Brance: Your last CD, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground, was recorded live with only two microphones. How about Punch?

Chris:

We recorded live again on this record. It’s my favorite way to record. This time around we did multi-track, but in a minimal way.

The main tracks were recorded with a setup borrowed from orchestral recording called a Decca Tree. We just gathered around that setup in a semi-circle and and recorded totally live. But we didn’t want Noam and Gabe to have to lay back too much, we wanted them to be able to play dynamically they way they normally would, so we did set up some spot mics so we could give a little boost here and there when needed.

A Decca Tree is a method of recording that combines three microphones positioned spatially in a “T” shape. It is most often used with omni-directional microphones. Chris told me they used three Neumann mics for their set up. The Tree is positioned above the assembled musicians and provides a pleasant sounding stereo recording.

Brance: Using a set up like that requires a bit of room. What size space where you in?

Chris:

We cut the tracks in New York City, in a large orchestra room with a very nice natural room sound.

Brance: Recording a CD live is hard enough, how did you handle recording such long compositions?

Chris:

Well, we didn’t record it all in one day! We tracked one movement, or two songs per day on average. The music is fairly intense, and recording has an intensity of its own, so it takes it out of you to record something like this live. We went in to the studio knowing the music was hard to play, but our goal was to make it sound easier than it is!

Considering Chris’ statements about combining classical composition disciplines with the vibrancy of bluegrass songwriting, keeping the music intense and engaging, and making it sound easier than it is, I’d say they guys did a fantastic job with this recording.

Punch is released this coming Tuesday, February 26, 2008. I’m sure we’ll have a post or two with some comments on the music itself by then, but I’ll go ahead and give you my recommendation. Go get it!

Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this interview.

Brance: What about the other four songs on the CD?

Chris:

We basically co-wrote those tunes as a band. Those four tracks actually contribute to the overall presentation of The Blind Leaving The Blind. We introduced them in that particular order purposefully.

But you know, we’re really just getting warmed up on the mutual creative process. Looking ahead to the future with this band is pretty exciting.

Brance: What is the context for presenting this new material live in a show? What other material is being performed alongside these new compositions?

Chris:

We’re still performing material from How To Grow in the shows. We’re also doing some tunes from my various solo recordings as well.

Critter:

We do a few interesting covers as well. And the show is really different each night. We try to mix it up so that if a person comes to more than one show, they’re going to hear something different each time.

Brance: Chris you mentioned earlier that the composition of The Blind Leaving The Blind was colored by the players. If you can quantify it, could you share one thing about each of the guys in the band that you find valuable to the band experience?

Chris:

Wow, that hard. Each of these guys is so multi-dimensional it’s difficult to pick out just one thing. But if I had to…

Noam brings this incredible work ethic to the group that I really value. His instrument, the banjo, doesn’t really lend itself well to some of the stuff we’re doing. It’s tuned to open G and we’re playing in a variety of keys that make it quite challenging for a banjo player. But Noam just steps up to the task, works it out, and comes up with some incredible stuff.

Gabe processes information so quickly. Someone will have an idea and Gabe just gets it so quickly.

Greg has this amazing self-awareness that is really unique in a musician. And he’s very innovative as a bass player, he really lends a lot to the overall sound.

And Critter, well he’s just fearless. He will try anything! Where the rest of us might be thinking “I’d better not go there, I’ve never had that under my fingers before,” Critter will just forge ahead. Almost every night, at some point, he’ll play something that will have the rest of us looking at each other and asking “Where did that come from?!”

Brance: What is your favorite aspect of the results of recording this particular set of music with this group?

Chris:

I feel like the end result is music that is interesting and engaging. The listener has to participate in this music, actively. The listener is a key component, and I’m happy about that.

Tomorrow we’ll finish up the interview with a discussion of the recording techniques used on Punch.

Be sure to read Part 1.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chris, along with guitarist Chris Eldridge (a.k.a. Critter), last week and ask them about the new CD. We spoke in the early morning hours (11 AM) the day after a show in Vermont. The pair were on their way to Starbucks for a cup of java while we chatted.

The new CD coincides with the new band name, Punch Brothers, and is named simply, Punch. Scheduled to be released next Tuesday, February 26, 2008, the recording is centered around a Thile composition over a year and half in the making, The Blind Leaving The Blind. The work is presented in four movements, each a separate track on the CD.

