Renegade Stringband make urban old time music. Based in Portland, Oregon, the band mixes original songs with traditional music created in and about the Pacific Northwest. The band’s current incarnation came together in the Summer of 2010, bonding through their love of danceable acoustic music and sharp, bluesy vocal harmonies.
There are two main sources for the group’s Northwest musical roots. Founding member Joe Seamons grew up in the Oregon woods. Throughout his childhood, he heard the original songs of family friend Hobe Kytr. Hobe’s songs tell stories of Oregon’s loggers and fishermen. As he fell in love with folk music in his late teenage years, Joe began to learn Hobe’s songs. He also assimilated the songs of Hobe’s friends the Cunnicks, whose songs are collected in the Timberbound Songbook.
Renegade Stringband also cover many of the songs Woody Guthrie wrote in Portland during the spring of 1941. Woody was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration to write songs promoting the BPA’s efforts to irrigate desert land and bring cheap public power to rural districts in the Northwest. Many of Woody’s and Hobe’s songs are featured in a Young Audiences program entitled “Northwest Bedrock Songs”.
In 2008, Joe needed a musician to replace his old friend Gavin Duffy, who left Portland to study classical composition in Indiana. Joe told his remaining bandmates that he needed someone who could play hot and bluesy. They all recommended the same guy: Austin Moore. A talented mandolin and guitar player, Austin also has a fine bass voice. Like the musician he replaced, Austin soon proved invaluable for his ability to step forward and dazzle with a solo or step back and hold down the rhythm.
One day, Austin invited Joe to come hear the senior vocal recital of his friend Jessica Jarris. The first half of the recital demonstrated Jess’ ability as a classically trained singer. After intermission, she not only performed songs made famous by Otis Redding and Etta James--but she delivered them with more conviction and soul than you’d ever expect to hear from a 22 year-old woman raised in Seattle. Joe immediately asked Jess to join the group.
Barely a week later, Austin had suddenly had to return to California when his family’s house burned down in a wildfire. He told Joe that another friend, Ben Larsen, could easily cover for him while he helped his family rebuild. After rehearsing with Ben for a week, Joe became convinced that two mandolin shredders must be better than one, and asked Ben to stick with the group after Austin returned.
While thoroughly versed in American folk and bluegrass music, Ben also studies and performs Brazilian choro music. He recently picked up the dobro, and has quickly added its unique texture to the band’s sound. Ben’s voice also provides a unique texture for the band. Hence, like Jess, he now sings both harmony and lead on many of the band’s songs.
The band’s newest member is bassist Max Kutzman, who hails from Montana. Although his interests range from modern jazz to the world of electronic music, Max loves to absorb traditional American music for the new perspectives it provides on his other musical endeavors.
In addition to teaching, Brian has toured and performed throughout the United States with award-winning, Michigan-based band, Grasshoppah, and currently with Ida Viper, a three-piece western swing and bluegrass band in Portland. He performs frequently as a solo act, delving into his original material and songs that have inspired him throughout his music career.
