Some fun vids, pics & words about Suwannee Springfest 2012

After a phenomenal time at this years 16th annual Suwannee Springfest, I’ve been re-living it through folks’ videos, photos, and words on the festival.

Honest Tune‘s David Shehi and Rex Thomson recorded some amazing sessions with many musicians at the Festival including Yonder Mountain, Donna the Buffalo, The Infamous Stringdusters, and more. Here’s a fun photo of their session with Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear of Donna the Buffalo. Stay tuned to Honest Tune (www.honesttune.com) for  lots of fun stuff! … and remember to Vote Rex!

"A fantastic Springfest is now in the book. Now, we go to the editing room so that memories like this Donna the Buffalo backstage performance (& the Mosier Brothers one that followed) can live on forever." --- David Shehi, Honest Tune

Donna’s full Saturday set from Suwannee Springfest with wonderful intro by Festival Director Paul Levine! Thanks to Mark DaBabe for recording. Check out his pics HERE:

Hype-magazine posted a Suwannee Springfest teaser! So much more to come, exclusives with Donna the Buffalo, Greensky Bluegrass and Whetherman! Check out some awesome PHOTOS.

Great American Taxi “Appalachian Soul” Vid by Your Hometown Hiker- Chuck Allen:

Emmit-Nershi Band Finale. Vid by Soulacious

Elephant Revival. Vid by Ducksoapgirl

“Find of the festival? I have to say we loved Lizzy Ross and her band, and not just because they hail from Chapel Hill North Carolina. She totally rocked. Run don’t walk to iTunes and get some for yourself…The Lizzy Ross Band, ” writes the Fly Fish Chick in her blog about the fest. Read the full post here: http://flyfishchick.com/2012/03/27/best-of-the-fest/

Festgrrl writes, “Elephant Revival: Wow. Young band, fresh, arresting sound, soulful picking, intriguing arrangements, and the startling lead singer-washboard/djembe/musical saw player Bonnie Paine’s haunting voice — I hate to compare such a gorgeous instrument to anyone else, but it sounded to me like a cross between Natalie Merchant  and Nora Jones. Actually, she sounds exactly like herself.” Read her full post about the festival HERE. Stay tuned for videos of the band’s originals…in the meantime check out this fun one with Vince Herman (Great American Taxi) sitting in with them:

Your Hometown Hiker, Chuck Allen, posted this fun video of Greensky Bluegrass:

Tornado Rider “Giant Tree” posted by Octavello:

Verlon Thompson covers Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” while jamming with Donna The Buffalo Sunday Night. Posted by Your Hometown Hiker, Chuck Allen:

Hot Buttered Rum by Your Hometown Hiker:

Check out this “Black Muddy River” by the Mosier Brothers. vid by skizzlesnix:

Grant Peeples “Jesus Was a revolutionary.” Vid by PanamaCityLive

Grandpa’s Cough Medicine. Vid by Soulalicious

Roy Book Binder “Rag Mama.” Vid by gangelone

Bibb City Ramblers “Heat Lightning.” Vid by  Christy Fowler

Whetherman “Sea Line.” Vid by westmelody

Stay Tuned– I will add more to this post as the week goes on 🙂

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Larry Keel & Adam Aijala Videos from SouthEast Tour

Check out some great video footage from the recent SouthEast tour with Larry Keel and Adam Aijala

Larry Keel & Adam Aijala, from Yonder Mountain String Band, perform a duo acoustic show at the Shepherdstown Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV on 5/5/10.

This segment includes:
Intro by Bob Keel
Cattle In The Cane

djones2125

Larry Keel & Adam Aijala, from Yonder Mountain String Band, perform a duo acoustic show at the Shepherdstown Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV on 5/5/10.

This segment includes:
Pioneers
The Man That Only You Could Love

djones2125

Larry Keel & Adam Aijala, from Yonder Mountain String Band, perform a duo acoustic show at the Shepherdstown Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV on 5/5/10.

This segment includes:
Mountain Song

djones2125

Larry Keel & Adam Aijala, from Yonder Mountain String Band, perform a duo acoustic show at the Shepherdstown Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV on 5/5/10.

This segment includes:
Tear Stained Eye

djones2125

May 11, 2010 — Larry Keel & Adam Aijala, from Yonder Mountain String Band, perform a duo acoustic show at the Shepherdstown Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV on 5/5/10.

