by Zach Fraley
Becoming defined as a band requires years of setup, and involves establishing a distinctive sounds, accruing a fan base, and spreading the word about the group as much as possible. For bluegrass dandies Yonder Mountain String Band, who have written, recorded, and toured as a group since the late 1990s, branding is an ongoing process. On the heels of their first piece of recorded music in two years, the band will be consistently touring until Valentine’s Day of next year.
According to the group’s bass player, Ben Kaufmann, the most noticeable change in the overall sound present on the Black Sheep LP is how straightforward the music itself is.
“This is the first album with our new lineup, which adds a fiddle to the band. As far as approach goes, it’s more similar to our first couple of records. We did our fourth and fifth records in L.A., and got to work with a great rock and roll producer, which was a differentiation from our normal sound. But for this album, we played acoustically and tried to not put any frills in there. At the same time, we wanted to maintain a progressive sound. It seems counter-intuitive because we went to a traditional bluegrass lineup, but a lot of these songs are non-traditional. We wanted these songs to be edgy, and we had to marry these seemingly opposite realities. But we pulled it off. This is also the first time we self-produced. As a result, we produced what’s easily my favorite record.”
Kaufmann, who hails from a small town in Massachusetts with less than 7,000 inhabitants, was accepted to NYU’s film school before realizing he wasn’t comfortable with big cities. However, his moderate dislike of sprawling urban landscapes doesn’t stop him from liking friends or musicians who come from those places.
“Some of my best friends grew up in the big city, and some of my other best friends grew up in small towns. They both share compelling spirits. The guy in the big city is probably familiar with how to navigate a big city but couldn’t handle living in a small town, and vice versa. I think it depends on upbringing, and can go any direction really. For me, I learned I couldn’t handle any big city for more than a couple days at a time. It’s not good for my constitution.”
Photo courtesy of Yonder Mountain String Band
Kaufmann formed his first band when he was in 6th grade. The band, Sanctuary Revival, was a play on his father’s former band called Sanctuary. It was through this and other bands he joined during his time in school that he learned to play bass and made many connections. While he doesn’t consider it a requirement to play in a plethora of musical groups, he believes it helped sculpt him into the musician and person he is today.
“The more people that you can make music with, the more it informs your own style. In a way, we should have conversations with as many people as we can, because it gives us a richer experience, and the same can be said for musical conversations. I can’t even count how many wonderful people we’ve shared the stage with over the years. Just the experience of rhythm and music is different between people. It can be very subtle sometimes, but every person is musically different. To learn and support everyone else’s experience of music and time is a wonderful and rewarding thing to do, even if you can only say you survived at the end of the day. It’s a very special and, in a way, intimate thing to share. Everyone is better served to play with lots of people, but you’re only gonna get tight if you play with the same group of people consistently. If you’re interested in being in a band rather than a sideman, it benefits you to play together as a group as much as you can.”
Yonder Mountain String Band’s website contains biographies of each group member, which are hand-written by that member. In Kaufmann’s story, he admits he can be a sensitive person, but believes being sensitive can have its advantages, both in the music industry and for life in general.
“That sensitivity also brings a tendency to be afraid in some capacity, which is a powerful, negative motivator. We have to increase our mastery over our fear, which is way easier to express in a sentence than to actually do. It takes time, and I struggle with it all the time. But on the other hand, that sensitivity gives me something compelling to sing or write about, and I wouldn’t change it even if it creates some embarrassing situations. But if you have good people around you, then that creates safe space to be true to yourself, to who you are. Sometimes I’ll admit being envious of people who seem stoic or solid, and I have this perception that you have to be that way in order to be strong. But then I remind myself that emotions we feel are what make us strong.”
Kaufmann has solid advice for anyone who considers themselves delicate as he does. “Never base your opinion of yourself on what anyone else has to say about you. You can inform your own development and growth through others’ feedback, but never let your sense of self-worth be determined by what anyone else has to say. You have to trust your heart even though sometimes it’ll make you cry or get angry. It seems like a whirlwind sometimes, but in the end I have to trust my heart and get it to overrule my brain sometimes.”
While Yonder Mountain String Band has been together for over a decade and a half, that doesn’t mean members of the band haven’t been shuffled around occasionally. While Kaufmann realizes success can be fleeting, he also acknowledges that as long as fans still come to their shows, he is living out his dream every day.
“In some ways, we had a pretty significant lineup change recently. I have a sense of importance about Yonder Mountain, and it’s something I believe in and have visions for. I will fight with every ounce of my energy to continue this project. I think we’ve accomplished a lot but have so much left to do. You have to be supportive and have fun too, and I’ve never had more fun than I’m having now. We’re also making our most compelling work now. When you have those things going on for you, it gets a lot easier. It would be a drag if people stopped coming to shows and the money stopped coming in. Provided we keep on this trajectory and the audience still enjoys coming to the show, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.”
The band recently had a show in Chicago recorded and streamed by Yahoo.com, and will have a show taped over the weekend by PBS for release in early 2016. While Kaufmann admits his shows get recorded in some way or another all the time, the knowledge of a large media presence is something he must consider yet not dwell on for too long while the band performs.
“You spare a thought to it certainly, and in some occasions you want to tailor the set list to make sure certain songs appear. But then you have to forget about it, and if there’s a point in time during the show where you become overly conscious of the cameras, then that’s bad because it pulls you out of the moment of making music. The best job you can do is when you’re immersed in the music in the moment. You should work in an acknowledgement to the cameras at some point, but our music is very improvisational, so we have to work around that.”
Philadelphia fans can catch Yonder Mountain String Band perform tonight at the Theater of Living Arts. When asked what he’d like to do outside of playing the show while in town, Kaufmann gave both a stereotypical and insightful response.
“The single most important thing will be cheesesteaks, and I think this is the case for a lot of touring bands. You base your experience in a city on the food you get, and it’s a big deal to us. I’d be lying if I said everyone in this band won’t be in line for a cheesesteak. But I love to walk up and down the street where the venue is because of the people watching and the shopping you can do. Once you get out a couple blocks, you get into that really cool old part of town with brick streets and old houses, and there’s something really good about walking those streets and taking it all in. You might even catch some inspiration.”
