Ballhog!

..."Brass Grass Roots" Fusionists Ballhog! - The Tennessean

..."Brass Grass Roots" Fusionists Ballhog! - The Tennessean

By Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff

Explaining what style of music, exactly, that Ballhog! plays is still a conundrum for Randy Russell and his bandmates.

"We've used a lot of different things to describe ourselves," Russell told The Daily Times this week. "At one point, we said we were a 'bluegrass orchestra.' We've also referred to ourselves as 'brass-grass.' Basically, the general description is that we're a traditional stringband with a horn section and drums. Or, we just say we're a whiskey band."

Whatever the consensus, the certainty is that Ballhog! is the sound of a good time. Imagine the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Del McCoury Band climbing onto the ramshackle stage of a roadside tavern and stirring up the floor-strewn sawdust into a blinding sandstorm. The band's self-titled album, recorded in 2005, is a sunny, breezy mixture of jazzy blues and Old Time bluegrass. In addition to the blend of instruments — saxophone and banjo, flute and mandolin and more — the guys harmonize with the aplomb of a gospel act as well.

Getting to that point, Russell said, was a process of trial and error. Formed in 2001, the band evolved from two separate acts, he said.

"One band was doing a straight bluegrass thing, and the other was doing more of a rock-jazz thing, and we always did shows together because a lot of the same guys were in both bands," Russell said. "Eventually, it made more sense just to call it one thing. It just happened we would do the kind of rock 'n' roll show with the horn section, then switch it up and do the bluegrass show.

"Well, the horn players were the best soloists we had, so when we did the bluegrass thing, we always wanted them to get up with us and play, and eventually they developed their own parts. It was a natural evolution, and it turned out to be cool and different."

Russell, who plays mandolin, guitar and doghouse bass, is joined by bassist/mandolin player/guitarist Toby Leonard, guitarist/mandolin player Jamey Wood, banjo player Craig Boerner, percussionist Andrew Swift, dobro player "Spotty-Dog" (a member of Nashville act Old Union) and horn players Chris West and Patrick Dolen. The band has performed around the Southeast, but Thursday's show at The Corner Lounge marks the first time the group will have performed in the Knoxville area. (Although Ballhog! came close last August, when the band was included on the lineup for the Mucklewain festival.)

It's certainly not something that fans have come to expect from a roots-music act, especially one from a city as corporately defined as Nashville.

"In Nashville, everybody has a vision of what's put out by the industry, but in general, the city is a cultivator of music," Russell said. "People come in for all sorts of reasons and are drawn to all kinds of music; there's a great music scene here in spite of bands like Rascal Flatts.

"We always get a good response, but a lot of people don't seem to know what to make of us. For the people who want to hear just bluegrass, they're always thinking, 'What the hell?' We've kind of morphed into something where nobody is going to consider us a standard bluegrass band. I think we could hit that market good, because we have a banjo, but still, people in that scene are scratching their heads a lot. Others, though, think we're pretty cool."
http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20070413/ENT/704120324&SearchID=73336536520320
Originally published: April 13. 2007 3:01AM
- The Daily Times - Maryville TN (Knoxville)

There’s no lack of string bands these days offering reverent takes on bluegrass and old-timey music. Ballhog break from the pack, however, with an irreverence that finds a home mostly in amusing, lighthearted lyrics. Their stories range from a rambling man who’s come to see the light—coming the other way in the form of the “Holy Ghost Train”—to their winner-turned-loser ode “Where I Went Wrong,” which counsels, “Take a look inside yourself and see what makes you tick / and don’t let no one steer you off, they’re just a bunch of… naysayers.” Their playing is tight and lively but hardly yoked to tradition, mimicking a blithe lyrical tone with breezy bluegrass swing courtesy of buoyant horn parts. Exceptionally tuneful, the spirited septet’s carefree vibe is eminently infectious. Formed almost a decade ago, they released their self-titled full-length debut in 2006 and are close to following it up with an as-yet-untitled album.
Thu., Dec. 31, 9 p.m., 2009 - Nashville Scene

There’s no lack of string bands these days offering reverent takes on bluegrass and old-timey music. Ballhog break from the pack, however, with an irreverence that finds a home mostly in amusing, lighthearted lyrics. Their stories range from a rambling man who’s come to see the light—coming the other way in the form of the “Holy Ghost Train”—to their winner-turned-loser ode “Where I Went Wrong,” which counsels, “Take a look inside yourself and see what makes you tick / and don’t let no one steer you off, they’re just a bunch of… naysayers.” Their playing is tight and lively but hardly yoked to tradition, mimicking a blithe lyrical tone with breezy bluegrass swing courtesy of buoyant horn parts. Exceptionally tuneful, the spirited septet’s carefree vibe is eminently infectious. Formed almost a decade ago, they released their self-titled full-length debut in 2006 and are close to following it up with an as-yet-untitled album.
Thu., Dec. 31, 9 p.m., 2009 - Nashville Scene