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Have you ever noticed how rock critics like to invent new words?
Emo, nerdcore, psychobilly, bitpop, freakbeat, krautrock, shoegaze, j-ska ... these are just a few of the colorful (even florid) neologisms employed by pop music commentators to delineate the sometimes subtle musical shadings of the vast genre that Cleveland DJ Alan Freed dubbed “rock ‘n’ roll.”
Some of these new labels are pretty silly. For example, sometime today, try using “grungegrass” in a sentence without feeling like a posturing prat. The term is a relatively new descriptive, and one which is often affixed to a rising band that otherwise defies easy categorization: the Avett Brothers.
Just listen to one of the Avetts’ albums like “Mignonette” (2004) or “Emotionalism” (2007) and see if questions of genre don’t naturally pop up like methane bubbles in a tar pool. Is it country? Folk? Punk? Bluegrass? Or all of the above?
The Avett Brothers are centered around real-life siblings Scott and Seth Avett (pronounced with a long A), who grew up in a musical household in North Carolina and were exposed to country music and gospel as children. Both Scott and the younger Seth were drawn to heavy metal as teenagers and did time in high school metal bands before coming together in a rock band called Nemo during the late 1990s. When aspiring jazz guitarist Bob Crawford joined the brothers on bass in 2001 (the same year Nemo broke up), the Avett Brothers was formed. The band’s first full-length album, “Country Was,” was released a year later, kicking off the Avetts’ career with a song called “Pretty Girl from Matthews.” (The brothers have since also recorded “Pretty Girl from Raleigh,” “Pretty Girl from Annapolis,” “Pretty Girl at the Airport,” “Pretty Girl From Cedarlane,” “Pretty Girl from Feltre,” “Pretty Girl from Chile,” “Pretty Girl from San Diego” and “Letter to a Pretty Girl,” perhaps signaling one of the Avett’s non-musical interests. Note: Both Avetts and Crawford are nowadays married.)
Thanks to albums like the aforementioned “Mignonette” and “Emotionalism” — as well as highly regarded EPs like “The Gleam” (2006) and “The Second Gleam” (2008) — and a relentless tour schedule, the Avetts are poised for even greater success in the year to come. They’ve managed to sell more than 121,000 albums on the small Ramseur Records label, but with their forthcoming album (which Scott Avett has described as “more progressive and moving forward”), the Avetts graduate to the big leagues. They’ve signed to Columbia’s American Recordings and famed producer Rick Rubin (who got his start twiddling the knobs for Run-DMC and who, over the years since, has proven his own aptitude for breaking generic boundaries by working with the likes of Weezer, Donovan, Johnny Cash, Jay-Z and the Dixie Chicks) is supervising recording sessions that began in late June.
Whether you call them “folk rock” or — ahem — “grungegrass,” there’s no denying the melodic fluidity, the punk intensity and the instrumental virtuosity of the Avett Brothers. Despite the fact that the band won two Americana Music Awards in 2007, don’t expect to hear them on commercial country radio. But park your FM dial at 88.1 and there’s a good chance you’ll be rewarded with one of their tracks pretty soon.
The Avett Brothers get frequent play on KAFM, a radio station which has been known to smash a few genre labels itself.
Notes is supported by the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, promoting the success of after-school programs throughout Colorado in cooperation with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Notes can be heard daily on KAFM 88.1 or at kafmradio.org on the Web.
Emo, nerdcore, psychobilly, bitpop, freakbeat, krautrock, shoegaze, j-ska ... these are just a few of the colorful (even florid) neologisms employed by pop music commentators to delineate the sometimes subtle musical shadings of the vast genre that Cleveland DJ Alan Freed dubbed “rock ‘n’ roll.”
Some of these new labels are pretty silly. For example, sometime today, try using “grungegrass” in a sentence without feeling like a posturing prat. The term is a relatively new descriptive, and one which is often affixed to a rising band that otherwise defies easy categorization: the Avett Brothers.
Just listen to one of the Avetts’ albums like “Mignonette” (2004) or “Emotionalism” (2007) and see if questions of genre don’t naturally pop up like methane bubbles in a tar pool. Is it country? Folk? Punk? Bluegrass? Or all of the above?
The Avett Brothers are centered around real-life siblings Scott and Seth Avett (pronounced with a long A), who grew up in a musical household in North Carolina and were exposed to country music and gospel as children. Both Scott and the younger Seth were drawn to heavy metal as teenagers and did time in high school metal bands before coming together in a rock band called Nemo during the late 1990s. When aspiring jazz guitarist Bob Crawford joined the brothers on bass in 2001 (the same year Nemo broke up), the Avett Brothers was formed. The band’s first full-length album, “Country Was,” was released a year later, kicking off the Avetts’ career with a song called “Pretty Girl from Matthews.” (The brothers have since also recorded “Pretty Girl from Raleigh,” “Pretty Girl from Annapolis,” “Pretty Girl at the Airport,” “Pretty Girl From Cedarlane,” “Pretty Girl from Feltre,” “Pretty Girl from Chile,” “Pretty Girl from San Diego” and “Letter to a Pretty Girl,” perhaps signaling one of the Avett’s non-musical interests. Note: Both Avetts and Crawford are nowadays married.)
Thanks to albums like the aforementioned “Mignonette” and “Emotionalism” — as well as highly regarded EPs like “The Gleam” (2006) and “The Second Gleam” (2008) — and a relentless tour schedule, the Avetts are poised for even greater success in the year to come. They’ve managed to sell more than 121,000 albums on the small Ramseur Records label, but with their forthcoming album (which Scott Avett has described as “more progressive and moving forward”), the Avetts graduate to the big leagues. They’ve signed to Columbia’s American Recordings and famed producer Rick Rubin (who got his start twiddling the knobs for Run-DMC and who, over the years since, has proven his own aptitude for breaking generic boundaries by working with the likes of Weezer, Donovan, Johnny Cash, Jay-Z and the Dixie Chicks) is supervising recording sessions that began in late June.
Whether you call them “folk rock” or — ahem — “grungegrass,” there’s no denying the melodic fluidity, the punk intensity and the instrumental virtuosity of the Avett Brothers. Despite the fact that the band won two Americana Music Awards in 2007, don’t expect to hear them on commercial country radio. But park your FM dial at 88.1 and there’s a good chance you’ll be rewarded with one of their tracks pretty soon.
The Avett Brothers get frequent play on KAFM, a radio station which has been known to smash a few genre labels itself.
Notes is supported by the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, promoting the success of after-school programs throughout Colorado in cooperation with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Notes can be heard daily on KAFM 88.1 or at kafmradio.org on the Web.
