Tourdates 25 May - 5 June, 2006
Are
you ready for the brand new sound of the old bluegrass heart?
When bluegrass music was born years ago, it
had an edge and honesty in both sound and content that was unique to
the traditional genre from which it emerged. The music told the truth
of youth, about love and lust and liquor and life, in the midst of a
conservative southern culture. Where modern-day bluegrass has embraced
the past, it has subsequently been hard-pressed to captivate the present.
The honesty of an age can't be repeated, but needs to be retold by the
arts as times change. The Greasy Beans have uniquely created what modern
bluegrass has largely failed to offer - the heart of the old music with
a sound and a story that have evolved with the times. The result is
a band that grabs ist audiences the way that bluegrass captured audiences
years ago, with a means that is entirely new and powerful to ist 21st
century listeners.
The New York Times: "Greasy Benas, a savvy bluegrass band"
Bluegrass Unlimited: "Besides the joy of hearing new traditional
songs and tunes, Greasy Beans reminds one of the heavy components of
new material performed by the first generation bands. As a result, the
band offers a sound unique in bluegrass music today."
BU: "They have the musical chops, the all too rare feeling for
playing bluegrass, and a whole bunch of nice original songs, many by
their gifted friend Scott McAleer. You can't beat a new sound that feels
old."
Personnel (names, instruments, vocals)
Josh Haddix, guitar and vocals
Charley Brophey, mandolin and vocals
Cailen Campbell, fiddle and vocals
Brad Hutchison, banjo
David Brown, bass
What's For Dinner? - About the Greasy Beans
These days, people will pay top dollar for real food that has been grown organically, naturally. Folks are tired of buying stuff off the shelf that just looks good. They want to sink their teeth into more than preservatives, chemicals, and artificial colors. Presentation only goes so far, and then the true quality of what a person has bought is exposed. People won't be disappointed when they taste the true flavor of The Greasy Beans.
This band knows what it takes to make good music. They have been harvesting the best of southern roots and mountain music for over ten years. From their home in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, they bring a richness of sounds, story, and culture which is all too rare in the music industry today. Their capability to bring together the best of the old and the traditional with the edge and enthusiasm of the 21st century is both remarkable and effortless. It comes as natural to these boys as it does for birds to fly, and people can't help but hear the difference.
Charley
Brophey, mandolin and vocals, is the ubiquitous "good ol' boy"
from Hendersonville, NC, whose humble nature is wonderfully juxtaposed
with an uncanny ability to have his listeners hanging on his every note.
He's a sucker for the simple and the traditional, for old time and bluegrass,
but he adds a flavor to the dish that's unmistakably new.
Josh Haddix plays an impressive guitar and clawhammer banjo, and sings
lead vocals with such a piercing quality that one might think he's more
likely some musical storyteller from another century than from his true
modern home in Statesville, NC. Yet, ironically, Josh contributes the
most contemporary reflection, integrating numerous other genres such
as blues, jazz, and rock into the menu.
In addition to the core band, the Greasy Beans often include musical
greats in their touring band, such as fiddler Cailen Campbell (featured
on Real Live Music and considered one of the finest fiddlers in the
country) and Danny Barnes of the former Bad Livers (notorious for the
banjo but master of anything with strings, who plays with Tim O'Brian,
Robert Earl Keen, and Bill Frisell, etc). Danny played banjo and produced
the latest studio release "Busted". Currently touring with
the Greasy Beans are banjoist Brad Hutchison (who you may recognize
from The band Jim and Jenny and the Pinetops) and bassist David Brown.
And if this wasn't enough, the lyrics of all Greasy Beans originals
make this dinner one that can't be forgotten. They can balance the deep
with the lighthearted, the straight with the crooked, and the bold with
the humble, and leave you stompin', laughin', or cryin'.
All in
all, the Greasy Beans are the perfect musical food. And they've proved
it as a nationally touring band with such recent opportunities as the
occasion to work with Bil Vorndik (Nashville producer for accomplished
artists such as Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and Bela Fleck) on their most
recent album, Real Live Music. The album was recorded live with no overdubs-
the way bluegrass was recorded fifty years ago.
Over the years the Greasy Beans have had the opportunity to share the
stage with some of the finest musicians in the business- John Hartford,
Doc Watson, Danny Barnes, Sam Bush, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Tim
O'Brien, Tony Rice etc. They have showcased as a main stage act at the
International Bluegrass Music Association Conference. They've played
the Joyce Theatre in Manhattan and received a New York Times review
calling them a "savvy bluegrass band". This band is up there
with the best of them.
The other day I heard a man say, as he bit into an ear of mountain-grown corn picked only minutes earlier, "Now, this is good!" As far as he was concerned, anything else he could get his hands on at a store just wasn't worth buying. People are starting to feel that way about their music, too. Well, I guarantee that the Greasy Beans will leave you asking for seconds every time. So come and get it, boys and girls - the Greasy Beans are ripe for the pickin'!