Brance: Chris, tell us about the composition of The Blind Leaving The Blind. It seems quite an ambitious project to write something that large in scope, for performance by a bluegrass band.

Chris:

Yeah, it’s big. I spent a year and a half writing it. Not that I worked on it every day, but I probably spent about two and half months worth of days in actual composition, over the course of that year and a half. I worked with a music composition software called Finale.

The finished piece is about a 70/30 mix, through composed material vs. something that looks more like a jazz lead sheet or a written out fiddle tune. My goal was to fuse the formal disciplines of jazz or classical composition with the vibrancy of bluegrass or folk music song writing.

When I started composing, we were still doing the Nickel Creek thing. I was having trouble with certain aspects of the work because I didn’t know at the time who would be playing it with me. So parts of it had to be put on hold until I had put the current band together. The composition is absolutely colored by the players.

Brance: The finished work is in four movements totaling over 42 minutes of music. Do you perform it as one continuous piece of music, or do you take breaks in between the movements?

Chris:

No, we don’t perform it strait through, for a couple of reasons. For one, we need a chance to tune occasionally! And our audience, for the most part, isn’t accustomed to sitting and listening for 12 minutes (the longest of the movements) let alone 42 minutes. Everyone needs a break. So we pause, tune, talk to the crowd, check on them and make sure they’re doing ok.

Brance: So how have the audiences received the piece?

Chris:

The reception has been very warm and encouraging. The fans seem to enjoy it as much as we do, and that’s important to us.

Brance: About the fans. Who are they? Bluegrass fans? Nickel Creek fans? Are there any classical music fans coming out?

Critter:

I think it’s a mix of all that, the old fans and the new. There are definitely some bluegrass people who are coming out, along with Chris’ Nickel Creek fans, and the association with Nonesuch has brought in some fans that might not have listened to us otherwise.

Chris:

Yeah, Nickel Creek took a folksy/pop turn along the way and we lost the interest of many of the instrumentally minded fans. I’m glad to see them coming back now.

Critter:

You know, the fans, no matter what their background, have to be aware that the show is going to be different than what they’re used to.

Chris:

Yes! You’ll need to be open minded to accept what we’re doing. In fact, we CRAVE the open minded!

Hey!!!

Critter just threw a snowball at me!

To be continued…

Eldridge came by the nickname Critter some years ago as a young man. Spending time with his dad and the Seldom Scene, he got to hang out with many high profile bluegrass artists. He was dubbed “Critter” by his guitar hero Tony Rice.

More with Chris and Critter: Part 2

As you might expect, the boys pick it solid throughout, and surely do so throughout this one hour production.

Guitarmageddon, co-produced with SimpleFolk Productions, showcases three young flatpicking firebrands who have been making their presence felt in bluegrass this past few years. Chris Eldridge, Andy Falco and Josh Williams are featured in this one hour DVD performing live at Nashville’s storied Station Inn in a variety of settings.

The three each offer solo arrangements, are paired as duos, pick as a trio, and are joined by Cody Kilby on banjo and Mike Bub on bass for some rockin’ bluegrass numbers. Each of the three guitarists are interviewed, as is J.T. Gray, current owner of the Station Inn.

A total of 15 songs are included, among them favorites like Cherokee Shuffle, East Tennessee Blues, Jesse James, Nine Pound Hammer, and Salt Creek.

There doesn’t seem to be a video sample up online yet, but they may be posted soon on Flatpicking Guitar’s YouTube channel.

You can find more details in the Flatpicking Guitar online store.

The concert is to benefit Mr. Scottie Henson, one of the charter members of the Jackson Purchase Friends of Bluegrass, the organization behind many bluegrass events in Western Kentucky. Henson is known to the bluegrass community as an instructor, as well as a member of The Kentucky Opry in Draffenville, KY. Recently Henson underwent double aortic aneursm surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

The surgery went well, but shortly after the operation Scottie started being plagued by all kinds of setbacks, including pneumonia and kidney failure, but through the miracles of medical science and the prayers of hundreds of his friends, he has survived, and has now been moved to Select Specialty Hospital in Nashville to begin a long and difficult rehabilitation. His wife and daughter have been with him in Nashville since August 28, 2007 sleeping on the sofas in Vanderbilt Surgical Intensive Care waiting room, and in Motels, and eating every meal out the entire time.

