The Youngers
The Youngers Imagine, if you will, two cars careening through the night on separate country roads...headed for an inevitable head-on collision at a deserted intersection. One car carries Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys, the other Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The band that would rise from this wreckage would be The Youngers. Formed in the alt-country breeding ground of Berks County, Pennsylvania, The Youngers create a sound that manages to embrace tradition while sounding fresh at the same time. They are equal parts bluegrass and electric guitar. In a moment, a lilting acoustic melody will fall away into a vibrato-laden Les Paul guitar riff. A mandolin segues into a screaming lap steel solo...and somehow, it all makes sense in a manner unique to this musical family. The original Youngers are Todd Bartolo (frontman, chief songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist), and Randy Krater (bassist and vocalist). The two formed the band with drummer Frank Orlando and later added banjo player Michael Beaky. Initially playing original songs and covers of traditional bluegrass songs, the band grew into a rawer sound as Beaky left and was replaced by Jesse Nocera. With Jesse's added talents on guitar and mandolin on board, the band recruited drummer Tom Hampton. Hampton's arrival in the band reunited the Hampton/Bartolo duo who once toured together as an acoustic act, and cemented the current lineup of the band. The interplay of the melody instruments - guitar, mandolin, lap steel - acoustic and electric - are complemented perfectly by the bands' solid, inventive rhythm section..which provides the perfect backdrop for Bartolos' songwriting imagery.