Friends of Bob November '05 Newsletter
Jim & Jennie
and the Pinetops
Duncan Hall all-ages show!
We really hope you will join us for a Friday night of top-drawer, bluegrass at Duncan
Hall on November 18. Bluegrass and old-time music have enjoyed a surge of interest and
popularity in recent years. One of the most exciting groups at the vanguard of the revival
is Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops. Much of what J & J the Ps play is energy-driven pure
traditional bluegrass that is performed superbly; yet while they take their music seriously,
they are determined to have fun with it. They are a string-driven acoustic music machine
(guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, bass) with two wonderful voices-Jim's and Jennie's-that
sometimes sing alone and sometimes harmonize-rather wonderfully! Jennie's clear,
fragile voice is incredibly striking and her harmonies with Jim even more so.
They are a fun live act. As their biography at allmusic.com notes: "Live, the band
is known for playing multiple, lengthy, joke-fueled sets that have crowds shouting for
every bluegrass song they know and, usually, quite a few others. And, to be sure, Led
Zeppelin is never out of the question." Expect a mix of stark ballads and rollicking,
banjo-fueled stompers.
On their early CDs-2000's Little Birdie, and 2002's One More in the Cabin-J & J
& the Ps were dedicated traditionalists, determined to play purist bluegrass, though with a
slight indie rock edge. While they continue to play to the high standards that Bill Monroe
and Flatt & Scruggs established, there are songs on their new album Rivers Roll By when
they seem reminiscent of bands like Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band, or
Buffalo Springfield. The songs and the sonic atmospheres explore darker corners of the
world. A hybrid instrument that gets aired on a few of the new record's more sonically
atmospheric tracks is the Banjocaster-part banjo, part electric guitar-that J & J's superb
banjo player Brad Hutchinson stumbled across. Music critics have noted that many of the
new generation of bluegrass/old-time musicians seem as inspired by the 1997 reissue of
Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music as they are by Flatt, Scruggs, and
Monroe. J & J & the Ps' newer songs and recordings make sense in this context.
Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry St., Lafayette all-ages show!!!
doors 7:30 showtime 8:00
$8 (advance) $10 (day of show)
from Von's Records, JL CDs, Downtown Records, and McGuire Music. [Advance by
mail $9; checks to FoB, Box 59, Battle Ground, IN 47920; please give name, address,
phone, and email.]
"The energetic harmony singing can raise the hairs on your neck. The tunes sound
simultaneously timeless and as old as the hills." Chicago Reader
"Benford and Krewson's slightly acerbic, high lonesome harmonies, built on Benford's
keening vocals, soar and buzz as they wrap around each other." No Depression
"Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops are the best bluegrass act in the city-and quite possibly
in the land." Philadelphia Weekly
"[You] are immediately struck by the raw power of their sound…This music is not an
update of traditional mountain music-it's a celebration of it." Bluegrass Music
Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry St., Lafayette all-ages show!!!
doors 7:30 showtime 8:00
$8 (advance) $10 (day of show)
from Von's Records, JL CDs, Downtown Records, and McGuire Music. [Advance by
mail $9; checks to FoB, Box 59, Battle Ground, IN 47920; please give name, address,
phone, and email.]
"The energetic harmony singing can raise the hairs on your neck. The tunes sound
simultaneously timeless and as old as the hills." Chicago Reader
"Benford and Krewson's slightly acerbic, high lonesome harmonies, built on Benford's
keening vocals, soar and buzz as they wrap around each other." No Depression
"Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops are the best bluegrass act in the city-and quite possibly
in the land." Philadelphia Weekly
"[You] are immediately struck by the raw power of their sound…This music is not an
update of traditional mountain music-it's a celebration of it." Bluegrass Music
More Jim & Jennie reviews at the end of this newsletter.
[FYI-Uncle Earl, who performed to massive acclaim at this year's Battle Ground
Fiddlers Gathering, is another of the young bands riding the surge of interest in old-time
and bluegrass; their banjoist and singer Abigail Washburn will be playing a show on
November 12 at Radio Radio in Indianapolis, and also a free, all-ages in-store show at 3
PM at Indy CD and Vinyl in Broad Ripple.]