Now that the worst is past and Henson seems to be recovering, Josh Williams, who had Scottie as his first musical instructor, along with the Campbell Family, the proprietors of The Kentucky Opry, JPFOB, and members of Henson’s home church, the Hamlet Baptist Church, have planned this benefit to help defray the medical costs not covered by Henson’s insurance.

Joining Josh Williams will be the other two members of the soon to be FGM DVD release Guitarmageddon, Andy Falco and Chris Eldridge.

The show is scheduled to take place at The Kentucky Opry on December 7, 2007 from 7 PM to Midnight. There is no set price for admission, they ask that attendies simply make a donation to the fund.

The Kentucky Opry is located 5 miles North of Benton, Kentucky on U.S. Highway 641 North. It is also six miles south of Kentucky Dam Village State Park. It is less than one mile from the Purchase Parkway South via Exit 47, and only 5 1/2 miles off Interstate 24 at Kentucky Exit 25A.

Both were recorded at The Livery in Harbor Springs, MI on July 13. Listen closely for Critter’s (Chris Eldridge) reaction to the end of his guitar solo on This Weary Heart.

The Dusters have now bidden farewell to Eldridge. This past weekend marked his last show with the band, commemorated on YouTube with video of a mega jam with both The Infamous Stringdusters and The Sam Bush Band on a rousing version of Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms.

Last night here in Roanoke, they packed a trendy, downtown nightspot and proceeded to demolish the assembled throng of music lovers and fans. The two sets mixed cuts from their Sugar Hill debut, Fork In The Road, with new band compositions, some bluegrass classics, and even a few songs they had just been working up backstage.

What strikes me as rare with this bunch is their ability to mix genres so smoothly, with enough progressive/modern/newgrass edge to attract younger listeners, and a sufficient amount of unadulterated grass to please the hard core purists. I saw them go from a long, jammy instrumental with a rock flavor, to a smooth and wholly traditional take on The Stanley Brothers Lonesome River.

They are clearly comfortable in this small club environment, and worked both the early evening “meet and greet” bunch and the late night stragglers with just the right vibe. The highlight for me was the very end of the show, where they encouraged everyone to leave their seats and join the band in front of the stage for a three song, unamplified conclusion. This kicked with Uncle Pen and closed with Blue Night, both showing that despite their occasional wandering from the trail Bill Monroe blazed, they are right at home with his music in a straightahead style.

The Infamous Stringdusters are Chris Pandolfi (Panda) on banjo, Jeremy Garrett on fiddle/vocals, Chris Eldridge (Critter) on guitar, Travis Book on bass/vocals, Jesse Cobb on mandolin and Andy Hall on Dobro/vocals.

Each is a superb musician, worthy of a good many pixels of praise, but I am consistently impressed in particular by the ChrisDusters – Eldridge and Pandolfi. Chris Eldridge is already an important voice in the flatpick guitar world, and is likely to be even more of one as he continues to develop as an artist. We saw him last fall as a member of Chris Thile’s How To Grow A Band, and he shone there among some of the most exceptional string musicians ever assembled.

Pandolfi is a master of understated banjo, and excels on his instrument in ways that may escape an uninformed observer. He and I talked last night about our mutual distaste for flashy, “look at me” banjo playing, so I don’t suppose it’s surprising that I enjoy his picking. With so much of what he adds to the band being designed to hold things together rhythmically, he doesn’t stand out as much as the other first rate soloists in the band, but be sure to keep an ear and an eye on the banjo when you see them live.

All three vocalists are terrific, with different styles that complement one another perfectly. I especially enjoyed Travis Book’s singing last night, as well as wondering when Jeremy Garrett’s face would explode when got to soaring in the ether. Andy Hall’s dobro work is always a joy, as is Jesse Cobb’s mandolin – both in accompaniment and taking the lead.

The band is about to embark on a whirlwind six-week tour, taking them all over the US from late June through early August, including a show at the North Shore Jazz Festival in Vancouver, BC and the Telluride fest in Colorado.

Check their schedule online, and catch this exciting young band if the opportunity arises.

