Today’s musicians increasingly find themselves at a crossroad. They find that they must choose between originality and building and maintaining an active fan-base. Typically, success depends on their ability to provide the industry and their listeners with music that is truly unique. To combat this dilemma, the Starkville, Mississippi band Nash Street strives to artfully bridge the gap between country music and traditional bluegrass.Nash Street utilizes the inspiration of influences, such as Chris Thile, The Eagles, Ricky Skaggs, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Allison Krauss, as a pleasant compliment to the soulful melodies of Mississippi and the leisurely rhythm of southern life. In so doing, the quintet provides a hybrid genre of music which is being hailed as “grassroots country”. Grassroots Country is a self-ascribed title which Nash Street attributes to their love of contemporary country music and bluegrass instrumentation.
The band consists of Daniel Hare on upright bass, sisters Hannah and Caroline Melby on fiddle and mandolin respectively, Jason Graham on rhythm guitar, and Clay Lezon on lead guitar, all ranging from ages 19-24. Over the years, Nash Street’s uniqueness has matured as their ability to combine instrumental arrangements and vocal harmony has become more creative. Nash Street has opened for artists such as Rhonda Vincent, The Grascals, Jeff Bates, Little Big Town, and at Tim McGraw's “Swampstock” – an annual concert Tim puts on to benefit his hometown of Rayville, Louisiana. Nash
Street recorded their second CD this summer at Ricky Skaggs' studio in Nashville.
On January 24, 2008, the band was awarded for their diligence when they won the 2008 Colgate Country Showdown. Nash Street took home $100,000 and the title “Best New Act in Country Music”. It was held in the legendary Ryman Auditorium with host and country music star, Leann Rimes. With such young members, Nash Street’s distinct sound, stage presence, and ability to connect with varying audiences insures that they will become an attractive addition to the country music scene.
That Nashville Sound- What brought you to country music?
Nash Street- Being raised in rural Mississippi has played a large part in the music we grew up listening to. Country,Bluegrass, Southern Rock and Blues all were styles that we grew up with, and have influenced our sound a lot.
TNS- Describe your music- what's the mission behind the music?
NS- We call it "Grassroots Country," and are creating a new style that takes the lyrical style of mainstream country, and mixes it with flare that bluegrass instruments are known for: a sound that is both complex in arrangements and simply driven.
TNS- What might people be surprised to find out about you?
NS- Wow... It's kind of hard to narrow it down to one surprising fact about us... I guess one really interesting fact is that, even though our ages range from only 19- 25, the band has been together for almost 10 years, and was actually started as part of a high school strings music program.
TNS- What kind of music are you listening to? What's in your iPod?
NS: We are a pretty diverse group, whose tastes in music range from blues, jazz and classical music all the way to hard rock, pop, and even some occasional rap. It's not unusual to be in the car on a trip and hear Toby Keith or Ricky Skaggs followed by The Jackson 5, Spice Girls or even classic rock by Kansas or the Allman Brothers.
TNS- If you had a crystal ball and looked forward ten years, what do you see for yourself?
NS- Where do we see ourselves in 10 years? That’s a really hard question to answer. We all love performing and writing, and would love to be at a point in our career where Nash Street was a common household name that was known for making all around great music... but as long as we're able to keep playing and can still afford to pay the bills with a job that has always been our dream- that would be a fine place too!
No comments:
Post a Comment