Steve Wood might be working out in his yard, but if he comes in the house and sees his guitar, he can’t help but play a few songs. The next thing he knows, 45 minutes have passed and he has to force himself to go back outside.
Wood has kindred spirits in his bandmates. Daryl Smith drives an hour and 40 minutes each way for practices. Tom Hammond has a running joke that when he’s jamming with people and they ask what time it is, he always says 8:30. He figures that’s too early for anyone to head home.
Wood, Smith and Hammond, along with Sean Quinn and Ken Meyer, make up Washington County Line, a relatively new bluegrass band that’s already found a strong following in the Capital District. The group’s next gig is Tuesday, Aug. 3, at the town pavilion in Niskayuna.
At a recent rehearsal at Quinn’s house in Schenectady that was punctuated by passionate strumming and picking, band members talked about the grip bluegrass has on them. Each came to the music at a different age, but they share this: They can’t imagine their lives today without bluegrass. It’s not just the music, it’s the stories it tells and the people who make up the bluegrass scene, they said.
Meyer, the bass player, actually had no interest in bluegrass when a friend tried to persuade him to go to a festival some 20 years ago. Meyer had dabbled in music in high school, but it was rock ‘n’ roll, that sort of thing, he said.
But his friend was persistent. Finally, Meyer caved. And to his surprise, he loved the vibe at the festival.
`It was the people,` he said. `There were a lot of good people. I was hooked.`
Smith, the banjo player, also came to bluegrass through a festival. A banjo player since the 1970s, he went to a festival in Corinth and spent the weekend in a tent, just soaking up the music and the scene. People were playing at all hours all over the campground, he said, and they welcomed others with open arms.
Bluegrass made such an impression on Smith that even though he recently moved from Burnt Hills to Indian Lake in the Adirondacks, he has no qualms about coming back to this area each week to play with Washington County Line.
`It’s fun,` he said. `I wouldn’t do all that traveling if it wasn’t a good time.`
For Meyer, it’s more than fun ` it’s a release from the stress of everyday life.
`When I play that bass, I’m so relaxed,` he said, `I’m not fazed.`
Quinn, who plays guitar, also loves getting lost in the music.
`It’s this terrific sound that you’ve always wanted to be part of, and it’s happening,` he said. `To make that music and have that feeling, it’s like nothing else.`
As carefree as band members might feel while they’re playing, their repertoire includes a lot of songs with serious themes ` a hallmark of bluegrass. They sing about America: about lost loves, about the struggles farmers face, about life on the railroad.
It’s not uncommon, they said, for the crowd to get choked up.
`We could bring a tear to a glass eye,` Hammond, who plays resonator guitar, said with a laugh.
He stressed, though, that band members don’t need to `ham it up.`
`Bluegrass words are unbelievable,` Hammond said, noting the band’s repertoire includes a song about black lung disease that Hammond couldn’t bring himself to sing after his wife was diagnosed with emphysema. A year later, a doctor concluded the diagnosis was incorrect, and only then could Hammond sing the song again.
The band’s catalog is filled with bluegrass standards, such as `Dear Old Dixie.` `Little Georgia Rose` and `Carolina Star,` but Washington County Line also strives to play some songs that aren’t as widely performed, such as `Colleen Malone` and `Lovesick and Sorrow.`
One of the keys to the band’s success, Quinn said, is that its members all like the same kind of music. One will suggest a song, and it’s almost always met with approval from the others.
It also helps that the group has a `nice blend of harmonies,` according to Wood, and that members have been in bands before.
In fact, that experience has helped land the band where it is today, which is largely playing at benefits and outdoor pavilions.
`We like the town park thing,` Quinn said. `We all did that nightlife thing at one time or another.`
`At a concert, people are coming to enjoy the music,` Wood said. `It’s so fun for us, and people will come up to us and say, ‘We had a great time.’`
Washington County Line’s performance at the Niskayuna Town Hall Gazebo is part of the town’s summer free concert series.
The show starts at 7 p.m.
For information, visit www.washingtoncountyline.com.
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