This segment includes:
Amos Moses

djones2125

Taken a show at Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC.

travisncs

Night out with Larry keel And Adam Aijala after a day of sells with the Down The Street Bead Show in Charleston South Carolina this past sunday……..This is the first of two encores for the night……..

johnwroberts1972

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Larry Keel and Adam Aijala (YMSB) enbark on their SouthEast tour

Larry Keel and Adam Aijala (YMSB) embark on their SouthEast tour today in Shepherdtown, VA; Thursday in Boone; Friday in Greensboro; Saturday in Atlanta; and Sunday in Charleston SC! Check out this inyterview with Larry and the Mountain Times in Boone before Thursday’s show at the Boone Saloon.

Keel & Aijala at Boone Saloon May 6

by Frank Ruggiero

Boone Mountain Times

As of late, Adam Aijala’s guitar playing has been off keel, and with a capital “K.”

The guitarist of bluegrass stalwarts Yonder Mountain String Band has been touring with flatpicking virtuoso Larry Keel, and the duo is bringing its class act to Boone on Thursday, May 6, at the Boone Saloon.

“It’s really interesting how we complement each other,” Keel said. “We like to work on our material, getting it down as soon as we can, but absolutely leaving tons of room for improvisation in every song. I really like to hear what comes out of (Aijala’s) head, and I can see he likes to hear what comes out of mine.”

Aijala agrees.

“I would definitely put Larry in the more aggressive style, while I’m more on the lighter side,” he said. “He’s got a right hand like a jackhammer, but style-wise, there’s some crossover for sure.”
And a complimentary crossover, at that. On their southeast tour, Keel and Aijala have been performing acoustically, playing each other’s own material, along with some choice covers.

“If I’m playing one of Adam’s original songs,” Keel said, “it brings me to play as good as I can play, as it seems like it is with him when he’s playing one of mine. It keeps us on our toes for sure.”

Keel promises some musical rarities, songs not typically heard with any of his other combinations, including Natural Bridge.

“Also expect a pretty wide mix of covers, from reggae to punk rock … all with an acoustic flare,” Aijala said. “It’s pretty diverse. We might even have different instruments this time around.”
But they’ll still have that same excitement, the kind ever so evident in musicians who clearly love their craft.

“He’s one of those musicians,” Aijala said. “In the same way that when I was a kid and would watch (Led Zeppelin’s) The Song Remains the Same or (Jimi Hendrix’s) Jimi Plays Monterey, playing with Larry makes me want to play that much more. He’s very contagious in that way.”

…
…

“We’ve got a vast repertoire,” Keel said. “We always try to mix it up every night and play something different for each crowd.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www2.mountaintimes.com/entertainment_focus/Keel_&_Aijala_at_Boone_Saloon_May_6_id_001246

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Larry Keel & Natural Bridge interview with the Columbia Free Times

After Larry Keel and Natural Bridge‘s set at the French Broad River Festival today, they head off on Saturday, May 1st to Columbia to play the White Mule. Check out this great interview with Larry Keel and the Free Times:

Larry Keel & Natural Bridge
The White Mule: Saturday, May 1

BY KEVIN OLIVER in the Columbia Free Times

For 20 years, Virginian Larry Keel has explored various corners of the bluegrass music world, first with the progressive bluegrass of McGraw Gap, then with the even more adventurous Larry Keel Experience, and currently with the more traditional-based Natural Bridge.

“I just like to play all kinds of music and have fun with it,” Keel says when asked about his various ensembles. “That’s what the crowd wants to see the most, is somebody having fun while they’re playing.”

…   …   …

Though he’s done plenty of different things, Keel wouldn’t have it any other way, he says.

“I love what I’m doing right now with Natural Bridge, playing some wild forms of bluegrass,” Keel says. “I have been doing some playing with Yonder Mountain String Band, and I still get to play with Keller Williams a bunch, too.”

The Williams connection goes back a ways, and Keel, along with his wife Jenny, have a new trio album with Keller Williams coming out in late May.

“It’s all No. 1 hits from the pop charts, done bluegrass style,” Keel says. “It’s fascinating to me because I didn’t know many of the artists we covered when we started recording. We just learned them and put them into a bluegrass format right there.”

The best thing about the new songs so far, he says, has been the crowd reaction at the shows.

“When we’ve played these songs live, the reaction of the kids is that they love it,” Keel says. “It’s not complicated, we just brought out the songs using a bluegrass band as a tool.”

It’s those kids who are the fastest growing part of the bluegrass audience who will appreciate what Keel does the most, but Keel says what he, Williams, and others are doing will bring those new fans into the more traditional side of bluegrass, too.

“I have the theory that all things must change to grow and prosper, and I see that happening a lot with bluegrass,” Keel says. “Yonder Mountain String Band are drawing thousands of people everywhere they go. They taper their set to play songs that the young people know today. If they do it bluegrass style, the kids might know the song but they are listening to it in a bluegrass format, then they play a Bill Monroe right after that and they get them to listen to it, too.”

