Porch pickin’, toe tappin’, whiskey guzzlin’ hooting and hollering. That’s what I envision when I close my eyes and listen to the sweet, down-home bluegrass tunes of RVA’s South Hill Banks.
Porch pickin’, toe tappin’, whiskey guzzlin’ hooting and hollering. That’s what I envision when I close my eyes and listen to the sweet, down-home bluegrass tunes of RVA’s South Hill Banks.
The five-member band’s own unique blend of progressive bluegrass roots with a little psychedelia thrown in is the perfect combination for a party which is just what they’re throwing with the premiere of their first record, Riverside Dr. at Isley this weekend.
Originally starting out as a trio, Lance Thomas (Guitar, Vox), Eric Horrocks (Mandolin, Vox) and Ryan Horrocks (Banjo, Vox) met in college with Eric and Lance attending Radford University and Ryan attending New River Community College.
“I met Ryan my freshman year, he came by my dorm room he was friends with my roommate,” said Thomas said.
And the idea for a band sparked after a jam session at a party according to Ryan.
“Eric threw me a surprise party, Lance came over and he was playing upright bass, we were playing “The Joker” and he started singing, and we were like, ‘yo, let’s start a band.”
Since last August, South Hill Banks has been carving a niche for themselves in this rich music town at small music venues like Cary St. Café, breweries and bigger festivals like Shade Fest in Maryland and RVA’s Shack Up Festival.
In February, Thomas said the band went to work on their nine-track album in his cousin’s studio, Lydian Sound in Atlanta.
“Ryan had already written some songs before we started playing together, we’ve written some together all that went into what we put in,” he said.
The name of the album Riverside Dr. comes from the road Ryan’s dad lives on near the Rappahannock River.
Ahead of the album release party, South Hill Banks has given us a little taste of what we can expect with the first single, “Travelin’ Home”, released on Spotify in July.
It starts out very upbeat with some good guitar pickin’ and the banjo comes in fairly quickly after that, letting you know you’re in a for a good time. It’s soothing and laid back, but would be a great song to get down to live in a smoke-filled room, drink in hand.
“I think everybody was out one night and I was just at home, by myself playing the banjo…the song is basically just the surroundings I was in at the time,” Ryan said describing “Travelin’ Home.:
One of my favorites of theirs, “Whiskey Woman”, is a good live fast-paced tune which will also be on the album.
Ryan, who’s been playing the banjo for seven years and writes many of the band’s songs, describes their sound as “porch pickin’-style progressive bluegrass.
“Eric brought out his M13 one day and started playing some crazy effects one day on the mandolin and Lance brought out the wah wah pedal, I actually have a little delay on my banjo that I use every once in a while. It’s definitely psychedelic at times,” he said.
Thomas chimed in and added they tend to lean more toward a psychedelic sound when they play live, feeding off the vibe of the crowd, but their album sticks to their traditional roots.
“The record is straight forward… our bluegrass sound, maybe folk and Americana,” he said.
The band mates rounded out their lineup with Dan Fiasconaro on electric guitar and Justin Doyle on bass a few months ago, making their dynamic mix of traditional folk with funky influences all the more appealing.
And although their influences range from The Grateful Dead to Phish to The Infamous Stringdusters, each member of South Hill Banks found their way to the music they’ve grown to love in one way or another.
Thomas, a Roanoke native, said his roots in bluegrass stem from a young age.
“My dad has always been a flat picker and played guitar,” he said. “I grew up going to see concerts with him…I used to run sound for a bluegrass band…I’ve always been into jam bands myself and I think that’s where some of the psychedelic comes in.”
For Eric, it took a bit to get him into bluegrass, but he said he can’t imagine himself going back.
“For me, I always listened to bluegrass but not as intense as I did starting five years ago,” he said. “I played the violin for six years. Started playing guitar in 7th grade and listening to Zeppelin, that’s what got me into the jam scene. Picked up mandolin a couple years ago. It’s a collaboration of a lot of different types of music which I think is key for what we’re doing.”
Ryan on the other hand, considers himself a “mountain man.”
“I just love the sound of natural acoustic music, like Yonder Mountain String Band and Doc Watson he’s a big influence,” he said. “I been playing the banjo for seven years and before then I played the drums which I think is where I get my rhythm from.”
Fiasconaro, a New Jersey transplant, discovered jam music in college and after tracing its roots and getting into The Grateful Dead there was no turning back.
“Jerry {Garcia} was a fantastic banjo player,” he said. “He used to be in jug bands and string bands and you realize where you’re finding your inspiration it all led itself back into this traditional roots music and that’s where I was like, ‘this is the foundation of what I love.'” “That’s when I decided instead of learning how to play wailing solos im going to play Waylon Jennings. I moved out here to pursue playing some bluegrass.”
South Hill Banks will celebrate their 50th show, and one year as a band Sept. 3 at Keegan’s Pub in Short Pump. They will also play Little’s Gems Music Festival in Harrisonburg Sept. 4, and Strangeways on Sept 24.
You can catch South Hill Banks for their CD Release Party at Isley on Saturday, Aug. 20. The brewery will be doing a collaboration beer release with them called the South Hill Banks Travelin’ Home Pale Ale.
Each Travelin’ Home beer purchase will get you a free download of the South Hill Banks single, “Travelin’ Home.” Joining the band, are members of Jouwala Collective & Friends. Music starts at 4:30 pm and South Hill Banks takes the stage at 6:30 pm.
