Winterfest '09 Puts the "Hoot" in "Hootenanny"

I think I might have just experienced a bluegrass overload…

Ten different bluegrass bands played at the ninth annual Winterfest. Here are just a few highlights from the day:

Country Grass is a band comprised of happy go lucky old timers, who really captured the essence of the bluegrass sound. Not only did they pick, pluck, and sing well, but they also looked very professional in matching embroidered white shirts with their band name on them.

Remington Ryde stuck out to me mainly because of banjo player Billy Lee Cox, who proved he could whip up a high spirited, improvised solo.

Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass were the heavy hitters of Winterfest this year. They are featured on CMT, no doubt because of their record deal with Rounder Records.

Cabinet, an ESU favorite from Scranton (pictured above), proved that you don’t have to be an ol’ timer to perform an amazing bluegrass set. When the band took the stage, fans actually started dancing, which didn’t happen with any other band during the day. To view more pictures of Cabinet, visit the Ear Plugs Web Album.

Heavy Traffic also gave the audience a good healthy dose of pluckin’ and pickin.’ Once again, the banjo took the show, with Arnie Reisman plucking his way into my heart.

Because I listened to so much bluegrass that day, I was pretty much able to categorize almost every bluegrass tune into one of four different types of songs. Here’s what I came up with. The first category is filled with sad, down tempo ballads, usually with lyrics about a love lost or hard times had. The second category is made of up-tempo, but not too fast songs that sound really happy because of the relative up and down pitches on the upright bass. My third bluegrass song category is comprised of slower, easy going pluckin’ songs that always seem to make me envision someone in overalls sitting on a dusty old front porch down south somewhere...or the entire movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? And the final category I came up with is filled with extremely fast songs that are so momentous they sound like a huge freight train barreling down the tracks with no signs of stopping.

To learn about the Pocono Bluegrass and Folk Society, click here. You can also find information on the rest of the bands that performed at Winterfest --- what a hoot!

The Greg Mayo Band Wants to Funk.....You Up.

I’ve plugged them before and I’ll plug them again...

January 24 marked the third time I’ve seen the Greg Mayo Band and I’m still just as astounded as I was the first time they came onstage, donning black suits and a wicked attitude.

These guys just never disappoint me. They certainly didn’t disappoint anyone in Sarah Street Bar either --- I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people, mostly students, dancing on the tiny open space in front of the purple and red lighted stage. (What a great break from studying for ESU students!)

There’s something about the way they combine familiar genres jazz, blues, funk, soul, and pop that makes for an extremely tasty mixture. In fact, I could pick out some of the band’s influences --- Stevie Wonder, for one --- before lead singer Greg Mayo even mentioned them the first time I saw the band. Mayo’s voice, as I have mentioned before in my previous review, is completely beautiful. It’s a little poppy, but altogether smooth and always on pitch and in harmony with the other band member’s voices. The vocals, mixed with the sumptuous saxophone solos, wicka-wicka-wa-was of the funky guitar, and poppin’ drums make you want to get up and shake that moneymaker. (Especially on their up-tempo hit “Get Down”).

During their performance last Saturday, they played songs off of their latest CD, entitled Universal Communication. (I think I’ve overplayed my copy --- I’ve listened to it at least once a week for the past two months.) However, my appetite for this band will be satisfied once more, as Greg Mayo informed me that the guys will be taking the month of February off to record a new album. Fans of the group will certainly be ecstatic when they come back to Stroudsburg in March with the new album for purchase. Even on Saturday, I watched many bar hoppers buy copies of Universal Communication.

To see more pictures from their performance at Sarah Street Grill, visit the always entertaining Ear Plugs Web Album.

To read my full article on the band, visit Helium.

I.M. Legend Not So Legendary

For my first post, manager for the local band I.M. Legend proposed that I take a listen to his band, which had me a little uneasy to begin with. I had heard of the band, and assumed that they were a high school bubblegum pop punk band that would surely make their way into my "I'll never listen to that again" file. Nonetheless, I had to give them a fighting chance to prove me wrong.
Did they make it into the dreaded file? Not quite, but almost.
I would put these guys in the "I'm desperately trying to impress you, so please listen to me" file. They're The Ataris meets Fenix TX meets Alkaline Trio and Finch. (There are so many that sound the same). I won't say that I'd never listen to them again, but they really need some TLC from talented musicians.
I listened to I.M. Legend's songs on myspace and found that most songs that had opening guitar solos were decent...until the vocals came in. The music wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the scrappy vocals, which clouded over most of the instruments when the band began to harmonize. I couldn't tell if they were singing, screaming, crying, or doing all three at once.
Of course, this band might also want to consider varying their lyrics on some songs as well. In "The Sun Will Rise" the chorus repeats we don't want it, we don't want it, we don't want it, no, we don't need it, we don't need it, we don't need it from you. Thanks I.M. Legend, you captured my thoughts exactly. Repetition in many genres of music is natural, but there is a point where it becomes more annoying than musical.
Apprecation points are given because these guys are artists out there doing the work to get themselves noticed. At least they know how to play their instruments. But come on guys, you don't have to try so hard. You don't have to be The Ataris or any other band. Just be yourselves.

And yeah, it did take me back to high school.

Welcome to Ear Plugs

Photograph by Kate Langenburg

Welcome to Ear Plugs, a music review blog that takes a close look at new and old recordings, live performances, and musicians. Every week, I will provide you with thoughts on one of these subjects. Many of the live performance and musician reviews will come from local talent featured in the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania area, which is where I am from.

A few of the reviews will surely reflect my own tastes in music. I can tell you right now that I am a huge jam band fan, so any shows in the area pertaining to that genre, I will definitely attend. However, I also want to branch out and listen to some things that I haven’t heard before. Of course, any and all suggestions you might have are welcome.

To tell you a little about why I am writing this blog --- I am currently the Arts and Entertainment Editor for the Stroud Courier, which is the student newspaper for East Stroudsburg University. I’ve spent many semesters traveling around to concerts, meeting musicians, and getting to understand the music biz. I still have a long way to go, but it is my hope that these reviews will help music listeners to do the same.

Enjoy music. Enjoy Ear Plugs.

---Kate