Last Word Features
By Alan Sculley
The Punch Brothers never denied being a bluegrass band. But violinist Gabe Witcher said it’s becoming easier as time goes on for the group to use the “B word” when people want to know how to describe its genre-stretching music.
“I don’t think we as a band necessarily ever weren’t embracing our roots,” Witcher said. “I think it was the people who were trying to tell us what bluegrass was that didn’t embrace us. As far as we were concerned, we were kind of always making something that is very related to bluegrass and the roots of bluegrass.
“I feel like we’ve come to the point where whatever you want to call it, we’re fine with it,” he said. “It’s not going to change what the music actually is. However you can relate to it, that’s fine with us.”
The Punch Brothers’ music has been proving to be quite relatable for six years now – even if some bluegrass purists didn’t care for what they were hearing. The group has carved out a reputation as one of the most talented and adventurous groups of acoustic musicians in the field.
They came together in 2005 when former Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile, long-time friend Witcher and banjo player Noam Pikelny got together for a jam session that convinced them to form a new bluegrass-rooted band.
Pikelny suggested a fourth member, guitarist Chris Eldridge, and the original lineup was completed with bassist Greg Garrison.
In 2006, the group released the album, “How to Grow a Woman From the Ground,” which demonstrated the group’s firm grasp on the bluegrass form but also showed that it wouldn’t be slaves to the form. The album included acoustic interpretations of the White Stripes’ “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and the Strokes’ “Heart in a Cage.”
After having Paul Kowert take over for Garrison, the group returned in 2008 with another bold work, “Punch,” the centerpiece of which was Thile’s suite in four movements, “The Blind Leaving The Blind,” a piece based on his divorce.
The next CD, 2010’s “Antifogmatic,” was more of a collaborative effort that showed the Punch Brothers musical growth and development of band identity and sound.
For the current CD, “ Who’s Feeling Young Now?,” the group was seeking to better capture its live sound and the spark that the band members feel when a song first comes together – not an easy thing to accomplish.
“When you’re writing and you’re rehearsing, the more you play something, the less new it is,” Witcher explained. “What you’re really trying to go for is like, you’re trying to capture the first time everything really clicks into place. That’s where the excitement really is.”
Producer Jacquire King played a key role in helping give the songs a sound that felt fresh.
“That was the newness for us that allowed us to basically play these songs as if they were being played for the first time,” Witcher said.
The group’s last two albums, “Who’s Feeling Young Now?” and “Ahoy!” feature some of the Punch Brothers’ boldest and most accomplished music, as the band applies its bluegrass instrumentation and influence to songs that often have strong pop sensibilities. The result is music that is not easily defined beyond words like acoustic, rootsy, tuneful – and excellent.
Witcher likes the way the band it headed.
“We have the energy of a rock show now,” he said. “Especially if you’re in a rock club and you have a close to sold out or a sold out crowd, the energy of these shows has been incredible.”
Concert preview
The Punch Brothers with Anais Mitchell
8 p.m., Jan. 31, $27.50
Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta 404-524-7354, www.variety-playhouse.com
