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.

Continuing in their quest to prove that the familiar bluegrass ensemble (banjo, bass, fiddle, guitar, mandolin) is primarily a group of musical instruments – as opposed to bluegrass instruments – Punch Brothers are hard at work on a transcription of  the 3rd Brandenburg Concerto from Johann Sebastian Bach.

This piece, officially titled Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048, was composed in 1721 for three violins, three violas, three cellos, bass and harpsichord. It was arranged for Punch Brothers by violinist Rob Moose, who performs the 3rd movement with the guys in this hand held video posted on YouTube.

The video was shot at a recent band show at The Living Room in NYC where they play on Thursday nights when they aren’t otherwise engaged. These shows are intended as a place to try out new material and just have fun on stage.

Banjoist Noam Pikelny implys that it isn’t a simple thing to take the banjo out of bluegrass..

“It was my first time playing any Bach in front of people, and I successfully resisted the primal urge to end the movement with a behind the bridge backwards rake a la  Flop Eared Mule.”

Punch Brothers consists of Chris Thile on mandolin, Pikelny on banjo, Gabe Wichter on fiddle, Chris Eldridge on guitar and Paul Cowert on bass.

Chris Thile is the subject of a multimedia interview in the January edition of WebMusicBox, the online publication of the American Music Center. It is a conversation with Frank Oteri, founding editor of the webzine, presented both in text and video snippets online.

Thile talks about his impressions of various musical styles while growing up as a child prodigy [my term], how he composes (individually and with collaborators), and his experiences with Nickel Creek, Edgar Meyer, and his current Punch Brothers band mates.

At one point he even touches on the reasons why many of his early fans have had trouble following him on all of his musical adventures.

FJO: In one of Monroe’s early line-ups, before Earl Scruggs joined the group, there was even an accordion in the band for a while.

CT: Yeah. And they had a snare drum at the Opry a couple of times. It’s a matter of taste and the way you exercise that taste. And some people choose, I guess in the literal sense of it, not to exercise their taste, and not to develop it. “I like this right here, and I’d prefer for it not to change at all. This is what I like, and I’m not really interested in ever learning to like other things.” It gets frustrating when people get frustrated with you for not playing by those rules.

But I understand. Every now and then, I’ll get locked into the way musicians that I love sound. And they might put out a record that no longer fulfills that place that I’ve allocated to them. And temporarily‚Äîbefore I come to my senses and go, “Oh wait, that’s what I’m always doing”‚ÄîI go, “Wow, I just want them to do that thing they did [before]. Oh, it’s so nice. Why are they doing this other thing?” But then I remember it’s because things change.

It is a lengthy and detailed interview, and the video includes clips of Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers and Chris with Edgar Meyer. Even casual fans of this mandolin giant will find it of interest, while serious students of his music will be fully engrossed – as in this description of the structure of Punch Bowl, the odd and haunting opening track from Punch.

FJO: Your tune for “Punch Bowl” is polytonal; it’s probably even more harmonically out there than The Blind Leaving the Blind.

CT: It is in a way. Especially because it sets you up to want something. The structure of Blind sets you up to be less reliant on tonality, even though Blind is totally a tonal piece. There’s no doubt about it. Maybe to a bluegrass fan it sounds real funny. I think bluegrass fans think it has more to do with Schoenberg than it does with Bill Monroe, which is so not the case. But, whatever; it’s fine. Tonality is in the ear of the beholder, I guess. But “Punch Bowl” is a song. I mean, it’s, you know, 3 minutes and 30 seconds or something like that. And it starts with a lick that gives you a hint that you’re going to have two [different] thirds throughout and, and that they will be used sort of interchangeably and simultaneously. But the texture indicates that you would be getting some pretty standard bluegrass tonality. And so when you don’t, I think it’s all the more jarring. And then there’s the subject matter. The point was to somehow represent musically the danger of party scenarios, especially if one maybe has no business being in kind of a reckless party scenario based on circumstances.

Find the entire interview at newmusicbox.com.

As is always the case, the close of each year heralds a slew of “Best Of” lists of every imaginable description. They are a staple in all sorts of news and entertainment media (see our Favorite Bluegrass Recording of 2008 poll), and in addition to filling space in print and online, provide helpful tips for folks looking hunting Christmas gifts for friends and family with specific tastes.

We found a couple recently with bluegrass themes or content.

CMT.com compiled a list of 10 Indie Albums You Might Have Missed, which includes Melonie Cannon’s And The Wheels Turn CD.

One of the most expressive singers in Nashville, and not merely in bluegrass circles, Cannon compels you to listen to these stories of everyday life, whether she’s consoling a new friend or stumbling into love after swearing it would never happen.

Dave Royko has also submitted his annual list of the top bluegrass/newgrass releases of the year for The Chicago Tribune, published yesterday (12/14).

Dave chose:

• Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, self-titled
• Punch Brothers: Punch
• Corbett/Chrisman/Tice, self-titled
• Ralph Stanley: Old-Time Pickin’‚ÄîA Clawhammer Banjo Collection
• Bela Fleck & the Flecktones: Jingle All the Way

You can read Dave’s comments about each project online.