For more than a decade, Scott Hopkins has belonged to one bluegrass band or another. So when he moved to the Capital District about four years ago, he decided to start his own band.
Hopkins’ wife, Liz, is a classically trained pianist, but she didn’t have a bluegrass background. Still, she asked Scott if she could be in his band.
I used to listen to him, and I always wanted to play, she said. `I really liked the music.`
Scott agreed, so long as Liz was open to learning a new instrument. She was, and Scott, a music teacher, taught her how to play the bass.
They placed an ad on Craigslist and found their next member, Tony Califano. Then, through a mutual friend, they brought Morrie Safford on board.
The result was Fairview Avenue, a bluegrass band that’s beginning to find a foothold in the region. Liz Hopkins has been busy lining up gigs for the group, including a show at the Schenectady County Library on Sunday, March 28. Fairvew Avenue will play at 2:30 p.m. as part of the `Beat the Snow` concert series.
All four members of the band say the group’s chemistry was noticeable from the start.
`Things just happened really quickly and smoothly,` Califano said.
In fact, Califano, like Liz Hopkins, gladly learned a new instrument for the band. A natural guitarist, `I played in rock bands forever,` he said. But when Safford joined the band, Califano and the others realized his bluegrass background made him a better fit to be the guitarist, so Califano volunteered to take up the mandolin.
`I figured it would be easy to learn, and it has been,` he said.
Despite his rock background, there were a couple of things that drew Califano to the Hopkinses’ ad on Craigslist. First, he was a huge Grateful Dead fan, and that band’s Jerry Garcia played banjo in a bluegrass band, so the genre had always interested Califano. Plus, when he saw a link on the ad to some of Hopkins’ music, he was seriously impressed.
`I thought, I can’t really pass that up,` Califano said.
He said he and the Hopkinses had an instant rapport. He got along especially well with Scott, the group’s banjo player, because Califano is studying to become a music teacher ` he has a bachelor’s degree in recording, but when he dated a music teacher, he realized `that’s a sweet gig.`
`Scott and I are very similar in a lot of ways,` he said. `We both tend to take a little bit of an intellectual approach to things.`
Safford, meanwhile, acknowledges that he’s not as `studied in music` as his bandmates. Califano said Safford is `such a straight-up bluegrass player, and we need that.`
Like Scott Hopkins, Safford grew up around bluegrass music.
`My dad played banjo as far back as I can remember,` he said.
Safford was only about 12 when he started playing in his first band, the Bluegrass Upstarts. Later, he played in a group with his dad before joining the service. Eventually, he moved back to the Capital District and was looking for a `band I could grow with` when he hooked up with Fairview Avenue.
That the band has been growing is a testament in large part to the work of Liz Hopkins, who describes herself as a full-time mom, part-time nurse and part-time band member. In recent weeks, she’s sent e-mails anywhere and everywhere, hoping a few people might bite and sign Fairview Avenue to play. The response has stunned her.
`I probably get an e-mail back everyday from someone I’ve contacted,` she said. `People in general really do like bluegrass.`
Starting in May, Fairview Avenue will regularly perform at Emack and Bolio’s ice cream parlor. Other gigs include LT’s Grill in Nisakayuna and the Moon and River Cafe in Schenectady. It’s also slated to play concert series in Clifton Park and Altamont this summer.
Scott and Liz Hopkins are Altamont residents; the band’s name is a nod to the street where they live. Scott said the couple shared a goal to have music in their home, which is one of the reasons he was more than happy to have his wife join his band.
Her voice, he added, is folky and appealing, while Safford bring an `iconic bluegrass style` to the band and Califano’s rock background distinguishes Fairview Avenue from other bluegrass bands.
`Tony’s style adds another dimension to our sound,` he said.
Whatever their styles, all of the members of the band are bound by their simple love of music. Califano said that a rock band that he belonged to not long ago was made up of `weekend warriors` who weren’t necessarily as serious about music as he was. That’s different in Fairview Avenue, which also challenges him with the new instrument and a new style of singing.
`When I leave a gig or rehearsal, my ears don’t hurt,` he said. `It’s nice to just hear the instruments and hear the voices.`
For information, visit the band’s Web site, www.fairviewavenuebluegrass.com.“