If you are in Nashville today be sure to stop by the Station Inn at 7pm or 9pm to catch one of the sets. I you can’t make to the show, you’ll be able to buy the DVD from Flatpicking Guitar Magazine here in a month or two.

• Chris Eldridge – The Infamous Stringdusters / Chris Thile and How To Grow A Band
• Andy Falco – Alecia Nugent
• Josh Williams – Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

The show will be held at the world famous Station Inn (It’s not on their calendar yet, but it was just confirmed.) in Nashville, TN on February 19, 2007. That’s a Monday night, so if you’re in Nashville that week, be sure to come out. Who knows, you might end up on video!

We’ll be recording two shows that evening, one at 7PM and the other at 9PM. Tickets are $10 per show or $15 for both. I don’t believe there is any advance ticketing, it’s just pay at the door and first come, first serve.

The concert is being produced by Dan Miller at Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and is the fourth in a series of concert DVD productions he and I have done together. The first three are available from Flatpicking Mercantile and feature the “A list” of bluegrass flatpicking guitarists. Here’s a clip from the last one in the series, Live In Kansas City, featuring Cody Kilby, Brad Davis, and Tim May.

The first is a montage of clips showing the band arriving at the show, doing sound checks and preparing for the performance at the Belcourt Theater, set to the music of Watch ‘at Breakdown, the opening track of Thile’s How To Grow A Woman From The Ground CD.

The second is the band rehearsing in a dressing room backstage, running over Cazadero, with Bryan Sutton on guitar.

Oddly enough, towards the end of this second video, the camera pulls back to show regular guitarist Chris Eldridge sitting on the couch, grooving to the tune. Eldridge was thought to have been previously obligated on a Stringdusters show that evening, so Sutton got the call, even though Chris ended up being free that evening after all.

In any event, both videos should be of interest to fans of Chris Thile and the fine musicians he has assembled for this new CD.

I was as impressed as John was with the concert. The technical mastery these guys display is truly astonishing. And what’s more, the music is thoroughly enjoyable. Chris has a knack for selecting great songs a la, Wayside (Back In Time), Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, O Santo De Polvora, not to mention the classic Brakeman’s Blues. His own compositions are equally impressive in their own right.

In all fairness, Track 12, Heart In A Cage, has been a topic of discussion amongst bluegrass fans both on this site and elsewhere due to the profanity contained in the opening line of the first verse. The song is a rock tune that, as Chris said from stage, makes a great bluegrass song. But take heed, he does perform the song with offending word included. Chris did warn the audience beforehand that it was coming, giving ample time for a person to decide to use the restroom or get a drink of water during the tune.

The How To Grow A Band consists of musicians talented enough to perform these songs to Thile’s exacting standards and do so with enthusiasm and expression.

Chris Eldridge has become one of my favorite guitar players over the last couple of years before ever hearing him with Thile. After hearing him in this setting I’ve got to say that he possesses a breadth of stylistic ability that is quite impressive. The show moved from hard core bluegrass to rock and then classical or jazz influenced pieces and Eldridge shone on them all.

Noam Pikelny’s banjo playing complements Chris’ mandolin style very well. He’s able to move from a forward roll driven bluegrass tune to something completely off the beaten path with no hesitation and no break in his calm “banjo player demeanor.” He also seemed to know exactly when to step up to the mic with one liner comments that never failed to bring a laugh.

On that topic, I’ll say that the “show” was excellent. Chris seems to have that natural entertainer personality that allows him to be free on stage without seeming unprepared or unthoughtful. He kept the spirit of the show alive between songs and truly entertained the audience, which sadly is something you don’t always see when watching a band of players possessed of this kind of talent.

In closing, Chris’ mandolin playing was superb as expected, but it was also enlivened in a way that I haven’t heard from him in a while. You might say it was excited. I had the chance to speak with him after the show for a few minutes and I got this same impression from our conversation. Chris told me that the band is challenging him every night, and he seems to really be thriving on it.

Band members were the same as the CD: Thile on mandolin, Noam Pikelny on banjo, Chris Eldridge on guitar, Gabe Witcher on fiddle and Greg Garrison on bass. Chris handled the great bulk of the lead singing, and all band members sang harmony parts.

