Performing helps Yonder Mountain evolve
Yonder Mountain String Band
Though the Yonder Mountain String Band does play traditional bluegrass instruments, bluegrass is just a part of the Colorado quartet’s musical makeup. For instance, country, rock, punk rock, pop and bluegrass all run through the band’s 2009 album, The Show.
Singer-banjo player Dave Johnston sees bluegrass as a logical foundation for the band’s diversity.
“Bluegrass evokes rural Romantic ideas,” he said. “But it probably was ahead of its time, pushing against the boundaries of blues and country. It’s a very malleable musical form. It can take a beating and hand out a beating. It’s a powerful American idiom, direct and to the point.”
Yonder Mountain String Band singer-guitarist Adam Aijala hears a connection between bluegrass and punk rock. Like punk, bluegrass songs tend to be short and energetic.
“That’s part of why I like it,” he said. “And it’s American music that people all over the world like. There are bluegrass festivals in Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan.”
The members of the band discovered bluegrass well after they’d found their various other influences.
“None of us grew up listening to bluegrass but we wanted to be a bluegrass band,” Johnston said. “Because of all our influences, the sound is what it is.”
Adding to the band’s artistic range, its self-titled 2006 album and The Show were each guided by A-list rock producer Tom Rothrock (Foo Fighters, Beck, Elliott Smith). Rothrock contributed an outsider’s objectivity plus volumes of studio expertise to the mix.
“We, the four of us, tend to carry on,” Aijala said. “It was kind of nice to have a fifth person shepherd us. Tom is really knowledgeable when it comes to sound and, for being as a hard worker as he is, he’s very chill.”
Another editing process for Yonder Mountain String Band music exists between songwriting partners Aijala and Johnston.
“We edit each other and bounce ideas off each other well,” Aijala said. “It’s always good to have somebody else’s radar saying, ‘Naw, it doesn’t work,’ or, ‘that’s great.’ ”
The members of Yonder Mountain, all of them from Massachusetts and Illinois, moved to Boulder, Colo., in the 1990s to be part of the area’s acoustic music scene. Finding what they were looking for, they formed the Yonder Mountain String Band in 1998.
The group has since become a prolific touring unit, appearing at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Austin City Limits Festival, Bonnaroo and Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Other high-profile gigs include being opening act for presidential candidate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Performing so often promotes the band’s artistic progress.
“We’re constantly evolving,” Aijala said. “We hone our skills as a band and individually on stage. And our influences are always growing because a lot of new bands have come out since we started and we keep discovering older bands.”
“You always have your ears open for little bits and pieces,” Johnston agreed. “The band’s best stuff is the stuff we just put out. There aren’t many careers that provide that sort of opportunity, where you can always work on your projects, our songs and playing and singing. And then you find really great people who help and facilitate.”