnes. “I talked to some different labels in the acoustic world and they were more interested in my regular acoustic banjo-picking kind of stuff. I really felt these songs are more fractured pop songs than bluegrass or acoustic songs. I wasn’t really known for [bluegrass songwriting] anyway, but some of the labels I was talking to were discouraging me from what I was working on. But the music was going a little more open.”

Barnes found an enthusiastic fan and supporter in Dave Matthews. Their friendship had developed as Barnes played several shows with DMB. Matthews would visit him while he was writing the tracks that would become 2009′s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (where Barnes plays banjo), and Barnes was writing his own material, playing each other their songs in informal jam sessions. One day in early 2009, Barnes says, “I got a call from Coran [Capshaw - Matthews' manager] and Dave, just, ‘Hey we want to help you make a record. What can we do? We’ve got a bunch of resources. How can we help ya make a record?’ At this point I was kind of calling Dave’s machine and leaving these songs, kind of teasing him with these songs [laughs]. I think he started liking what he heard.”

Thinking of what he needed first and foremost, Barnes, who could play the other required instruments, thought, “What I’d really like to do is just get one bad ass drummer, and we got Matt [Chamberlain]. He may be one of the most recorded drummers in American history. If you look at his resume it’s almost like someone made it up; it’s unbelievable.”

Producer John Alagia (DMB, John Mayer, Ben Folds Five) was also brought on board, a pairing Matthews had been conspiring for some time.

Danny Barnes

“I would talk to Dave and he’d be like, ‘You really need to talk to this guy John Alagia.’ When I finally got a hold of him, John was telling me that Dave was telling him, ‘Hey, you need to meet this guy Danny Barnes,’ [laughs]. I got him on the phone and talked to John for maybe an hour, but I realized pretty quick into the conversation that the references that we had for what we wanted to do were really similar. I felt like this is the guy; this is going to work great,” says Barnes. “He was great. If I was doing something, he could just make it happen, make it into something bigger. I would never be able to make a record like that without him.”

The album was recorded in Matthews’ private Haunted Hollow Studios in Charlottesville, Virginia. For Barnes it was “a real blessing I got through Coran and Dave. They said, ‘Work here if you want to. Would you like to do this?’ And I was like, ‘Man, this place looks awesome!’” In the comfortable, state-of-the-art facility, the team recorded the album in two weeks with a relaxed attitude but focused approach. Barnes says, “Working with super talented people in a no pressure environment, you can get a lot done like that. If you get really good guys and just turn ‘em loose, something’s going to happen.”

This past fall also saw him signed to ATO by Matthews, a move which places him on the same roster as Drive-by Truckers and My Morning Jacket on a label that’s released albums by Radiohead and Paul McCartney. For an artist who’s had to adopt a DIY approach for most of his career, this is a mighty sweet spot.

“I’m stunned,” he says with humble gratitude. “I was thinking about this today. In sports, like in car racing, at about your mid-forties you’re going to start tailing off. But with music you can keep getting better and better. So, I keep practicing and taking lessons and studying. It’s strange to be 48-years-old and have the best record that you ever did. Typically a person my age has already done something significant and they’re just replicating that, or they haven’t done anything significant and they’re just going to quit. It’s pretty cool to be getting better and developing new ideas and having new relationships and new energy. I’m so thankful and blessed about that.”

Continue reading for more on Danny Barnes…

 


What I’m always interested in doing is propelling acoustic music forward. Pushing it into the modern world and using it as a form for contemporary expression. I’ve enjoyed being in bluegrass and country music. I like that music, but what I really enjoy is its potential in the pop realm, the way you can use the forms and elements in a pop way so it speaks to more people.

-Danny Barnes

 

Working Without Parameters

“Music is so malleable, when you play something it’s so easy to change it,” Barnes says. “It’s an idea that’s not really set in stone. It’s endlessly engaging in that regard. The trick is to not impose your own structure on it but to work with whatever ideas come into your head, because you get a lot of them. I think that’s why more people don’t write music and come up with art because it’s so easy to go, ‘Oh that’s not good, I’m not gonna do that,’ or, ‘That’s a dumb idea.’ You never get anything done that way, as opposed to just getting all your ideas down and then listening to what they tell you. If you’re doing that, you can be as prolific as you want because [the ideas] just keep talking.”

Danny Barnes from dannybarnes.com

When it becomes about ideas and not about you, it’s liberating. Tapping into that means letting go of the ego attachment that often runs hand-in-hand with the artistically afflicted.

“Working without parameters and getting a lot of ideas down is really good. Sometimes, for instance, musicians have a hard time making records because the part on a song you have to play [is] something really simple, and a guy might be thinking, ‘Man, my friends won’t know what a great guitar player I am unless I do something really complicated here,’ and then the part never works. It’s like you’re making a house and you want to put this weird room in there that doesn’t go with the rest of the house, and you get stuck because you’re trying a million ways of making it fit and it won’t fit. I learned just to take myself out of it as much as I can.”

