Music

LISTEN: Local Bluegrassers New North String Band

a new bluegrass album to make Nashville jealous

Martha Galep |

 
JUST A-TWANGIN’ ‘ROUND THE OL’ MICROPHONE. Jake Henry, Ryan Kimm, Mike Hedding, Trent Cuthbert, and Steve Clay comprise The New North String Band.

You might wonder what Eau Claire has that would be the envy of Nashville. After all, Music City has, in the lyrics of John Sebastian, “thirteen hundred and fifty two guitar pickers” and no shortage of young, eager talent. What Nashville doesn’t have is the New North String Band. With the release of their self-titled first CD, the NNSB has shown that even Wisconsin can produce music that is as finger-pickin’ good as any coming from below the Mason-Dixon line.

The group formed a year ago at the annual Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff Festival in Richmond, and their high score at the Harvest Jamboree Festival Band Contest in November of 2008 earned them audiences throughout the region. They have been barnstorming ever since, and now have a first-rate CD to show for it.

Most bluegrass fans expect to hear a nod to the past (e.g. a Bill Monroe fiddle tune or a Stanley Brothers mournful lament) by which they can assess the credibility of a band that claims to play bluegrass. On this, the New North String Band does not disappoint. There are 10 original tunes and only two traditional numbers included on the disc (one of which is Monroe’s gospel gem Wicked Path of Sin). When talent like this can create original, straight ahead, hot pickin’ versions of the best of the genre, why dwell on the past?

Seven of the tracks come from the pen of mandolinist and lead singer Jake Henry, the band’s Eau Claire native. With the opening track, Bills (a treatise on the trials and tribulations of life in the working man’s world) and throughout the recording, Jake’s talent for crafting songs of hard livin,’ hard drinkin,’ love, longing, and loss never fades.

Jake even wrote original lyrics to the classic fiddle tune Billy In The Lowground. It takes courage to adopt an old standard covered by the likes of Doc Watson and Mark O’Connor and put your own words to it. Jake’s tale of friendship and fate for two Civil War rebel soldiers evokes the echo of bugle and drum and one can almost smell the dogwood flowers.

I asked Jake where he got the idea to put words to this old tune and he explained, “I heard the instrumental on a Kentucky Colonel’s recording and really liked the melody – enough to want to make a song of it.” Good thinking Jake. This is a triumph.


    Ryan Kimm, from Mankato, plays resophonic guitar, sings lead and harmony, and contributes two original tunes. Ryan’s vocal style differs nicely from Jake’s – when the band needs that high, lonesome, and edgy sound, Ryan steps to the mic and delivers. His songs, Waitin’ On You and Save ‘Em Up (both recorded in Monroe’s vocal key of Bb) have a traditional sound and lyrical quality reminiscent of the great Stanley Brothers.

This was just natural, according to Ryan. “I’ve been getting into the old-style stuff just recently. It’s not like I really studied the Stanley’s,” he explained. “But I’m really just a country boy, you know, I grew up in a small town so it just came easy I guess.” Ryan played guitar as a teenager and honed his dobro chops when he bought one in 2007. Since then he has developed a solid melodic style that knows when to bark out a strong solo or slide into a sweet fill behind the vocalist.

The other NNSB original, Up Above The Timberline, comes from banjo player and baritone singer Mike Hedding, of Minneapolis. It is a fine showcasing instrumental, a chance for NNSB to display their skills. Who else but a group of young trailblazers would record a banjo tune in the key of Eb? “Well, Bill Keith did it, and I liked the idea,” said Mike. “It started as an exercise and the melody came from that.”

Trent Cuthbert, of Madison, plays guitar and doubles on baritone vocals. Trent’s tasty solos and intro and fill work anchor the group and expertly play off the rock solid framework of Steve Clay’s driving bass fiddle.

Steve confidently moves from the traditional support of the bass to the haunting bowed bass take on Nine Miles Lonesome. Trent moves deftly from fancy footwork solo on Bills to the sparse, melody bound groove of Nine Miles Lonesome. It takes a mature, confident picker to know when “less is more,” and listening to Trent play confirms the group’s credibility from the very first track.

The New North String Band proves it can put one foot outside the box to the very edge of coolness while the other foot remains firmly grounded in the traditional groove of bluegrass music. The NNSB is rising fast, and if this first CD is any indication, time is running out for folks to listen and claim, “I heard them when …”

    The disc will be available at both the band’s upcoming gigs:

    Sounds Like Summer Concert Series (with East Hill Bluegrass Band) • Thursday, June 11 • Phoenix Park, downtown Eau Claire • 6:30-8:30pm • FREE

    Northwoods Bluegrass Festival • Friday and Saturday, June 12-13 • Rusk County Fairgrounds, Ladysmith • 8pm on Friday, 2pm on Saturday, and 6pm on Saturday • $10-$20