&
Katrina Relief Show: Bridge Over Troubled Water Come out for a multigenre evening of local performers raising money for the 180-some people who were
displaced by Katrina and are now living in Tippecanoe County. Not only will all these
people be invited to the concert so that we can make them feel welcome in their new
abode, but we hope to raise a bunch of money that will be given to the American Red
Cross to be distributed exclusively to our new neighbors.
FoB members Christi Clore and Mike Kelsey have organized an amazing line-up
of music, dance, comedy, and more at Riehle Brothers Pavilion on November 11. Come
out for this celebration of local talent raising money for an important cause.
Friday, November 11 / 7:30
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Michael Kelsey, Scott Greeson, Riverboat
Ramblers, Dr. Fine & D'Gleet, Truffle Bluff, One Size Fits All Improv, Marla's Music,
Dance Magic, LSO String Duo, Purdue Bells, Annie Hatke, Henry Arth, David Stanton,
Lafayette Renaissance Academy, PMO Heart & Soul Ensemble
Riehle Brothers Pavilion
2230 Concord Road, Lafayette
Advance $15 adults - $10 children under 12
Door $20 adults - $12 children under 12
Tickets on sale at Riehle Bros., Von's Records, JL CDs, Downtown Records, and
McGuire Music.
All proceeds donated to American Red Cross for Katrina evacuees residing in
Tippecanoe County
Please help us publicize these shows by downloading a poster from our website:
www.friends-of-bob.org
&
A slow start to our new season! While we have had reasonable turn outs for our
first three shows of the 05-06 season, they have been smaller than we're used to. They've
been great shows-and the Chuck Prophet/Sally Timms and Gangbé Brass Band shows
have to rate among the very best shows we've ever had-but attendance has been a bit
disappointing. Our Spottiswoode show in August lost $470 and the September Prophet
show lost $1,200. (The Gangbé show was subsidized by grants so we knew ticket sales
would not in themselves cover the cost.) It's a worrying trend. So please think of ways to
help us spread the word that FoB is bringing terrific music to town at modest ticket
prices-music that would not come to Lafayette otherwise.
&
David Lindley has been on FoB's wish list for years, so we really want to
encourage you to consider seeing his show at the Lafayette Brewing Co. on Thursday,
November 10. A musician's musician, Lindley is an incredible guitarist that puts on
wonderfully entertaining concerts. He spent much of the 70s as Jackson Brown's guitarist
and then went on to work for some years with Ry Cooder. For a few years he had a
wonderful band called El Rayo X. He's worked with Dylan, Warren Zevon, Rod Stewartyou get the idea…he's a top-drawer player. LBC is doing music fans a big favor bringing
Lindley to town-please consider this a don't-miss show.
&
Do the Dues!!! Membership dues are by the calendar year-2005 dues are due!
Dues pay for this newsletter and provide a safety net for when admission charges don't
cover expense. Please help us keep the music coming. Become a Friend of Bob! If you
have an asterisk by your name on the label of this newsletter, you already paid your 2005
dues. Since our last newsletter, the following people have sent in their 2005 dues.
John & Gail Copeland
Polly Honor
Eileen & Charlie Kerlin
Anne Scott
Ron, Connie, & Dave Shoemaker
Peter & Mary Sue Waser
Like to join?
Go to How Can I Help? at
www.friends-of-bob.org
Please consider a tax-deductible gift to FoB.
&
Our next Organizational Meeting will be on Monday, November 7
downstairs at the back of the Lafayette Brewing Company dining room. Everyone is
welcome. Come out and be a part of what we're doing.
FoB dates for your calendar:
Monday, November 7, 7:30; downstairs at Lafayette Brewing Company; Organizational
Meeting; come and get involved!
Friday, November 18, 8:00; Duncan Hall; Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops
Sunday, March 19, 7:30; from Ireland Dervish
Sunday, April 23, 7:30; Duncan Hall; Crooked Still + Jawbone
www.friends-of-bob.org
Philadelphia City Paper: Can they Cut the 'Grass?
Pinetop derby: Jennie and Jim.
