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Artist
South Austin Jug Band
12+ albums
bluegrassaustinamericanatexasAlt-country
about
Let’s just get it out of the way right now: There’s no jug-playing in the South Austin Jug Band. And the bluegrass connotation that name carries should be spilled down the drain along with any other moonshine-preconceived notions. Sure, there’s fiddle, mandolin, an upright bass … but there’s also drumming, occasional electric guitar and even digital looping. And Beck. The band’s latest album, Strange Invitation, gets its title from a lyric in Mr. Hansen’s 1997 charmer, “Jackass,” the only cover on this 11-song collection. Comparisons, if they must be made, might meander more toward a low-intensity Grateful Dead (which, it should be noted, started out as a real jug band) or something with an even more melodic and laid-back vibe. Lead singer/acoustic guitarist James Hyland, whose tenor redefines mellow, would be quite happy if you’d just go with “bitchin’ tunes.” “It’s the most accessible record we’ve made,” he says of the band’s third release, struggling somewhat to further clarify its style. “But it still has some of that whole acoustic — I’m not gonna use the word newgrass; throw that out the window — but that sort of progressive acoustic. …” He pauses, then finally admits, “It’s hard to come up with adjectives.” Indeed it is. But “progressive acoustic” will do to define the far-beyond-bluegrass instrumentals “Trek of Beandip Perkins” and “Po’ Boys in the Glovebox,” in which Dennis Ludiker’s mandolin takes a Bela-Fleck-lead-banjo role and Brian Beken’s fiddle answers ri
