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| This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen magazine #102 (October / November 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription. |
The greater Boulder area is also home to many bands that incorporate elements of bluegrass, including "polyethnic Cajun slamgrass" ensemble Leftover Salmon, Furtado's eclectic quartet, Pete Wernick's Live Five, and the wildly popular jam band String Cheese Incident.
The Yonder Mountain String Band has garnered a loyal jam band following through incessant touring (they played over 125 shows in 2001), tape trading, and creating a strong online buzz through its own website (www.yondermountain.com). In addition, there are several unofficial sites that include set lists, tape/show reviews, and tour information. However, both onstage and on record, Yonder Mountain is at heart a fairly conventional bluegrass quartet that often closes their sets playing without microphones at the front of the stage. Nonetheless, the band has been known to stretch its tunes out to great lengths, and to insert surprises like Beatles tunes (a killer version of "Only a Northern Song"), Grateful Dead songs, reggae anthems, and John Hartford numbers.
Considering that the group came together only four years ago, its output and success has been amazing. With four CDs (two live recordings and two studio efforts), the band has gone from playing tiny clubs to big summer sheds like Alpine Valley and Deer Creek.
Mandolin player Jeff Austin and banjo player Dave Johnston grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and each took up his instrument during his college years. Johnston, while attending the University of Illinois, started his first band, Giblet Gravy, followed by a second group, the Bluegrassholes. During the tenure of the Bluegrassholes, Johnston met Austin, who had majored in musical theater at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. As Austin explained, this was his introduction to acoustic music. "When I joined Dave's group, the Bluegrassholes, I owned a mandolin and knew some of the chords on it, so they asked if I could play that since they already had a guitar player. They also had another mandolin player, so I basically played rhythm mandolin and sang, while the other guy played all the licks."
Austin may have started out as a novice on the mandolin, but it didn't take long for him to develop into a monster player. "When I picked it up, I pretty much didn't put it down."
Bassist Ben Kaufmann grew up in Massachusetts, where he was exposed to music at an early age by his father, who played in a big band. Taking up the bass in sixth grade, he played rock and later moved into jazz, where he honed his skills on the upright bass. After a stint in film school in New York, Kaufmann moved to Boulder, where he started playing bass in a series of acoustic bands. Guitarist Adam Aijala, who also grew up in Massachusetts, began as a punk/metal electric guitarist in his early teens, later discovering an affinity for acoustically based rock music. Aijala's budding career as a forester was cut short by an injury five years ago, which prompted him also to move to Colorado and pursue music full time.
When the four musicians came together in Nederland in 1998, it was a clear case of people being in the right place, with the right preparation, at the right time. In less than a year, they had begun touring nationally, and they were invited to play at festivals such as High Sierra. Their popularity was bolstered by strong word-of-mouth and, in particular, by a strong buzz on the growing Internet jam band community. In 1999, they recorded their first CD, Elevation, which consisted of all original material. Sally van Meter, a local bluegrass legend and Dobro player, produced their debut effort, which featured guest appearances by van Meter, Darol Anger, and Mike Marshall. Kaufmann credits networking with these and other veteran pickers with jump-starting their own creative juices. "One great thing about the bluegrass scene is that your heroes are so accessible. It was such a great honor to work with Sally van Meter, and later Tim O'Brien, on our albums."
By 2000, they had fallen comfortably into the hard-touring ethos of other jam bands like Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident, still mostly playing small clubs and a few festivals. Although they shared audiences with these groups, and also played some traditional bluegrass festivals, Yonder Mountain emerged with a unique personality and musical focus. Before a show at Chicago's Vic Theater earlier this year, Johnston tried to categorize their music. "We play bluegrass instruments, but I wouldn't really call us a bluegrass band. "We're more like a folk band, but we do play a lot of bluegrass. Last night in Madison, our first set was almost entirely traditional bluegrass."
The band is quite comfortable with being lumped under the jam band umbrella. Kaufmann explained the commonality they share with the diverse assemblage of groups that are often included in that category. "The main thing they all have in common is a willingness to go out on a limb musically. Our audience will forgive us if we make mistakes, but they might not forgive us if we didn't take chances during a show."
This is an excerpt from an article in Dirty Linen #102 (Oct./Nov. '02). Read the full text in the magazine, available via subscription or on newsstands and in bookstores.
