Traditional roots
By Liz Barry on Jan. 18, 2008
Boots stomping to the beat, Matt Steinbach sings Leadbelly’s “Take This Hammer” in a voice reminiscent of Tom Waits’ trademark growl. Steinbach wears aviator glasses and heavy boots. A railroad track tattoo curls around his wrist.
“If he asks you was I runnin,’ tell him I was flyin,’” Steinbach sings.
The room vibrates from the marching drum and foot stomping.
“They wanna feed me cornbread and molasses, but I got my pride.”
When the song ends, an unnatural silence engulfs the room.
“We broke a lot of tambourines playing that song,” Steinbach says. “It’s just a rowdy song.”
It’s a Thursday night rehearsal at Steinbach’s house in Lynchburg for the James River Congregation. The band formed six months ago around a bonfire on a friend’s land near the James River. They draw their inspiration from what might seem like an unlikely source for a group of hip 20- and 30-somethings: traditional American roots music.
The band writes its own songs and transforms traditional tunes, which end up bearing little resemblance to the originals.
Three of the four core members - Steinbach, Sarah Jean Simmons and Tucker Tillman - are from Portland, Ore. Tucker Adams comes from Michigan.
Among them, they play more than seven instruments, from harmonica and banjo to the washboard and dobro, a resonator guitar with a country-western twang.
The room where the James River Congregation rehearses is littered with music paraphernalia, like drums, guitars and records. It smells like smoke from cigarettes and the wood-burning stove.
“This is where we hang out and have music time,” Simmons says.
Another band get-together last Friday night proves to be no exception. It isn’t an official rehearsal, rather a night of music and friends. Wine is drunk from jugs and Miller High Life from bottles. Neighbor “Pig Pen” puts in a guest performance, playing the washboard bass or gutbucket, an American folk instrument that uses a metal washtub as a resonator.
The gutbucket comes from jug band music, which originated in New Orleans and is a form of Americana music. Americana is a catch-all category that includes just about anything that has grown out of or was significantly influenced by the American experience.
And it’s “good Americana music” that Tillman says inspires the group.“I think people overlook the blues, soul and bluegrass,” he says. “I love listening to old mountain music,” adds the man, who grew up on punk rock.
For Steinbach, the Alan Lomax field recordings are one of his greatest influences. As a young man, Lomax toured Texas prison farms with his father John Lomax, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist, recording work songs, reels, ballads and blues from prisoners. Alan Lomax devoted his life to collecting folk music from around the world, particularly from the American South, and recorded interviews with legendary folk musicians like Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Muddy Waters.
Although a major change from Portland, Tillman likes Lynchburg because he believes it’s in a transitional state, drawing more and more good music as bands perform at nearby music hubs like Charlottesville.
“Portland was a really scenster town,” he says. “There was the quest to be really authentic and cool. It’s such B.S.”
Steinbach says Lynchburg has become a stopping point for musicians, especially underground gypsy music, which draws influence from Eastern European music.
The band recently recorded its first E.P. at Monkeyclaus, a recording studio in Nelson County. The E.P. will be released within the next few weeks.
The James River Congregation has played several shows around Lynchburg, including the Riverviews Artspace and the Community Market. Their next show is at 8 p.m. Saturday at the White Hart.
IF YOU’RE GOING:
WHAT: The James River Congregation
WHERE: The White Hart
WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 19
COST: Free
INFO: http://www.myspace.com/jamesrivercongregation.
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