Yonder Mountain String Band is in a constant forward motion. The “progressive bluegrass” band from Colorado continues to grow in every sense of the word. 2017 has already seen the releases of a live DVD from Stubbs BBQ in Austin Texas, and will soon see the release of a live album along with a brand new studio album. Recently we caught up with guitarist Adam Aijala to talk about his first best song, playing to the crowd and finding his tone.
Blank: The new DVD, ‘Live at Stubbs BBQ’ dropped on January 24. Yonder plays so many shows every year, what made this stick out to the point of, “We need to release this.”
A.A. (Laughing) “That came out yesterday? That’s funny. I didn’t even know that. Back in the day, we did a bunch of live albums called ‘Mountain Tracks’ and we just mastered one when I was home. It’s coming out in the next month or so. And then in Summer, we’ve got a new studio album. We’re hoping to get mastering done when we get back from this tour. I have a February 26 date on the calendar for mastering and that’s for the new studio album. So I didn’t even realize that came out. That’s funny.”
Blank: In a recent interview with Live For Live Music you said, “When I first started, everything I wrote was absolute crap.” What was the first song that you wrote that your realized, this is going to be something?
A.A. “The first time that I knew that I was on to something was probably “Left Me in a Hole.” I wrote that in 1994, so a long time ago. People are always amazed when you say ‘I wrote this song in a half an hour.’ That definitely doesn’t mean that you’ve got a good song. Sometimes you get lucky. Most of the time, I take a lot of time to write music. This was one where I wrote it relatively quickly and it turned out great. I don’t advise that for young people just starting to write. Even now, I get ideas and am like, ‘this is going to be really great.’ (Laughing) And then I’ll sit on it for a week and think ‘Nah, not that good.’
“I’ve written songs, one is on Black Sheep and one is on the new record, where I had this idea for an ending. And it’s funny that they are both endings. I wanted to end the song a certain way, and I was hell bent on it. I wasn’t saying it to them, but I was thinking it. And those guys were like , ‘What about this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah. That actually works. I like it.’ You’re bound to get a better song if you remove your ego. I’ve heard it said before, ‘We get paid to travel. We play for free.’ We love playing music. Yonder’s always been about having fun, for us and the fans. It’s supposed to be light-hearted, even if the lyrics are not. And that’s part of the reason I like to go see live music so much. In that moment, there is nothing but what is coming out of those speakers and happening on the stage.”
Blank: Being on the road, getting into gear becomes a second nature. Anything new instrument wise that you’re really digging?
A.A. My main guitar is an ’04 Collins D1. I play this one predominately. I have another D1 that is four years newer. It’s the same model, but the pickup may be a hair newer. I got some new gear over the last year that I’m pretty happy with. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Grace Design. They make a great preamp. They make a travel one called a FELiX that’s a two channel stereo preamp. I actually get three signals out of it because I bought a Fishman Aura, which is a mic and instrument modeler. It’s a pickup signal, but its modeled after a guitar going through a microphone. It’s the coolest design, especially for people who don’t like the tone of a pickup on an acoustic guitar, which most bluegrassers do not. I got both the Grace and the Aura in the last year. I just use the Aura in my ears. But no new instruments. As much as I would love to buy them.”
Blank: There is a stigma from some musicians, whenever they play Nashville, and it’s mostly because they know that there are a lot of really talented musicians watching them closely, that makes them feel like they have to play perfectly. Is there a place on tour that conjures that feeling for you?
A.A. “In the past, it has. We play Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and this will be our eighteenth year, our seventeenth on the main stage. I used to always get nervous for that. All of your musician friends, or not friends, are there. When we first started playing together is when I first started learning flat picking and bluegrass. I wasn’t really doing it before, just learning. There was a time when I thought, ‘I’m going to be as good as Tony Rice or David Grier’ and then one day I woke up and I wasn’t. What I mean by that is that I came to the realization that I am not going to be like them and it’s cool. I’m gonna do what I do and not compare myself to anyone. And I have way more fun that way. I don’t worry about it now at all. Everybody worries in life, but no good comes out of worrying. (Laughing) I want to just laugh my way through everything. And when we have other guitar players come up who are more proficient than I am, I love it. It’s a cool thing to hear someone shred.”
Yonder Mountain String Band Tour Dates
YMSB hosts pre-show soundcheck hangouts at select venues along the Winter Tour 2017. The exclusive pre-game hangouts will take place at the following shows: The Plaza Live (Orlando, FL: Feb. 8), Jannus Live (St. Petersburg, FL: Feb 10), The Tabernacle (Atlanta, GA: Feb. 11), The Joy Theater (New Orleans, LA: Feb. 16), Stubb’s Bar-B-Q (Austin, TX: Feb. 17), and House of Blues (Dallas, TX: Feb. 18). The VIP ticket will include attendance to Yonder’s soundcheck, a meet & greet plus a photo opportunity with the band, a limited edition signed poster, along with early entry to the show and VIP seating (varies between venues). Additional details are available on yondermountain.com/tour
