Artist of the Week

The Infamous Stringdusters with Travis Book
 
 
BMP: Tell us a little about your current group, list the members and mention any new or upcoming news.

“Current” group is “The” group.  Andy Hall: Dobro, Jeremy Garrett: fiddle, Chris Pandolfi: banjo, Jesse Cobb: mandolin, and Travis Book: bass.  Drew Becker is our full-time sound engineer and he’s an essential part of our family.  We have a new record, Things That Fly.  We’re starting our own festival, The Festy, a celebration of music, the outdoors and beer at the Devils Backbone Brewery in Nelson County Virginia, October 9-10.  Free camping, the best beer in the east, every outdoor activity from trail running to mountain biking to ultimate frisbee, and a killer lineup cultivated by the Dusters including Railroad Earth, Toubab Krewe, Tony Rice Unit, Larry Keel, Josh Ritter and many many more.  www.thefesty.com for more details.  We’re also doing a three week tour with a great band called Trampled By Turtles.  It’s called the Fly Palamino Tour and it’s happening in November. 

 

BMP:  What would you like readers to know about your latest CD?  

We spent a few weeks in the woods in a house together conceiving this music.  Buy it, sit down in a comfortable place, put it on and let it wash over you.  

BMP: What other music have you been listening to lately? 

I’m obsessed with Frank Zappa right now.  I was a huge fan back in high school, I wore out Joe’s Garage.  I spent the summer in Lyons, CO and the house only had one book I wanted to read in it:  Dangerous Kitchen: The subversive world of Frank Zappa.  I’ve been really inspired, actually.  I mean, here’s a man who combined everything I love about music;  virtuosity, spontaneity, intelligence, humor and fearlessness, he mixed styles, he composed for orchestras, made films, toured constantly (with a ridiculously tight band) and managed to release nearly 60 records in his short life.  Not to mention his activism in the area of free speech.  Frank Zappa was the man and I absolutely love the challenges his music presents. 

The band listens to all kinds of stuff.  You name it, it’s probably in someone’s iPod. 


BMP: What’s your favorite summer activity?

Besides festivals?  Definitely getting out away from the crowds and the heat and into the woods, especially the high country.  I love to ride bikes, always have, and I hike or walk everyday.  In Lyons they’ve got a river you can tube on, so there’s been some of that as well.  Recently I recovered from a nasty bike wreck. I do a little off-road exploration in my 4-Runner.  In the summer, when I’m home, I get into whatever I can get into during the day and then spend the evenings in the garden and sitting on the porch playing guitar.

We all like to get outside, that’s one of the things we have in common.  Every chance we get on the road we’re doing something fun outdoors like going on a hike or hooking up with friends to fly-fish or water ski. 

 

Listen to The Infamous String Dusters’ song Those Who’ve Gone On

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