GREENSKY BLUEGRASS with Tom Hamilton's American Babies
Vootie presents Greensky Bluegrass with special guest Tom
Hamilton’s American Babies on Wednesday, November 11th 8Pm
at Bozeman’s FaultLine North. Tickets for the show are $25 plus fees and
on sale now at Cactus Records and online at www.vootie.com.
“There’s this great duality to our band,”
reflects Greensky Bluegrass mandolinist, vocalist, and songwriter Paul Hoffman.
“We’re existing in a few different places at once: we’re a bluegrass band and a
rock band, we’re song-driven and interested in extended improvisation.” “We play acoustic instruments,” adds dobro
player Anders Beck, “but we put on a rock’n’roll show. We play in bigger clubs
and theaters, there’s a killer light show, and we’re as loud as your favorite
rock band. It’s not easy to make five acoustic instruments sound like this –
it’s something we’ve spent years working on.”
From these seemingly irreconcilable elements, the five members
of Greensky Bluegrass have forged a defiant, powerful sound that, while rooted
in classic stringband Americana, extends outwards with a fearless, exploratory
zeal. The tension and release between these components – tradition and
innovation, prearranged songs and improvisation, acoustic tones and electric volume
– is what makes them so thrillingly dynamic, in concert and on record. “In
theory,” Hoffman explains, “greensky is the complete opposite of bluegrass. So,
by definition, we are contrasting everything that isn’t bluegrass with
everything that is.” That their sound is so seamless, so organic, is testament
to Greensky’s enduring vision and tireless dedication. Since their first
rumblings at the start of the millennium, they have emerged as relentless road
warriors, creating a captivating live show while at the same time developing a
knack for evocative, disarming songcraft.
From their unlikely base of Kalamazoo, Michigan (home of the
original Gibson Mandolin-Guitar factory), Greensky – which also includes
banjoist Michael Arlen Bont and bassist Michael Devol – arrived at their unique
take on the bluegrass tradition by working from the outside inward. “I found
bluegrass through the back door,” Beck says, “through the Jerry Garcia route.
That’s how I got to listening to Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs. It’s really
interesting how many people in our generation got into acoustic music through
that channel.”
By playing up to 175 shows a year, mostly in rock clubs and more
open-minded festivals like Telluride, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and the New
Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Greensky Bluegrass became a word-of-mouth
underground sensation, cultivating a devoted legion of fans entranced both by
the band’s improvisational acumen and the quality of their songwriting. Then
and now, despite their wide-ranging musical interests, Greensky continues to
work within the structure of a classic five-man stringband. “The cool thing
about a bluegrass band or, really, any drummerless band,” Hoffman explains, “is
that it’s like acoustic chamber music — challenging, exciting, and fun to
play.”
2015 is shaping up to be a monumental year for
Philadelphia-based musician Tom Hamilton, whose American
Babies have returned to the studio to record their latest LP; a
follow-up to 2013’s Knives and Teeth.
Invigorated by a busy and exciting 2014 that found him on the
road with a number of touring acts, Hamilton can be considered “the hardest
working person in show business,” and looks forward to funneling that creative
energy into American Babies’ newest studio effort. “Everything that’s happened
since October 2013 has been surreal,” says Hamilton, “the reception of Knives
and Teeth was overwhelming. The tours throughout 2014 were all so fun
and exciting. And then there were the incredible opportunities that arose
playing with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Phil Lesh,
and Bill Kreutzmann, as well as reuniting with Clay Parnell on
stage, which all had a huge influence on the narrative of my year. I’m excited
to lock myself back in the studio and see how all of these events and new
experiences shape the next batch of songs.”
Fearlessly blending a passion for songwriting with the
electronica-based improv rock that Hamilton and Parnell developed with Brothers
Past, American Babies are pioneering a new sound – fusing serious songs
with an open-ended sense of adventure that encourages full-group improvisation
in the live setting.
Media Quotes:
“Representing the genre for a whole new generation.” –
Rolling Stone
"Taking chances - and pushing the boundaries of a proud
tradition - are what mark Greensky Bluegrass' sound, which tips
its cap to backwoods-jazz virtuosity while holding on to a rock 'n' roll
edge." - San Francisco Chronicle