Bluegrass kids Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops are winning over young ears and hope to
impress the old guard.
by Mary Armstrong
Say "Jim and Jennie" to folks who have known bluegrass for a while, and they are apt to
correct you. "You mean Jim and Jesse, right?" - referring to the famed leaders of the
Virginia Boys, long at the forefront of the traditional bluegrass scene.
But Jim and Jennie recently launched their new CD, Little Birdie (Phovsho/ Overcoat), at
the North Star Bar and if you'd have said "Jim and Jesse" to the majority of the 100-plus
folks in attendance, you'd also have been politely corrected. Yet, both bands have the
hardcore bluegrass sound and each has its share of enthusiastic supporters. Jim Krewson guitarist, songwriter and forceful tenor lead singer - and his musical partner Jennie
Benford - mandolinist, songwriter and big-voiced singer in the old-time open-throated
country style - took a few minutes to discuss the phenomenon of a strictly traditional
bluegrass band working rock bars and driving the crowds crazy.
Jim, 33, is a Bucks County native. As a kid he heard his father sing in barbershop quartets
and there were also a few Flatt and Scruggs records in the family collection. Jim's earliest
professional music gigs were in hardcore punk bands, but he still found something
compelling in bluegrass: "the energy and honesty and sincerity were the same." He began
the transition to bluegrass by working in what he describes as a "jokey" band, the Slobber
Mountain Boys. By the late '80s Jim says he was completely converted to bluegrass.
Living and working in New York City, he was introduced to Jennie Benford, 29,
Vermont-raised and recently of Oberlin. Jim recalls she was about to leave the city, for
lack of folks to pick with. That may seem like a radical move to those who haven't led
Jennie's life. Her father (not the famed Mac Benford) played banjo in a local bluegrass
band, and according to her, "I never heard anything but bluegrass until I was 10!"
Obviously it agreed with her. Her voice is big and joyful, calling to mind Hazel Dickens,
Alice Gerrard, Wilma Lee Cooper or any of the Lewis Family matriarchs. None of the
soft, shy Alison Krauss-style shivering delivery in Jennie's repertoire.
They moved to the area when an uncle of Jim's passed away; they now live in his home
for just a little bit less than they were paying in New York.
The rest of the band are known as the Pinetops. Yes, they were once known as the Pine
Barons, but no, the rumors of threatened lawsuits are not true. Jennie explains that they
had even played over at the Albert Hall [the center for traditional music in Jersey] where
Jim Murphy of Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons, the nicest man in the world, heard
them. He wrote them, pointing out he'd copyrighted that name some 30 years prior. No
hard feelings, she assures us. Today's Pinetops include Brendan Skwire on bass and Brad
Hutchinson on banjo. Hutchinson came to Philly to study architecture at Penn, and he
swears he'll get back to it someday - once the pickings get slim.
So here we have a very traditional four piece bluegrass band, playing in all these clubs
that ordinarily book rock bands. Jim's got the right connections from his early punk years,
but connections don't convince listeners. The crowds who show up for Jim and Jennie
shows clearly love them. A few give up those embarrassingly inappropriate yeehaws, but
most are just soaking up the energy that defines hard-driving bluegrass.
Meanwhile, the Pinetops are working on branching out. By the time you read this, they
will be in Kentucky, schmoozing at the International Bluegrass Music Association. The
IBMA is the world's biggest trade show and convention for those who play bluegrass or
related old-time and acoustic country music. Jim and Jennie both want to see this
traditional band succeed on its natural home ground, the bluegrass festival circuit. So far,
their performing has been in the non-traditional venues that bluegrass bands are usually
eager to break into. They're hoping for an exchange of information to help both sides.
In contrast to the bulk of the bands at IBMA, The Pinetops shun flashy picking. They
have decided to keep their focus on the vocal edge, with Jennie's distinctive leads on a
great number of the songs and Jim's echoes of the late Joe Val soaring for high notes. Pair
that with contemporary themes treated bluegrass style like Jim's "This One's on Me," and
the Pinetops have something new for even the oldest bluegrass ears.
Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops, a contemporary-minded traditional bluegrass four-piece
from Philadelphia, PA, have gained an audience ranging from purist to passerby with
their rollicking blend of originals and covers amid good-natured stage banter. In the
1980s vocalist and guitarist Jim Krewson played in a teenage hardcore band called
Quasimoto & the Eunuchs -- the self-proclaimed kings of Newtown, PA -- before
migrating to bluegrass via a project called the Slobber Mountain Boys. Vocalist and
mandolinist Jennie Bedford, meanwhile, learned to sing harmony at age five from her
banjo-playing father. Bedford and Krewson met New York City in 1998, bonded over
their love for bluegrass, and soon joined forces. After tapping bassist Brendan Skwire and
banjoist Brad Hutchison they began performing, approaching the bluegrass aesthetic of
masters like Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs with an indie rock mindset. (In other
words, Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops could be found playing bluegrass in grimy rock
clubs just as easily as country fairs or the vaunted Newport Folk Festival.) In 1999 they
released Jim & Jennie and the Pine Barons, essentially a live recording complete with
rowdy friends and their children. Their second album, Little Birdie, established the
Pinetops name, and gave the band's striking originals their proper representation in a
studio. One More in the Cabin followed in 2002, and Jim & Jennie jumped to Bloodshot
for 2005's Rivers Roll on By. Live, the band is known for playing multiple, lengthy, jokefueled sets that have crowds shouting for every bluegrass song they know and, usually,
quite a few others. And, to be sure, Led Zeppelin is never out of the question.
Daphne Carr allmusic.com
Harp Magazine June 2005 Reviews/Heavy Rotation:
Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops Rivers Roll on By Bloodshot
Bluegrass music's adherents, following the rigid customs established by its
founders and icons, have generally regarded any mutation as heresy. Perhaps
Bill Monroe would not be so pleased to hear drums (Lordy!), electric bass and a
hybrid instrument called the Banjocaster on the Pinetops' latest, but those of us
not quite so hidebound can be happy with it. Jim (Krewson) and Jennie (Benford)
and the Pinetops, with their authentic voices, bring singing and songwriting skills
back to the forefront of a music that since the late '60s has leaned mostly on hot
licks. Like all great folk musicians, they're at their best singing about the world
around them. They make an especially good case for progress in the bluegrass
form both lyrically ("Mt. St. Helens") and musically ("Country Boy Rock & Roll").
The modern touches enhance a musical style for which their love and respect is
obvious. Rick Allen
Harp Magazine, June 2005 Features/Red, Hot and Cool List
Red Hot High & Lonesome: Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops
There was a time when Jim & Jennie cared what the bluegrass world
thought of them.
"Yeah, we really wanted to be taken seriously and not be seen as hacks,
or hipsters trying to play bluegrass," says Jim Krewson.
But from the beginning their youth and enthusiasm for the genre
distinguished them from the bog of note-for-note mimicry (aka the Bluegrass
Curse).
With a focus on songwriting and the presence of a few electric instruments
(even drums!) J&J&P's new record, Rivers Roll On By, marks an auspicious
departure from their previous, tradition-based efforts. Jennie Benford's "Mt. St.
Helens", the tale of a stubborn mountain dweller, has thick roots in the tragic-folksong tradition, and Krewson says his "Blackie Moore" was inspired by a song he
heard on a Vietnamese street music collection.
Recorded over three weeks at Benford's and bassist Matt Downing's North
Carolina home, Rivers is a warm, clear collection of expert picking and
harmonizing, delivered in part by a dose of local Asheville, N.C. musicians,
including mandolinist Charley Brophey and guitarist Lawrence Dillingham. The
record pushes at bluegrass' oft-stifling boundaries, yet still pays homage to the
trade with a cover of Don Reno's "Country Boy Rock 'n' Roll" and a harmony duet
of "I Know You're Married But I Love You Still."
With a new home on Bloodshot Records, J&J&P should be lifted above
the narrow-thinking traditionalists and placed alongside their more progressive
contemporaries, such as Gillian Welch, or the Crooked Jades (with whom
Benford has recently toured).
"We didn't set out to make simply a bluegrass record," Krewson says. So,
we're really excited to see what happens. (Rivers) appeals to whoever it appeals
to." Brian J. Barr
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