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All those festivals feel like home no matter where we are. It's really awesome for all of us in this band to start to develop relationships with these people, like Drew Emmitt or Railroad Earth, to become friends with those guys on a level that's beyond being musical acquaintances. I really treasure that. -Paul Hoffman |
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Photo of Greensky Bluegrass with Tim Carbone by: Daniel Davis
Looking Back, Thinking Forward
Logging serious mileage on the van, Beck reflects back, trying to sift through the memorable moments of a busy year: "We've played somewhere over 150 shows. A big highlight was opening up the Rothbury Festival in our home state of Michigan. For a couple of weeks leading up to the festival, it seemed like that was all anybody was talking about in Michigan, so we were really fired up about it. I've been in bands where getting asked to play first is sort of a bullshit way that the promoter justifies giving you a crappy time slot. At Rothbury, it seemed like they wanted to have us do it as a nod to the Michigan music scene and to all our home state fans that were embracing this new festival. I give the organizers a lot of credit for that. We didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly blown away by the six to seven thousand that showed up for our set."
 Greensky Bluegrass at Telluride by Eric Kinnally |
It seemed almost every weekend this summer saw the band at a festival, from Hoxeyville to Rothbury to Northwest String Summit to Yarmony Grass, in addition to a solid touring schedule in between.
"You know at these festivals, whatever this genre [we play] is, whether its bluegrass or not, we run into the same people all over the place," Hoffman muses. "I saw Bill Nershi and Drew Emmitt like every other week. We did a whole tour with Railroad Earth in June and at the end we were like, 'Wish we could see each other more often.' But we're always running into each other, one way or another. All those festivals feel like home no matter where we are. It's really awesome for all of us in this band to start to develop relationships with these people, like Drew Emmitt or Railroad Earth, to become friends with those guys on a level that's beyond being musical acquaintances. I really treasure that."
It is a close-knit scene, bound by shared musical passions and genuine support. For Beck, who now splits his time between Colorado and Michigan, String Summit was special in terms of witnessing that camaraderie.
"I got to have my two worlds colliding, my Colorado musical history – the Yonder guys and Nershi and Drew and then getting to introduce Greensky into that realm. Next thing that I know, there's Dave [Bruzza] walking down the road with Vince [Herman] at three in the morning! It's based out of a mutual respect, which is exciting to the band. Those guys are being really welcoming to us and I've watched it happen in Colorado a lot. You know it started with Hot Rize, and they were really encouraging to the Leftover guys in their early years and then Leftover was helping Yonder out when they were just a small band. It's just really cool to see that generation being really excited about what we're doing."
"[Our] fall tour was great," Beck continues, hitting on a few memories. "The Asheville Brewgrass Festival, although we hadn't been to Asheville in awhile, it really felt like our crowd - bluegrass fans that like beer, people who love music and love to party. Also, playing a show opening for Sam Bush in Ohio. He's always been a hero to me, and to most of us I would think. He seemed to really dig what we were doing. As far as the show we did with Burle at The Oriental Theatre in Denver, we were lucky enough to get to ask Burle to put something together for a support act, and even luckier in his follow-through. Having him, Sally Van Meter - who I learned tons from while trying to figure out the dobro - and my good buddy Robin Davis, three musicians I respect immensely, warm up the crowd for us was awesome."
 Greensky Bluegrass :: NYE 2007 > 2008 by Eric Kinnally |
"It [might] sound stupid," Beck says, "but our fans were a highlight of this year. All over the country, people seem to be going out on a limb and embracing what we do. It's been really great to return to a bunch of different places this year and see the growth in the size of the crowd and hear from people that 'sold us' to their friends. It's cool to know the passion is there and helps to justify all the work we put into it."
It's not too late to make New Year's plans, and Greensky in K-zoo sounds mighty tempting based on Beck's description.
"The show is a huge hometown throw-down. There was a giant energy in the theatre last year and it gets all of us fired up. I've been hearing that a bunch of fans are flying in from all over the country for the show, which is a really good feeling. There are a lot of great shows going on everywhere and knowing that a bunch of people are choosing to be with us is a real honor. I can pretty much guarantee that no one will leave disappointed!"
Hoffman delves further: "The event is sponsored by our Michigan family bands, Steppin In It and Daisy May & Seth Bernard. Surrounded by close friends, family and fans, we've been ringing in the last couple years with class. There will certainly be some collaborating and some tricks up our sleeve. Although, last year we didn't get the balloons to drop until twenty minutes after; that's my excuse for being a little behind all year. Hopefully this year, we'll get a string technician to make it all go smoothly."
Beck looks ahead to 2009 with an open mind.
"Most of my hopes revolve around politics, the direction of our country. As for the band, we are just going to keep doing what we do and try to focus on making good, unique music and playing it for as many people as possible."
Hard to say what's in store for this country in 2009, although many of us have hope. Greensky's story will be unfolding on this canvas, as they mark pages with dedicated, unrestricted strokes - defining this journey on their own terms, culling their sound from an honest black top, and inspiring excited dispatches from those soaked in dance floor sweat and roiling festival dust.
After recovering from their New Year's Eve bash, Greensky will be hitting the road starting in January. See tour dates here.
Greensky Bluegrass - The Making of "Five Interstates" Part 1
Greensky Bluegrass "Just To Lie" at the Ogden 2008
JamBase | A Pleasant Peninsula
Go See Live Music!
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