Pizza Box is an album with a grand scope crafted out of intimate details. It’s a multi-character, fractured narrative that unfolds with cinematic richness. Violent drug dealers, sketchy loners, repeat convicts, the lonely and the lovelorn claw and slack their way through the stories. Barnes renders them in flesh and blood in vividly detailed micro-views that pull us down into these creatures’ hilarious and heartbreaking lives.

“It’s a bunch of vignettes,” he explains. “The common theme in there is a kind of learning for these people that are wrecking their own lives. It’s sort of like a film where you’re exposed to the narrative out of order. There’s these characters that pop up, and then one of the characters robs somebody else in another song. They coexist and intermingle. There’s little bits in the poetry and in the sonic palette, things that pop in and out. There’s a lot of little hidden Easter eggs, like internal rhymes. Those are the records I really enjoyed, and still enjoy. I like when there’s stuff buried in there and you have to dig around. There’s always little meanings and motifs that will show up in another song, reverb times and compression schemes that get used more than once, loops that get moved around, buried processes within other processes.”

Those layers and nuances taken as a whole provide a mural of early 21st century America’s substrata. Much like the protagonist of the title track who looks around at various objects – “A pizza box/ A baling wire/ And a ball of twine” – that bring up memories of a lost love, depending on where the listener’s focus falls, different images leap out and demand attention.

“There’s something about the way, cinematically, things can operate,” Barnes says. “There’s a post-structuralist way, where all the movements and the shapes and the color palette and everything in the scene can have other meanings. For instance, if a character is talking on the phone but there’s a song playing in the background, maybe that’s more important than what’s happening in the foreground. When I was a little kid I used to listen to a lot of radio dramas. They had this thing called Mystery Theater, and it was this hour-long show with host E.G. Marshall. The way all this stuff would happen in your mind, it was in-between reading and watching a movie. Movies sometimes nail everything down for you and can be a passive experience, but reading is a very active experience. This [radio drama] was in-between, and I try to make that happen in my songs, where things are open enough where people can interpret them in different ways.”

Danny Barnes

Well I’ve read the Bible through from stem to stern
To see what a feller like me could learn
Well, the times get harder and the cities burn
It ain’t no different than the caveman time

There’s an old saying, a curse really, that says, “May you live in interesting times.” Well, things are pretty damn interesting out there. It makes one wonder, as the whole darned human comedy keeps perpetuating itself, how much we’ve really evolved. It’s a theme that runs through the song “Caveman.”

“In one sense, we have this chronological pride,” Barnes reflects. “We think, ‘Boy, we’ve really advanced.’ In another way, we’ve really not. ['Caveman'] came about when I was flying one day. It was one of those days when they just shut down the airports. It just freaked me out because I couldn’t get to work. It wasn’t 9/11, but it was one of those days after that. There was like 3,000 people. It was like being in the stands at a Mariner game. Nobody could get on their flights, and it just reminded me of the way cavemen must have operated, just digging in the ground for grub worms. In some ways, we’re not so far removed from that reality. Every now and then the brutality of existence kind of strikes me as poignant.”

This brutality is most acute in the punk rock menace of “Road.” Barnes plays a bone-crunching electric guitar on the song, while Chamberlain’s drums pound with chain gang intensity. It’s unapologetically heavy, but Barnes says, “I’m underground enough so that I don’t have to worry about alienating anybody.” The music fits the story; as the drug dealer protagonist barrels full-tilt towards a self-destructive end, Barnes vocals go unhinged and raw as he sings:

I got a .40 Smith and Wesson in a car downtown
I got a hollow point safetied on a chambered round
Selling methamphetamines to Jungle Jim
‘Til I crashed and burned and dropped the dime again

The song was inspired by a friend who was sent to prison.

Danny Barnes with Mike Gordon from dannybarnes.com

“He was telling me about how before he went down, the last two or three days was this amazing story. Basically, when they kicked the door in he was relieved because he could finally go to sleep and relax. He could just go to prison and chill out. It was so hard to keep that life going. It was so dangerous and such a mess. I just thought that was interesting. You wouldn’t have expected that. I think William Blake says, ‘Excess of sorrow laughs, excess of joy weeps.’ Talking to my friend, they kicked in the door with a big battering ram and he was never so happy to see those guys because he knew he was going down; it was just a matter of time. [In] that song, the guy hasn’t figured it out yet, but he’s fixing to.”

The song’s chorus – “I left it laying by the side of the road” – hints at leaving a destructive way of living behind.

“I realized that getting the right people in your life AND getting the wrong people out is really important, because being around a lot of negative energy can take up a lot of your forward motion. So, I’m trying to encourage people, sort of surreptitiously in that song, to put down their burdens and move on with their lives. It’s buried in there; it’s a subtext. I’m trying to build people up, because you carry around all these burdens and you see the world through this guilt. So, if you look at a rose, you can’t really look at the rose without the guilt. You don’t look at it and think, ‘What a beautiful flower.’ You look at it and go, ‘Man, I should really have a garden. I need to go home. I haven’t been doing that. I’m really letting that down. I’m not holding up my end of the deal. Somehow, I’m coming up short.’ I say that from experience because I’ve looked at life that way and have let that stuff go a little.”

