New CD release for Sloughgrass
July 5, 2007
New release for Sloughgrass, By PENNY MIO, Editor, The Baudette Region Submitted by Journal Staff on July 5, 2007 - 12:24pm.
By PENNY MIO, Editor, The Baudette Region
The members of Sloughgrass Family Band say they are just like any family, but not many families can say they've been on a "European tour".
It's one of the family jokes to say they have toured Europe with the band, as well as played in arenas. Truth be told, the tour was a family trip to Denmark where they played at a train station and three other events. And the arenas they play are usually hockey arenas.
It's just one way that the band tries to keep what they do lighthearted.
Another is in their name. They use all the instruments of a bluegrass band, but they don't really label themselves as bluegrass since they also play gospel and country selections. It was Dave who came up withthe name Sloughgrass and it stuck. "Sloughgrass is slow like walking through a swamp," Dave said.
They have one album already, which they recorded just to have it down before the family changed. "We said grandma wasn't going to live long and Carl was not staying around long, so we better make a CD," Soren said.
They made 100 copies to start with, but sold 200 in the first month and another 200 at Christmas. They had 500 total made, and those are near running out.
It wasn't long after that people began asking about a second album.
This time they made their recording in their home church in Birchdale on a Friday night after the kids were done with school, and the following Saturday. The recording in the church gives the album arealistic sound. "When you hear us on stage, that's who we are," said Dave. That's the sound that comes through on the second album.
The new disc has 19 songs and three are original pieces by different band members.
The new disc will be for sale for the first time at the Lake of the Woods County Fair July 5-8. Sloughgrass will be playing on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. at the fair on July 8th.
Learning
The idea of having a family band came in 2002. Audrey is the matriarch of the family, with her two daughters Christine and Judith and their families filling out the rest of the band.
Audrey's father played the violin in church, and she inherited it in 2001. She passed it on to Judith who began lessons and plays it to this day.
Soren and Carl picked up guitars shortly after and Carl and Audrey both began the accordion, but that didn't last too long. "Bluegrass doesn't like accordions," Audrey said.
Soren got connected with a friend who had a mandolin and he began to play.
By Thanksgiving Audrey was on upright bass, Judith was on violin, Soren was on mandolin, Christine was on banjo, Dave was on guitar, Carl was on guitar and Gary was on dobro. Later Sofia learned violin and Holger learned dobro. Everyone tried piano, but those get too hard to haul around.
One of the fears they had to overcome was making mistakes in front of people. "Nobody really cares. We had to get over that hump," Soren said.
"And we are getting better at not showing it when we mess up," said Christine.
Most of their songs are from their lesson books, church or songs that they have learned from other bands.
Every year they have played at several small town festivals, nursing homes and churches. One of their proudest moments was when they were asked to open for Monroe Crossing. They were told they would have 20 minutes to play, but once Monroe Crossing heard them play their play time was extended.
In 2006 they played several gigs, about half of which were for charity.
Gary and Sofia said they like being in a family band because they get to go places. Often they travel with campers, but they do joke about getting an old school bus for their tour bus. It's the songs they play that keep Holger interested, and he's learning to follow his father's footsteps by telling jokes between songs.
Judith sees more benefit than just the fun of playing together. "It's a lifelong hobby, and they will never have a fear of crowds," she said.
For more of their events throughout the year, visit www.sloughgrass.com.
And, yes, they are planning a third disc, but this one will be recorded in a studio and feature original works.
