Old Roots for a New Generation

Athens, Ga. Quartet The Corduroy Road Rolls into Canyons Saturday

Story by David Brewer

With a mixture of Avetts-like energy and harmony and their own flare for acoustic roots music, rising Athens quartet The Corduroy Road will make their High Country debut at Canyons this Saturday, February 28.

Central Kentucky is the heart of bluegrass country, where the shadow of musical giant Bill Monroe still looms large. For childhood friends and bandmates Dylan Solise and Drew Carman, it seems almost inevitable that the sounds of their native region would find a way into the acoustic music the pair began playing one summer when Carman came home from college.

More than five years, a pair of college degrees, dozens of shows, an EP and two additional bandmates later, Solise and Carman’s musical partnership has blossomed into The Corduroy Road, one of Athens, Ga.’s most promising roots music outfits. This Saturday, February 28, the band will make their High Country debut at Canyons in Blowing Rock. The show will start at 10:00 p.m. and there is no cover charge.

During that summer when Solise and Carman began their musical partnership, the pair gravitated toward traditional guitar and banjo music. But it didn’t take long for the sounds of modern roots revivalists and revisionists Old Crow Medicine Show and The Avett Brothers to find their way into the original songs by the duo.

“Really those guys showed us how it could be done with a more modern sensibility,” Solise said. “For a long time I think it wasn’t cool for youngsters to be into that sort of thing. Now it’s a perfectly valid thing.”

Even a quick listen to the songs from The Corduroy Road’s self-titled EP reveals the band’s affinity for hummable melodies, lots of harmonies and a plucky approach to the banjo more akin to Scotty Avett than Earl Scruggs. Most of the songs are Southern-tinged narratives that would have almost sounded at home on the radio programs of the 1940s and ‘50s.

With the addition of John Cable on drums and Tim Helms on bass following their contributions on the EP, The Corduroy Road quickly gained a reputation in Athens as an up-and-coming band on the folk scene after sharing the stage with such notable bands including The Avett Brothers, Paleface, The Packway Handle Band, Ian Thomas, Langhorne Slim, Drakkar Sauna and more.

“Every time we add somebody it shapes the sound in a different way,” said Solise. “Turns out we all get along and have compatible music tastes.”

The addition of Cable and Helms also ratcheted up the band’s live energy, injecting their folky compositions with a hybrid bluegrass and rock drive while sparing none of the band’s signature harmonies.

Late last year, the band upped the ante, deciding to record their first full-length disc with renowned Athens producer John Keane (Widespread Panic, REM, BR549, Uncle Tupelo). Under the watchful eye of one of the South’s most prolific producers, The Corduroy Road poured their hearts and souls into the record that will hopefully boost their profile on the Americana scene. The record will be released on the Athens-based label Mule Train Records this spring.

“He’s such an important part of the music scene here. He really did a lot to put a lot of polish on what we were doing,” said Solise.

According to Solise, Keane focused on highlighting the band’s strong points, pushing each member to be more precise. The band also expanded their sonic palette, adding flourishes of mandolin, pedal steel and electric guitar to their firm roots foundation. The experience, said Solise, helped the band reexamine themselves and their music to a greater degree than ever before.

“We came out of the whole deal with a great sounding record and a new appreciate for what we do,” said Solise. “[The recording process] has definitely made us reflect on what we are as band.”

To hear the band’s music, click to www.thecorduroyroad.com.

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