2014-03-26
Guitar (6 strings) + banjo (5) + mandolin (8) + fiddle (4) + bass (4) = 27 strings, but I think they're counting the mandolin as only 4. Also they use a Barry Dudley 5-string violin, but who's counting? There are also drums and horns. This is fun, fast, and bouncy bluegrass, but St. James Infirmary should not be played fast and bouncy. Five songs on this EP, and I recommend the other four..
From the promo sheet: "Fiery, soul stirring bluegrass, beautifully round-around-the-edges old time and a homespun folk heart pulled from mountain hollows are all sewn into the sound.... The 23 String Band plays fun, fuel-injected, original American that weaves across the lanes of modern acoustic music. It's a bluegrass attack fueled by high-octane rock-n-roll energy and triple-distilled old-timey roots. Your feet hurt from dancing; your face hurts from grinning."
--Gerald Etkind
BRADFORD LEE FOLK & THE BLUEGRASS PLAYBOYS
Somewhere Far Away
Eddi Reader
Sings the Songs of Robert Burns
HONOR FINNEGAN
The Tiny Life
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band
The Rarity Of Experience Disks 1 & 2
Jon Foreman
Fall/Winter EPs
Drew Emmitt
Across the Bridge
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