Other than touring and recording, Keel has another new project he’s put out there; a website called Fishin’ and Pickin’ (fishinandpickin.com), which is exactly what it sounds like — a site for people who like to fish and who also enjoy live music.

“It combines two of my loves: fishin’ and pickin’,” Keel says. “Make sure you don’t put Gs on those words, either. I meet so many wonderful people who are fishermen and pickers, too.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=11011801074507906&ShowArticle_ID=11023004104307021

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Larry Keel & Adam Aijala (YMSB) tour the SouthEast this May!

Yonder Mountain String Band’s Adam Aijala is teaming up with fellow guitar virtuoso Larry Keel for a short run of acoustic shows in the Southeast. Get ready to watch these two bad-ass guitar players tear it up with their wild riffs and antics from their experiences picking and jammin’ together backstage, at festivals throughout the years, and their recent tour out West this past December.

Larry Keel is a world renowned, internationally touring, Mountain Music Troubadour. At 18, Keel ventured overseas to work at the Tokyo, Japan Disneyland, as a “Western Land” musician; playing 6 shows a day, 6 days a week for a solid year. Talk about getting your chops down! Early on, Larry established himself as a phenomenally talented flatpicking guitarist, winning top honors at guitar competitions across the country. Throughout his career, Keel has released 13 albums and is featured on 9 others.

While he honors the pioneers that introduced bluegrass and mountain music into popular culture, Keel allows his music to evolve and embrace sounds and styles that inspire him, all along the way. He has collaborated and shared the stage with many of his own legends including Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Vassar Clements, Curtis Burch, Peter Rowan, Darell Scott, Jim Lauderdale, Jack Lawrence, Mark Vann, Vince Herman, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Keller Williams, amongst others.

Keel has weathered the changing tides of traditional bluegrass, country, jam rock, roots reggae, and even the currently emerging indie-alt scene always honoring the pioneers that introduced Bluegrass and Mountain Music into popular culture. He is an ever evolving musical force that stands in ongoing defiance to all genre expectations. Don’t bother trying to pigeonhole the music of Larry Keel. He’s untamed and untamable.

When not performing with his MIGHTY ensemble, Natural Bridge, Larry collaborates regularly with powerhouse pickers in shows and events and instructional workshop situations across the country. Often, these music events coincide with another of Larry’s natural-born passions: FISHING. This year marks the beginning of his completely original recreational concept, FISHIN AND PICKIN, that serves as an on-line resource and networking hub in all things to do with fishing, the great outdoors, music, camping, enjoying life to the fullest!

Meanwhile, Adam Aijala was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and spent the majority of his childhood in the nearby town of Sterling. As a young teen, Adam loved skateboarding and listening to punk and hardcore music. He was exposed to such bands as Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, and the Descendents.

In 1986, at age 13, Aijala began playing electric guitar and taking lessons. He learned power chords first, playing dozens of short punk tunes. In his early years of high school, he added metal bands like Metallica and Slayer to his repertoire. Shortly after, Adam’s musical tastes began to shift. He began listening to Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and even the Grateful Dead. Desiring a new sound, Adam picked up his first acoustic guitar at age 17. He started listening to Bob Dylan and in college, Old and In The Way.

During his years at UMass Amherst, Adam played whenever he could as he studied Forestry. After graduation in 1995, and after a couple of major knee surgeries, he played several open mics around Worcester; strumming his originals like “Left Me In A Hole”, along with Dylan covers. He worked in the forestry field until 1997, when another knee injury forced him to rethink his career choice. It was at this point that Adam decided to pursue his career in music, moving to Nederland, Colorado. It was there where he met Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufman, and Dave Johnston…and the rest is YMSB!

Akin to Keel, Yonder Mountain String Band has always played music by its own set of rules. Bending bluegrass, rock, jam, and countless other influences that the band cites, Yonder has pioneered a sound of their own. With their traditional lineup of instruments, the band may look like a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they’ve created their own music that transcends any genre. Dave Johnston points out “What could be more pure than making your own music.” Yonder’s sound cannot be classified purely as “bluegrass” or “string music” but rather it’s an original sound created from “looking at music from [their] own experiences and doing the best job possible.” The band continues to play by their own rules on their new record The Show.