It’s the fact Barnes speaks from experience that lends extra weight to his words. He wasn’t born an optimist. Although it might seem hard to imagine him ever having to take an anger management class, there was a time when he found himself looking up classes in his town in Washington State:

Danny Barnes

“I live in this little town, so I’m thinking, ‘Where am I going to do this?’ I found this place that had a class, a support group for anger management. They said, ‘Okay, we’re going to meet Wednesdays at 5:30.’ So, I arranged the next couple of months so I could always be at that class. The day before the class started, they called and said, ‘Oh, we’ve changed it to Thursday,’ and I completely lost it. I’m like, ‘What in the hell is wrong with these people? You can’t change this the day before!’ I got completely incensed and I’m stomping around the house screaming. And I realized, ‘Whoa, I’m getting angry at the anger management class.’ I realized that’s what keeping me down. It’s not this other system. It’s really me that’s doing that. That was a big epiphany for me.”

Personal change often starts with examining our own self-inflicted wounds. If we can face them, we can grow from that scar tissue. At one point in our conversation, I ask Barnes if he’s hopeful about people’s abilities to shift their own situations?

“I am hopeful. I just have this idea that everything is going to be great. That’s my idea, that the world is getting better and we’re getting better and things are good, you know? I just sense that. I’m a reformed pessimist. I used to not think that way. I used to have a real doom-and-gloom way of looking, but I do think we’re in the process of moving into win-win. In my business, in my relationships, I’m learning that win-win to me is really the best model that we have. I just stumbled on that in the last few years. We think a lot of times [that] we really got to get what’s ours, what’s coming to us. The problem with that philosophy is you’re taking it away from somebody, or you’re grasping and you’re really in a negative mindset. Win-win is something I think we’re slowly learning as a society.”

Lord knows you don’t need to look too far to see plenty of examples of lose-lose, as America seems to be dissolving into a partisan pissing contest. But despite what the culture war profiteers want you to believe, there’s empowerment in seeing the world as a place of potential rather than a place of terror and failure. In our own lives it ultimately comes down to each of us deciding what we want – love or fear. In many ways, Pizza Box couldn’t have come at a better time, as it reminds us that no matter how insane things get outside, inside, we always have the power to make a choice for the better.

Danny Barnes Tour Dates :: Danny Barnes News :: Danny Barnes Concert Reviews

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Northwest String Summit: YMSB, moe., Rhythm Devils

NORTHWEST STRING SUMMIT FEATURING 3 DAYS OF MUSIC, CAMPING

RETURNS TO BEAUTIFUL HORNING’S HIDEOUT JULY 16-18, 2010; LINEUP FEATURES

YMSB, MOE.; AND THE RHYTHM DEVILS FEATURING KREUTZMANN, HART & KELLER WILLIAMS

Yonder Mountain String Band

The ninth annual Northwest String Summit festival featuring three days of music and camping returns to
Horning’s Hideout near Portland, OR from Friday, July 16 through Sunday, July 18, 2010.

Featured artists include Yonder
Mountain String Band
, The
Rhythm Devils
with Bill
Kreutzmann
and Mickey
Hart
of
The Grateful Dead, and moe.. The live music schedule also features Danny Barnes and Friends; The Infamous Stringdusters;
Republic of Strings; Crooked Still; Benny “Burle” Galloway and
;
Urban Monroes; and 2009 band contest winner Crunchy Western Boys. Additional
bands may
still confirm to play the festival.

All ages advance 3-day passes are available now at all Ticketswest outlets and online at ticketswest.com for $125, if
purchased before May 15; $145 if purchased from May 15 through July 15; and $155 if purchased day of show.
Ticket price includes three days of music and camping. Children ages 10 and under are admitted free with a paying
adult. Two-day passes for Saturday and Sunday only will be available for $100 beginning May 15 and includes two
days of music and camping.

The gates will open to the public beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday, July 16, 2010. Gates will close Monday, July 19,
2010 at 12 p.m. The camping areas will be separate from the parking areas. Drinking water will be available without
charge.

For more information about the Northwest String Summit, please visit
www.stringsummit.com. For more information about
Horning’s Hideout, please visit
www.horningshideout.com.

Check out our 2009 coverage of NWSS here.


30db (Austin/Bayliss): Album/Tour

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND’S JEFF AUSTIN AND UMPHREY’S MCGEE’S BRENDAN BAYLISS
JOIN FORCES IN 30DB; RELEASE ALBUM AND TOUR IN SELECT CITIES THIS
MAY

Jeff Austin

This spring, guitarist Brendan Bayliss of the improvisational Chicago band Umphrey’s McGee and mandolinist
Jeff Austin of Boulder’s top-flight Americana unit Yonder Mountain String Band, join
forces as 30db. 30db
releases their new album, One Man Show, on May 11, 2010.

The band, which tours select cities throughout the month of May, also features Cody Dickinson of the
North Mississippi Allstars on drums, percussion, and keyboards; Nick Forster, guitarist for the
groundbreaking newgrass group Hot
Rize
and host of the syndicated radio show “E-Town”; and highly sought after player/producer and Open Road bassist Eric Thorin. The list of currently confirmed tour dates is included below.

30db Tour Dates :: 30db News :: 30db Concert Reviews