Search - Infamous Stringdusters :: Fork in the Road

A progressive bluegrass sound that is bold, daring & pulsati

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 02/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 49:39 -- Before playing the Infamous Stringdusters' debut, I wondered what kind of notorious or criminal musical acts that we were in store for from the progressive Sugar Hill label. It didn't take long to discover that this young proficient band's reputation will soon become one of great fame and renown. And the way they "sweep" us off our feet is simply with very solid musicianship and material. The terms that bands dream up to describe their music are interesting. Playing "fearless vibrograss," we immediately sense that these guys have created a sound that is bold, daring and pulsating.



So just who are they? The band's seed was planted when Chris Eldridge (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), and Andy Hall (Dobro) met in Boston in early 2002 and started performing as Stablehorse. Relocating to Nashville in 2004, the band went full-time with the addition of Jesse Cobb (mandolin), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (bass). Their debut album showcases the band's three lead singers (Andy, Jeremy, Travis) and other vocal support from the two Chrises.



The Infamous Stringdusters' musical maturity can be traced to the band members' recording, touring or performing with such noted acts as Ronnie Bowman's Committee, Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels, Tony Rice, Seldom Scene, Chris Thile, New England Bluegrass Band, Bering Strait, Drew Emmitt, Bobby Osborne, Chris Jones, Audie Blaylock, Lee Ann Womack, Mike Snider, Jim Lauderdale, Melonie Cannon, Fox Family, Valerie Smith, Broke Mountain, and Benny "Burle" Galloway. Wow, that's an impressive list of talented musicians who have taught, mentored and inspired them! We can hear some of their influences in the musical presentation or repertoire of The Infamous Stringdusters. Chris Eldridge is Seldom Scene member Ben Eldridge's son. Besides a healthy amount of fresh, original material, there are interspersed offerings written by Chris Jones/John Pennell, Glenn Garrett (Jeremy's dad), John Mayer, Benny Galloway, and Boston folksinger Geoff Bartley. Thus, they don't shy away from decent singer/songwriter and folk material which allows them to succeed equally well on the bluegrass, jamgrass and folk touring circuits.



Picking and singing like very seasoned veterans with decades of experience, these guys have found an ideal formula for balancing their youthful exuberance, melodic eloquence, and lyrical expression. Their arrangements are dynamic and give all a chance to shine like chrome. Hence, another reference to their string cleansing abilities. In a sense, they are masters of catharsis with an inherent ability to release emotions, create force and relieve tension with their music.



If you're liberal, open-minded and tolerant of new directions in string music, then you'll appreciate what these boys are doing with their vibrograss. If your definition of bluegrass has significant boundaries, then you might equate their infamy with evil. But the long and short of it is that this group has been well received at IBMA's annual convention and trade show. Despite the message in the title cut, "Fork in the Road" indicates this band is both decisive and incisive. The Infamous Stringdusters knows which way they want to go to maximize their potential and reach their promised land full of milk and honey. The Stringdusters' wires are very polished, and I just wonder if they do windows and clean house as well as they pick. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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Catch the surge now... the Stringdusters are on their way to

Mark J. Fowler | Okinawa, Japan | 04/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a buzz in the path of the Infamous Stringdusters - the kind of buzz that surrounded Nickel Creek a few years ago and Alison Krauss before that. It's not hard to imagine that it's like the buzz that was around Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys when Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs joined in. It is the kind of word of mouth that comes from experienced musicians who tell their musical friends - "you've just GOT to hear these guys..."



Should you give them a listen? Not only should you, but you should do it now, so that in the future, when they're appearing on the Tonight Show, you can say "I heard them when..." Why is their music so exciting? The answer is not simple - the end product of their collective effort is music as smooth as velvet, as wild as Mardi Gras, as cool as the other side of the pillow and as hot as Texas in August. There have been a few "All-Star" bands that gathered informally and even recorded, such as Strength in Numbers and the Bluegrass Album Band, but I can think of no other "full-time band" with as much talent as the Dusters. In fact, I have to stretch my memory to think of an "All-Star" band with six musicians as gifted as (in no particular order) Andy Hall on Dobro, Chris Eldridge on Guitar, Travis Book on Bass, Jesse Cobb on Mandolin, Chris Pandolfi on Banjo and Jeremy Garrett on fiddle. Vocally, they come at you a half-dozen ways with great soulful leads, soaring harmonies and a sound that epitomizes a modern interpretation of "High Lonesome".



Their songs are original and intricate with arrangements that grab you with hooks that could lift an ocean liner. Bands with half as much talent have disintegrated into a mess of spotlight-grabbing egos, but the Dusters complement one another like a seasoned unit with decades of touring. They blend beautiful ballads with blistering barn-burners.



They are carving a new path into Bluegrass history. Hearing them gives me the same kind of excitement I felt the first time I heard Earl play "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" or the Osborne Brother's "Rocky Top". Take a listen to "Dream You Back", "3x5", the opening "No More To Leave You Behind" or the titular "Fork in the Road". Prepare to be awed. You've just GOT to hear these guys...

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No fork in this road. This band is on a straight road to Bl

P. Messenger | 01/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had heard "Poor Boys Delight" on satellite radio. Every time that song came on, I said, "That's my favorite song." So, right around Christmas, I bought it for my husband and I. We're a bluegrass family from wayback, and these guys are masters of the genre. I can't wait to see them live somehere in the future. Every cut is superb. Great CD."