Yonder Mountain String Band
Yonder Mountain String Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Nederland,Colorado,United States |
| Genres | Jamgrass |
| Years active | 1998-present |
| Labels | Frog Pad,Vanguard |
| Members | Dave Johnston Ben Kaufmann Adam Aijala Nick Piccininni Coleman Smith |
| Past members | Jeff Austin Jacob Joliff Allie Kral |
| Website | yondermountain |
TheYonder Mountain String Bandis an Americanprogressive bluegrassgroup fromNederland, Colorado.Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, Nick Piccininni, and Coleman Smith the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.
History
[edit]Having met inUrbana,Illinois,banjo player Dave Johnston requested Jeff Austin to join and sing in his band The Bluegrassholes. Austin, who played noinstrument,revealed to Johnston that he owned amandolin,who then told him to come to the performance and "play anything, just play fast and loud."[1]
After the collapse of The Bluegrassholes, Johnston moved toBoulder,Colorado, in order to further his bluegrass musical skills. Similarly, Austin moved to Colorado, but instead took up residence in the mountain town ofNederland, Colorado.Johnston soon joined him there.[2]It was during this time in Nederland that Johnston and Austin metbassistBen Kaufmann andguitaristAdam Aijala at a local club named the Verve.[2]In December 1998, the four musicians formed Yonder Mountain String Band which was to open for a band at theFox Theatrein Boulder. The band developed both a bluegrass andjam bandfan base, and can often be found ontour.Their debut albumElevationwas released onFrog Pad Records,anindependent record labelrun by the band, in the fall of 1999.
From 1999 to 2001 they performed as one of the many attractions atNedFest,[3]amusic festivalheld in the band's hometown. By 2000, the group was also playing larger venues, such asThe FillmoreinSan Francisco, California.In 2005, their recording of "Think for Yourself"was included on the albumThis Bird Has Flown – A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul.
In 2008, the band performed at the2008 Democratic National ConventioninDenver.
In 2010, it was revealed that Yonder Mountain would host a music festival at Mulberry Mountain inOzark, Arkansascalled Yonder Mountain's Harvest Festival. This is the same site where the larger Wakarusa festival is held and where the previous Mulberry Mountain Harvest Fest was held. In 2011, the festival's headliners includedBela Fleck and the Flecktones,the Simcha Aknin Band,Railroad Earthand theEmmitt-Nershi Band.[4]
In April 2014, Austin left the band due to "creative differences and conflicting career goals".[5]After touring with the band since Austin's departure, fiddle player Allie Kral and mandolin player Jake Jolliff became official members of Yonder Mountain String Band in May 2015.[6]In 2020, multi-instrumentalist/mandolinist Nick Piccininni joined after playing with the madgrass group Floodwood.
Their 2022 albumGet Yourself Outsideis a nominee for the2023 GrammyforBest Bluegrass Album.[7]
Members
[edit]
- Ben Kaufmann - bass, vocals
- Dave Johnston - banjo, vocals
- Adam Aijala - guitar, vocals
- Nick Piccininni - Everything, vocals
- Coleman Smith - fiddle
Former members
[edit]- Jeff Austin- mandolin, vocals (1998–2014) – He would often break into a freeformscatduring a song
- Jacob Jolliff- mandolin (2015–2020)
- Allie Kral - fiddle, vocals (2015–2022)
Discography
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Grass | US Country | US Heat | US Indie | ||
| Elevation |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Mountain Tracks: Volume 1 |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Town by Town |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Mountain Tracks: Volume 2 |
|
11 | — | — | — |
| Old Hands |
|
5 | 54 | — | — |
| Mountain Tracks: Volume 3 |
|
2 | 67 | — | — |
| Mountain Tracks: Volume 4 |
|
3 | 63 | — | — |
| Yonder Mountain String Band |
|
1 | 57 | 39 | 43 |
| Mountain Tracks: Volume 5 |
|
1 | 60 | — | — |
| The Show |
|
1 | — | 19 | — |
| Black Sheep |
|
3 | — | — | — |
| Love. Ain't Love |
|
3 | — | — | — |
| Get Yourself Outside |
|
4 | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Music videos
[edit]- "Classic Situation"
- "Insult and an Elbow"
- "Bad Taste"
- "Alison"
Frog Pad Records
[edit]Frog Pad Recordsis anindependent record labelrun by the Yonder Mountain String Band.[8]Used as a platform to launch theirCDs,the label has since released numerous albums, as well as ananthologyand someduetwork by Jeff Austin and Chris Castino.[9]
References
[edit]- ^Yonder Mountain Enterprises (2001)."Yonder Mountain String Band; Biography of Jeff Austin".Yonder Mountain Enterprises. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-11-11.Retrieved2006-11-28.
- ^abRuhlmann, William.Biography for Yonder Mountain String BandatAllMusic.Retrieved 2006-11-28.
- ^NedFest (2006)."NedFest; Nederland Music and Arts Festival".NedFest.Retrieved2006-11-28.
- ^HeadStash (2011)."Harvest Fest 2011".HeadStash.Retrieved2011-06-12.
- ^"Jeff Austin Leaving Yonder Mountain String Band".Jambands.23 April 2014.Retrieved25 June2019.
- ^"Yonder Mountain String Band -".Yondermountain.Retrieved25 June2019.
- ^Atkinson, Katie (2022-11-15)."2023 Grammy Nominations: The Complete List".Billboard.Retrieved2022-11-16.
- ^"Frog Pad Records"(shtml).Frog Pad Records. 2003.Retrieved2006-12-07.
- ^"Frog Pad Records Catalog"(shtml).Frog Pad Records. 2003.Retrieved2006-12-07.
External links
[edit]- Official site
- Live recordings byYonder Mountain String Bandat theInternet Archive
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