The Infamous Stringdusters are one of the hottest bands on the Americana touring circuit and the group will kick off the Oaksong Music Society’s 2010 outdoor concert series on July 3 at Gray Pine Farm in Oak Run.
It’s a thrilling scenario for the society’s organizers.
"Every person who loves music in the bluegrass or traditional country genre — or just loves a great band — needs to see this show," said concert organizer Barry Hazle. "Their music is superb. They make it fresh and appealing to younger audiences, yet they still keep older bluegrass people happy. They put their stamp on the music that makes it their own."
The Stringdusters formed just over five years ago with a group of players who were experienced sideman for the likes of Dolly Parton, Ronnie Bowman, Lee Ann Womack and Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon. Their sound caught on quickly and they were soon a hit on the live festival circuit.
The Infamous Stringdusters perform at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco.
The group’s new album ("Things That Fly," Sugar Hill Records) features not only the stellar performances of group members Andy Hall (dobro), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Jesse Cobb (mandolin), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Travis Book (upright bass) and Andy Falco (guitar), but also blends in the work of country star Dierks Bentley, Crooked Still frontwoman Aoife O’Donovan and Americana songwriter Sarah Siskind.
The group’s new album was released on April 20.
The July 3 show begins at 7:30 p.m. at Gray Pine Farm (take old Highway 44 from Palo Cedro to Oak Run and follow signs to the venue). Click here for more information. Gates open at 5 p.m., a barbecue dinner starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $23 for the concert only (youth 16 and under are free), or $37 for the all-you-can-eat dinner and concert. Guests are welcome to bring their own picnic dinners at no additional cost.
A News Cafe caught up with the band’s guitarist, Andy Falco, by phone from his home in Nashville, Tenn.
You guys just released a new album. Tell us a little bit about that project?
"We rented a house in the Poconos and in Asheville (N.C.), got a bunch of beers and hung out 24/7 and worked on tunes and arrangements, wrote tunes and put all this stuff together with no distractions. Then that’s how we recorded. We recorded in Charlottesville at a studio with a house attached and we literally lived in the studio. That made the whole recording experience unique. There was a lot more room for creativity and experimentation. Everyone was 100 percent present. I think that really added to that product."
You have some writing credits on the new CD ("Taking a Chance On the Truth" with John Weisberger, and "All the Same" with bandmate Travis Book). It must be nice to be getting your songwriting voice in there.
"Yeah, it is. On the song with Travis he came over one day and I put some soup on and we wrote that in about 40 minutes. It was a pretty smooth writing session. We sat down and that song came out and we finished the soup and we were done."
It seems like with all the good pickers in the band and all the nice harmonies and songwriting, it’s a real creative environment. That must be enjoyable.
"It is. Everybody in the band writes a lot of stuff. When we put it all together, we try to pick the best songs to make a coheasive record. One of the great things about our band is there’s never a shortage of material. Another thing I love about the band is the creative process — it’s very natural. Everybody contributes to the arrangement of every song. Everyone has good ideas. It’s not a tedious process. It’s very creative and very natural."
Falco, left, performs with one of the band’s musical heroes, banjo player Danny Barnes.
What’s your background as a guitarist?
"I grew up kind of playing electric guitar. I started playing with my older brother, Tom. He was one of those older brothers who would include me in all the stuff he was doing. He would encourage me to jam and take me to (Grateful) Dead shows. I was, I guess, 13 or 14 at the time and he had wheels and would take me with his friends. I got into people like Jerry Garcia, Mike Bloomfield, B.B. King, that kind of thing. When I started playing more acoustic bluegrass style, at first I was trying to learn to play like a bluegrass guitarist. But then it kind of hit me that all those past influences should come out. They’re sort of like your musical DNA. I realized I can sit with all these bluegrass records and let all that (previous) stuff come out."
Some people get pretty sticky about what bluegrass should or shouldn’t sound like. You guys certainly put your stamp on this traditional music and make it your own.
"We all love lots of different types of music. Now we feel like ‘doing what we do’ is the best way to approach it. Doing what we do is always going to be better than trying to chase the audience. You put out your energy to the audience and hope it comes back. Hopefully people like it and want to come back. I mean even Bill Monroe was taking all these influences and combining it into this thing he called bluegrass. I feel like that’s exactly in the same spirit of what we’re doing."
It must be great to be having the kind of success where now you’re sharing the stage with some of your musical heroes?
"It’s always kind of a mind-blowing experience when you look over and one of your musical heroes is there. We played with David Grisman a few times and I remember just wearing his records out. To be actually standing next to him playing was a pretty amazing experience. We played one of his tunes, "E.M.D." After the show, I went up to him and said ‘I’ve played that a million times in bars and clubs, but I never, ever thought I’d standing on a stage and picking it with you."