“With me and Adam it’s just the guitars and doing our thing and doing some really cool freaky material and it is just so comfortable and that’s the way the music should be,” Keel said. “There shouldn’t be no hidden agenda just really soulful playing and writing and getting down to business. It is the most serious blessing of the whole thing. I grew up being so inspired by seeing and hearing all of these players like Sam Bush and Tony Rice, and even a lot of names you don’t hear or have never heard of, so it is like full circle for me to now get to stand in that circle with them and make music and trade riffs and feelings off of each other. It is the most amazing thing and I can’t believe it is happening sometimes.” ~ Dave Lavender, Herald Dispatch

For this tour with Keel and Aijala, expect more bending, twisting, and genre defying feats of guitar mastery and fiery vocals; rooted firmly in a tradition that is rich within both of their individual music!

West Coast Tour Samples:

Americana Roots posted an audio archive from their show at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon: Set 1, Set 2

Check out some video archives from the West Coast tour:
Full show from the Tractor Tavern
“They”- Mississippi Studios
Instrumental- Mississippi Studios
Instrumental- Humbolt Brews
Burl Galloway song- Humbolt Brews

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Live Streaming of Larry Keel & Adam Aijala today at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle!

Want to check out the first show on the tour for Guitar virtuosos Larry Keel and Yonder Mountain’s Adam Aijala, but couldn’t  make it out to the Tractor Tavern in Seattle on Dec 1st? Or maybe you just want to check it out again?

Then click here for a video and audio podcast of the show that was streamed LIVE by SyncLive and you can you can check out these two bad-ass guitar players.

All you have to do is go to SyncLive.com LK and AA show at 11:00 PM Tractor Tavern on 12/1/2009

[You will need to register to watch- It is easy and FREE to do]
While you there, you can also chat with others that are watching the show online to in their virtual chatroom.

Tour dates:

12/1 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern- LIVE BROADCAST
12/2 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
12/3 Ashland, OR Stillwater
12/4 Arcata, CA Humboldt Brews
12/5 San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah (2 shows)

http://www.yondermountain.com
http://www.larrykeel.com
http://www.SyncLive.com
Watch this show and more at SyncLive.com

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Archive: Larry Keel and Adam Aijala

Monica Topping / For the Tri-City Weekly

Posted: 12/01/2009

http://www.times-standard.com/entertainment/ci_13899085

Humboldt sees a lot of killer live bands and fans feel lucky when, instead of taking the fast route from San Francisco to Portland, the musicians take the scenic route.

When a tour is only six dates long, though, and one stop is Arcata, one gets the feeling that maybe they actually have planned it this way. This Friday flatpicking legend Larry Keel and Yonder Mountain String Band guitarist Adam Aijala will hit the stage at Humboldt Brews, one of only six dates on a tour whose only small-town stops include Ashland and here.

Keel is a rising star in the bluegrass scene. He was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the son and brother of skilled musicians. When he was 18, Keel went to Japan to play bluegrass at the Tokyo Disneyland for seven months. Upon his return, he hit the East Coast bluegrass festival circuit, and eventually paired up with banjo player Mark Vann of Leftover Salmon.

Vann convinced Keel that he needed to take a trip to Colorado where the bluegrass, jam grass and newgrass grow wild and free. Keel competed in the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival guitar competition in the early ’90s and won, coming back in 1995 to win the band competition with Will Lee and their band Magraw Gap.

Keel has played in bands with Tony Rice, Darol Anger and Joe Craven and played sets alongside Keller Williams and Sam Bush. He’s played guitar workshops with David Grier and Jorma Kaukonen adding a little

bit of his own personality to the bluegrass tradition that he aims to keep alive and well.Keel plays with his band Natural Bridge, which includes his wife, Jenny on bass, Mark Schimick on mandolin and Jason Flournoy on banjo.

For this brief tour, Keel is teaming up with guitarist Aijala whose background couldn’t be more dissimilar. Aijala was brought up on punk, rock and metal music. Rather than absorbing the music of the bluegrass forefathers, Aijala was listening to Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, Metallica and Slayer. It wasn’t until his late teens, after he’d been playing electric guitar for a few years, that he picked up an acoustic guitar and began studying Bob Dylan and Old and In the Way.

After high school, Aijala went to school to study forestry and worked in the field through a knee surgery and another knee injury. He then began to rethink his career and decided to follow his love for music to Nederland, Colo., where he met Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann and Dave Johnston. They formed Yonder Mountain String Band in late 1998.

Yonder Mountain String Band has released a number of live and studio recordings since 1999 most recently releasing “The Show” in early September.

Keel and Aijala will start their tour in Seattle followed by stops in Portland, Ashland and Arcata before wrapping up with two nights in San Francisco.

The duo will be in Arcata Friday at Humboldt Brews. Doors open around 9 p.m. and the show starts at 10 p.m. Tickets are $15, available in advance at The Works and Humboldt Brews, and online at www.passionpresents.com.

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