- The Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band
Born In The Lowcountry
Self-Released
 The guys in the Lowcountry Boil
Bluegrass Band have been honing their musical chops for years,
and although the first incarnations of their musical journey
were not necessarily bluegrass music, all the hard work shows
to fine effect in their latest offering. In the beginning, the
Daly's initial band was pretty much hard rock / metal which later
evolved into an interest in the Grateful Dead, which in turn
led them into the more "country" direction that the
band has geared toward ever since.
Their bluegrass incarnation has been going at it since 1997
and today consists of Jevon Daly on fiddle, his father Michael
Daly on 5 string banjo, brother Kieran Daly on mandolin, Andy
Pitts on guitar and Richard Miletic on upright bass. Everyone
in the band demonstrates exceptional musicianship, and when playing
bluegrass you'd damn sure better know what the hell you're doing,
being that it's one of the more difficult genres to master.
Big Daddy Bill Monroe didn't cotton to any no-account players
in his band, and it's pretty much been the standard ever since.
The guys in Lowcountry Boil have been consistently drawing large
crowds locally and their music knows no age boundaries; you'll
see folks from 8 to 80 having a good old time. They've racked
up 300 performances in 2002 alone, and commit to at least 200
for 2003.
Jevon Daly switched from mandolin to an ancient 1923 Martin
Bourgignon fiddle, after letting his younger brother Kieran give
what had been as a matter of fact, Bill Monroe's instrument of
choice a try. Now Kieran Daly is considered something of a prodigy
on the mandolin, and although he doesn't limit himself to that
instrument alone, he is surely coming into his own. He started
playing with the band at the age of 8, and now at 13, blows audiences
away wherever they play. Vasser Clements, who played on the
band's previous release (Break Me Off Some Bluegrass), had only
good things to say about the youngest Daly family member.
So, where does The Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band's sound
come from? Kieran possesses an abiding respect for many of the
60's blues-rock musicians such as Cream and Hendrix; he also
considers David Grishman his favorite mandolin player. Brother
Jevon admits to being influenced early own by such unlikely aratists
as Van Halen and The Fat Boys. Father Michael also brought music
into the household due to the fact that he was a huge Grateful
Dead fan. Combine all of that with their collective abiding
respect for old time country, western swing, blues and jazz and
you've got one hell of a concoction. Although the band came
into bluegrass cold, yet found a love for the genre, all of the
various other influences to their modern sound come through in
the arrangements, lyrical flow, breakdowns and vocal delivery.
Non-family band members Andy Pitts and Richard Miletic round
out the band nicely with their proficiency and songwriting contributions
thus making for a well-rounded bunch of pickers.
Several of the songs on the new release reflect Jevon Daly's
life growing up in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and the
images he creates with his lyrics and song will surely give you
pause as you identify and then reflect on experiences of your
own youthful days. These thoughts are exemplified by the opening
cut "Born In The Lowcountry". Running wild with your
troublemaker friends, building tree-houses, having fun on the
beach and just being a kid all come into play as the remembrances
freely flow: lyrically as well as musically. This band doesn't
lack in originality and offers more than most run of the mill,
off the cuff releases that are available on the shelves today.
"Girl That I'm Seein'" reflects the old style traditions
with it's softly stated yodeling and it's nods to Jimmy Martin's
stop/start musical flow; Ageless story telling from the hills
of Kentucky reinvented.
"Heine" is a bit of a guffaw that's a favorite at
live shows, and although tongue in cheek, this song features
perky picking and soaring, swooping fiddle that interplays within
the song's context wild and free. There's also the added attraction
of the lyrics being about a girl's ass.
Several songs on the album to my ears show an abiding respect
for the work of Danny Barnes and his work with The Bad Livers.
The cut "Woman" is a good example. A quirky, jazz
progression is evident in this cut, and the arrangements are
at the same time low-key, yet intricate.
"Take A Look Around" and "Once Upon A Time"
are two cuts that were previously released on The Lowcountry
Boil Bluegrass Band's first release Break Me Off Some Bluegrass,
and are rerecorded by the present incarnation of the band's members
anew for "Born In The Lowcountry". These two songs
best exemplify bluegrass music's present day transformations
and the incorporations of Jazz, Blues and other genres that are
adding to the modern day interpretation. These songs are both
the centerpiece and highpoints of "Born In The Lowcountry"
and tell tale of what bluegrass on the edge can be.
"Partners" has an abiding respect for country and
western, both honky-tonk and swing. It's an all-affirming rave-up
that rides along on a reverberating, bracing fiddle and banjo
streamline that boldly rises and falls like a breath of fresh
Kentucky air.
You better drink all night by the gallon
You better smoke all day by the pound
You know what I mean?
Come on partners, come on gals
Bluegrass only came into it's own in the late forties with
Bill Monroe, and can be considered pretty much still in it's
infancy, compared to other styles of music such as jazz and blues,
which have been around for over a hundred years and more.
Bluegrass music today is in a period of prolific transition and
is especially evident in it's resurgence in popularity expressed
in the success of the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou"
film and soundtrack as well as in the various festivals that
are becoming benchmarks of good times and good listening. Many
enthusiasts know that some of the best playing goes down in the
parking lots and campsites on the periphery of the actual stage
acts themselves during these sometimes 3 and 4 day events.
The Low Country Boil Bluegrass Band encompasses traditionalists
like Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin
and The Louvin Brothers; they also incorporate later artists
such as John Hartford, Danny Barnes, Sam Bush and Jerry Garcia.
Bluegrass moves on, and new artists are experimenting and stretching
the boundaries of this amazing music everyday. Bluegrass is
an confluence of many musical integrations and it's a wonderful
thing indeed when a band like The Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band
are here to drive it forward with a burning torch and an abiding
respect for the genre's past as well as it's present and future.
www.lowcountryboilonline.com
Contact BJ Weikert at bj-at-rockzilla.net
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