Over the course of the program, they performed each of the 14 songs from the CD, along with a few of Chris’ from other projects, and ones chosen to highlight the various members of the band. For instance, Gabe Witcher sang his bluesy version of The Band’s Ophelia, and Chris Eldridge offered up a grassy Don’t Give Your Heart To A Rambler.

The primary focus, of course, was on Thile and the songs from the new release. In addition to being perhaps the most technically gifted mandolinist to ever play American string music, he is also a natural entertainer and a gutsy vocalist. And by gutsy, I don’t mean a gritty, smoky-voiced singer – I mean an artist willing to take tremendous risks in styling the vocals for a song.

It takes a lot of confidence, and a sense of adventure to hop back and forth between natural and falsetto voice with such abandon, and Thile seems to have what it takes. It also takes an ability to find humor in the effort, and that part of watching this stellar young artist is as enjoyable for me as are his striking feats of fretboard acrobatics.

The song choices, and the arrangements were adventurous as well. Some of our readers could get stuck on the classic, “but that’s not bluegrass” mantra, and it would be a great shame if they did. This is sparkling, dynamic and powerful music. If large doses would be too rich for your palate, consider having a taste at the very least.

To conclude their three song encore, the band blistered Manchicken, a tune from Noam Pikelny’s In The Maze CD. As they were trading improv lines towards the end of the tune, Noam slipped back into the hook that brings the band into the main theme of Watch ‘at Breakdown, the tune that opens the new Thile CD. They reprised the ending of that tune, which had closed the first set, to wrap up the evening’s festivities.

If this show visits your part of the world, I would encourage you to make the effort to see it. Unless you are annoyed by the notion of a bluegrass band (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, bass) playing music that might not suit Bill Monroe, I can’t imagine that their performance could fail to thrill and entertain you.

After the show, I spoke with bass player (and tour manager) Greg Garrison, who indicated that there aren’t many stops left on this current, brief tour – just the rest of this week before Chris prepares for a trip to the UK – but that more dates will be added in December. Another string of shows with this lineup is also in the works for February of 2007.

Hyperbole warning! Watching them on Saturday left me thinking that this was what it must have been like to have witnessed early performances by artists who truly redefined how a genre was conceived. Think Flatt & Scruggs when they were at the peak in the 1950s – or even jazz innovators like Charlie Parker when he took virtuosic young experimenters to the stage a few years earlier.

I haven’t been this excited by a stage show in quite some time. Hat’s off to Chris Thile and How To Grow A Band.

Eldridge also filled the guitar chair on Chris Thile’s How To Grow A Woman From The Ground CD, and with Thile publicly stating that the band from the CD would become his touring band (including in his recent interview on The GrassCast), the notion that Eldridge would bolt for a gig with Thile seemed like a fair question.

Pandolfi assured me that Eldridge was in for the duration. Bryan Sutton has been playing guitar on any How To Grow A Band dates with Thile that conflict with Stringdusters shows, and all of the Dusters are excited about their long-term commitment with Sugar Hill (4 projects), and getting to record and perform as a band.

We have spoken on The Bluegrass Blog several times about this young band, and look forward to catching their main stage showcase on Wednesday night, or at one of their many other showcase appearances this week.

Here is Dan’s overview of the current issue:

The May/June issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine (Volume 10, Number 4) features Chris Eldridge of the Stringdusters. Chris is the son of banjo legend and Seldom Scene founding member Ben Eldridge. In addition to playing with the Stringdusters Chris is also currently working with Chris Thile on Thile’s next CD. Chris recorded his arrangement of Stoney Creek for this issue’s audio companion and a transcription of Chris’ solo appears in the magazine.

In addition to Chris Eldridge, the May/June issue features Keith Yoder, a music store owner and multi-instrumentalist from Iowa, and a lengthy interview with Bryan Sutton about his new CD Not Too Far From the Tree. Two of Bryan’s solos from Carroll County Blues are also transcribed in the magazine. Our guitar builder feature highlights Kentucky builder Neil Kendrick and our regular cast of talented columnists (which includes Brad Davis, Joe Carr, Orrin Star, Harold Streeter, Adam Granger, John McGann, Bill Bay, Steve Kaufman, Dan Huckabee, John Carlini, Chris Jones, Kathy Barwick, Mike Maddux, and Dix Bruce) also contribute audio and tablature to this new issue.

Find out more about the magazine on their web site.