This morning I noticed a recent post on the Japanese bluegrass blog, run by mandolin player Kasninoyh (Nino), about Crooked Still’s newest CD Shaken by a Low Sound.

Nino wrote a very thorough review of the disc for his Japanese readers, and made a great observation that this is really urbanized bluegrass played by four very talented, jazz influenced, young musicians from the Northeast. One thing he was unclear on though was the band name. I myself wasn’t sure how they had come up with the name, and neither was John. I emailed Rushad Eggleston, the cello player, and inquired as to how the name had come about.

Rushad tells me that Greg Liszt, the banjo player, came up with the name.

It basically refers mostly to a moonshine still, representative of Appalachian vibes, and its crooked which is kind of about us coming at it from a different angle.

For our non-english readers who may not be familiar with the concept of a moonshine still, let me explain. Moonshine is a strong alcoholic beverage made from corn in the rural mountains of the southeastern United States. A “still” is the device they use to distill the corn mash into liquor. The production of moonshine is illegal by the way.

It’s a “crooked still” because the band plays Appalachian/bluegrass music but, as Nino noted, is not a regular bluegrass band. Some people talk about traditional bluegrass by calling it “straight up bluegrass” so the band decided since they weren’t “straight up” they must be “crooked.”

All in all, that’s a pretty cool band name for a progressive bluegrass band.

Wildfire has announced that they have brought Andy Ruff into the group playing resonator guitar and singing both lead and harmony vocals. Andy has spent the past few years as a member of Karl Shifflet & The Big Country Show, and Honi Deaton & Dream. He had played with The Sunny Siders, his family’s gospel group, through his teen years and is well remembered throughout Kentucky and Indiana from his many festival appearances.

The band is delighted to welcome this exciting young talent, a seasoned pro at only 23 years old.

“Wildfire is excited to have Andy on board. He brings a fresh and young energy to the unique style the band has created in their six years together.”

The remainder of the band is still intact from its inception, with Darrell Webb on mandolin, Barry Crabtree on banjo, Robert Hale on guitar, and Curt Chapman on bass. They hope to get into the studio soon with this configuration and get to work on a new project.

You can check their schedule online on the Wildfire web site, or their MySpace page.