How To Grow A Band is the title of a new film, currently in production, that chronicles the life and times of Punch Brothers.

It follows Chris Thile and his merry band (Chris Eldridge on guitar, Noam Pikelny on band, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, and Greg Garrison and Paul Kowert on bass) during their first tour as Punch Brothers, where they debuted Thile’s ambitious four movement piece, The Blind Leaving The Blind. It begins with the band’s appearance at a folk festival in Scotland, and follows them over two years and 25 cities.

Director Mark Meatto tells us that the film is set for a 2010 release, and that he will tell us all about it when that time draws near.

Here’s the trailer (language warning)…

http://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/punch_trailer.flvMeatto and Michel Bohlman produced, with financial assistance from Documentary Educational Resources. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to this film project, you can do so online.

In additional Chris Thile news, Mandolin Cafe has a piece up about live performances of his new mandolin concerto in three movements, Mandolin Concerto (Ad astra per alas porci). The Latin translates to “To the stars on the wings of a pig,” a John Steinbeck reference – in keeping with Thile’s literary naming conventions. Punch Brothers was named for a Mark Twain short story (Punch, Brothers, Punch) from 1876.

This innovative and virtuosic new work will be performed by Thile with seven American orchestras: The Colorado Symphony (September 17, 19, and 20, 2009; with Jeffrey Kahane), the Oregon Symphony (September 26, 2009; with Carlos Kalmar), the Alabama Symphony (October 29, 2009; with Justin Brown), the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (January 23 and 24, 2010; again with Jeffrey Kahane), the Winston-Salem Symphony (March 13, 14, and 16, 2010; with Robert Moody); the Delaware Symphony (March 19 and 20, 2010; with David Amado);and the Portland Symphony (March 28, 2010; with Scott Terrell). This diversity highlights Thile’s wide-reaching appeal.

Read the full piece at Mandolin Cafe.

Longtime readers of The Bluegrass Blog will have noted my fondness for The Bluegrass Intelligencer, a news parody site – a la The Onion – that focuses on personalities in the bluegrass and acoustic string world.

I find the site to be clever and uproariously funny, though you might want to be wary if you are easily offended by ribald themes or occasional vulgarity.

A number of new stories have been posted this past few days which should be good for a chuckle. One that really cracked me up covers a supposed new turn in the personal life of new Punch Brothers bassist, Paul Kowert.

Paul Kowert Weds Own Bass in Holy Matrimony – Ex-heartthrob forgoes female companionship forever

BROOKLYN — Young bassist Paul Kowert, who recently landed his dream job as a member of the popular band Punch Brothers, has just startled the bluegrass world by announcing that he is newly married.

According to his publicist, Kowert has taken a three-year-old American upright bass as his lawfully wedded spouse.

Kowert, who moved to New York City late last year, is an alumnus of the Curtis Institute of Music and the winner of SPBGMA’s Bachelor of the Year award in 2008.

Kowert’s highly unconventional marriage has both appalled traditionalists and delivered unthinkable disappointment to enormous numbers of female fans.

"He is a true Punch Brother now," said bandmate Chris Thile.

Read the full post online.

Also highlighted in that piece is a non-fake YouTube clip of Paul demonstrating his virtuosity on the upright bass, a brilliant duet with Punch Brothers fiddler Gabe Witcher on the Carter Family classic, You Are My Flower.

It’s hand held video from a live show, and gets a bit jerky, but Kowert’s performance is simply brilliant.

 Punch Brothers are continuing to use their semi-regular Thursday show at The Living Room in New York City to try out some of their more adventurous undertakings.

We posted a video of them performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major a month ago, and now there is video of them tackling Mozart’s Spring Quartet with banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar.

They played the fourth and final movement of the quartet (Molto allegro), which carries the full title The String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387. It was composed in 1782 while Mozart was living in Vienna, and is the first of six quartets he wrote and dedicated to Joseph Haydn.

Serious students of classical music can decide for themselves how successfully Punch Brothers interpret Mozart’s music, but we at The Bluegrass Blog salute them for taking risks with their music, and pushing themselves – and the instruments they play – into places where they aren’t familiar.

Hat’s off to Thile and his merry band!

There is a wealth of Punch Brothers media recently posted online, showcasing them both as exquisite musicians and fun guys.

First off, video from their 2/9 appearance on The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour has been made available online. This program was wholly dedicated to Chris Thile’s ambitious composition, The Blind Leaving The Blind, which serves as the primary focus of the band’s debut release, Punch. It is written in four movements, combining lengthy intricate instrumental sections with a song-like story that weaves through the nearly 40 minute piece.

You can watch them perform all four movements online in Windows Media Video. Folks who found this piece a bit daunting on the CD may find that seeing them play it live makes the music much more accessible. I’ve seen them do this piece live and it strikes me as a breakthrough accomplishment on several levels.

When you have time for the whole thing, treat yourself to this video – and try to approach it without preconceptions.

The “fun guys” part can be found in two posts on the Punch Brothers blog.

On 2/4, fiddler Gabe Witcher (aka The Judge) brought forth a 2008 Punch Brothers year in photos, with dozens of pictures of their life on the road – complete with a running commentary. The vibe is silliness, showing the band acting out and behaving oddly for the camera, plus a visit to the friendly confines for a Cub game during a day off in Chicago.

Here are a few samples…

        

Then late last week, new bassist Paul Kowert introduced himself to readers of the band blog with an overview of life on the road with the Brothers, which he closes as follows:

Band idiocy is central to our lives, especially on the road. Here are some of the ways we entertain ourselves:

–Pull pranks on each other, like stealing Holt’s wallet and phone (texting each other embarrassing messages from his phone), tying each other’s instruments to chairs and tables, unbeknownst to the owner. Stealing each other’s shoes.
Nota bene: most of these pranks are instigated by Pickles and directed at Holt.

–Reference band member lore. Add details to lore, and expand upon each other’s nicknames.
Nota bene: most of this is instigated by Pickles and directed at Holt.

–Talk about women.

–Play with the iFart application on Pickles’ iPhone.

–Fight off inconsolable sadness.

Read the whole thing online.