The Boomswagglers - Bootleg Beginnings

The Boomswagglers Bootleg Beginnings from the Shack out Back - HillGrass BlueBilly Sessions 2011

Why am I'm writing about this album? [CLICK HERE]

Suggested by my cousin, who is currently wrapped fully in that beautiful twilight of hubris that often comes along with a strong jaw, surplus of musical talent, an intimidating vocabulary and a knack for philosophy. A dangerous combination. For the world or for himself, we have yet to see. I recognize his journey as well as seeing that he is closer to the heart of the matter at this point than I was at the same age. This suggestion of his is the case in point. I did not reach the particular guidepost which would allow me to appreciate or create this type of music until late in my 20’s. Also, he has already heard of Jeff Buckley, Conor Oberst, John Prine and Voltaire. I blame YouTube.

During one of the high points of my artist output, my friends and I played a style of music that we called ‘Goo Grass’. A kind of sticky, off-balance bluegrass. The kind of self-assured stylistic choice borne out of an inability to reach a more refined variation of the same sound.

Boomswagglers have moved beyond this primordial soup we called Goo-Grass into what I easily recognize as the mature archetype of our early experiments. Their choices here do not stem from a lack of ability but seem instead to flow from an uninhibited delight of folk-magic.

These are people who have mastered the elements of the hill music. The masters of this magic are free to wield it however they like. This is the dirt-sorcery. They call it HillGrass, BlueBilly music which speaks to the same lexiconic symbolism as our term, ‘Goo Grass’, but garners a more robust structure which is reflected perfectly in this music.

Unabashed loose ends. The record sounds purposefully jagged. Overblown mics. It exists in that narrow seam between naïveté and carelessness. Focus without Attention and Attention without Focus. Easy to do accidentally, difficult to maintain consistently.

‘Why I sleep Alone’ is a perfect concoction rusty production of traditional melodic anchors whiplashing into a jug band jubilee with an unstable and fluctuating tempo. It’s a little squishy, but not ‘Gooey’ This is the sound I was always looking for but never found. It pleases me greatly that this music exists.

If you’ve heard of Avett Brothers. This is what happens if those boys ever get hooked on the methamphetamines. And not in a Trampled-by-Turtles-manic-ethos kind of energy. The sitting-around-an-oil-lamp-in-the-freezing-winter-laughing-so-hard-one-of-your-tooths-falls-out kind of energy. Like the Avetts, Boomswagglers hang vivid contemporary narratives and modern imagery on the hooks of old gospel, country and bluegrass standards. However, If the Avetts are defined by INTIMACY then Boomswagglers are IMMEDIACY. It is an immediacy that is starkly defined by the splintery nature of the recording and reinforced by the name of the band, the record and marketing in toto. Everything about the package tells you to expect something raw, seedy and untamed.

“Jim & Jack” is a profanity-laced blue ballad laid over the bones of Johnny Cash’s ‘A Boy Named Sue’ - Or it could be an ‘R’ rated Ray Stevens song. One is forced to immediately consider whether the rawness and lewdness is meant to be comical or poignant. I believe it’s a bit of both. ‘Mornin’ Pills’ threatens to honestly confront the listener with a serious expression and ‘Wilco Blues’ continues this theme of the earnest confessional in a convincing and fulfilling way.

The final track threw me a little. ‘Run You Down’ starts out with a very upfront kik and guitar in direct contrast with the rest of the record which was very vocal-heavy. At first, I was confused by the drastic change in sound and feared it was a change in production style. Perhaps they were going to lift the curtain and show us a traditionally produced track? But then the vocals came in, still overloaded but buried way back in the back. Scooping the middle out of everything and preserving the continuity of the record as a whole while introducing a small element of shape to the dynamics at the very end. It’s easy to miss that this song seems to be about the singer running a woman over with his car over because she was in love with another man.

Despite the dark themes and contemplative turn towards the end, there is an obvious tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek approach to the entire endeavor. This often comes as a necessity with production like this because I believe the artist compensates for the inherent balance that the listener needs to appreciate it. The listener's mind must be framed to accept that this is an ‘off the cuff’, ‘work with what we have’, ‘just fucking around’, ‘one-take’ kind of production. The easiest way to do that is to begin with a spat of ‘novelty’ sounding songs that stomp the boots and then turn ever so slightly to face the listener and say ‘can I be real with you for a moment?’. It makes for an enjoyable and powerful moment. Not to belabor the Avett connection but 4 Thieves gone gets right to the heart of this in terms of how production choices affect listener engagement. That record begins with a very raw seedy track that would be at home on this Boomswaggler record and then immediately turns to face the listener and becomes very sincere. Boomswagglers wait just a bit longer and when they do turn to face you, their face is still a bit in the shadow.

If you allow your ears to acclimate to the piercing atmosphere of this record, a lot of depth can be found. From how the percussion and bass get laid into the mix or the flangy/ping-pongy ethereal curtain behind ‘Wilco Blues’ is especially beautiful.

I didn’t do any research so for all I know this is a ‘joke’ band of some kind made up of superheroes. It wouldn’t surprise me. The songwriting is on point, the performances are essentially flawless, and the production is not near as sloppy as it pretends to be. The total effect is that I believe this music is not only completely authentic but also authentically complete. It sounds like 2 or 3 guys and there may have been overdubs, but if you told me it was actually recorded in an open-air shack by a couple of dudes with a 4track, 2 mics, a woodstove and too much beer. I would not doubt you for a second.


That is all that matters.

To hear what I was doing around this same time, check this LINK which is as close as I could get to the aforementioned 'Goo Grass'. Check out my cousin's fledgling journey down this same jagged path HERE