Bluegrass is an all American form of music, and its creation is credited to Bill Monroe (often known as “The Father of Bluegrass”) and his band The Blue Grass Boys. Traditional bluegrass bands generally involve banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and stand-up bass. Since our CloseUp System is ideal for amplifying, and isolating the natural sounds of acoustic instruments, we’re really interested in the bluegrass genre. Conveniently, one of our favorite spots here in Providence hosts what they call Bluegrass Throedown every Wednesday night. We’re talking about Nick-a-Nee’s, where the music is great, and there’s never a cover. Nick-a-Nee’s is also dog-friendly, so feel free to bring your pooch along for the fun!

Nick-a-Nee’s features both local, and touring artists for their weekly bluegrass night, and this week’s act has been playing live around the Northeast, Midwest, and the South since 1992. They call themselves Dyer Switch Band, and the group seriously exemplifies why we’re so excited about bluegrass. Not only are they a lively bunch bursting with energy, but we love their skillful pairing of acoustics, and embellished vocals.

The band features Nashville recording artist Bob Bates, Bruce Barker (who once played with a band who opened for Joan Jett!), JoAnn Sifo (who composed a song which topped European music charts), and Chris Schultz (formerly the lead banjo player for Flood Road). Dyer Switch Band has performed at festivals across the country including The Central Indiana Festival at Bean Blossom, the Tri-State Bluegrass Festival in Kendallville, Indiana, and the Stringbean Festival in Kentucky. They’ve also played at plenty of fairs, renowned coffee houses, and performed live on a number of radio shows. The group even had the opportunity to open up for Ralph Stanley.

Want a sneak preview to get you excited for Wednesday night? Check out the video below to see the energetic crew sing Sweet Blue Eye Darlin’ at their CD release concert two years back.

If you’re as excited about bluegrass as we are, and as eager to catch this bunch in action, come out next Wednesday night to Nick-a-Nee’s from 8:30 to 11:30. We’ll see you there!

But even with its long history, the PMO is by no means an ensemble guided solely by tradition. Under the direction of guitarist and mandolinist Mark Davis, a member since the 1970s and director since 1989, their repertoire covers all sorts of genres, from Renaissance classics to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” And there is no shortage of new music. Bob Margo, one of the PMO members, often arranges or commissions new pieces for the group.

Mandolins come in all shapes and sizes, analogous to instruments in a string orchestra. Mandolins, mandolas, and mandocellos make up the bulk of the ensemble. Within each section, the instruments vary in age and style. Mark explains the difference between the modern American and the older European designs: “The European instruments have a big round, lute-like back. But [Orville] Gibson designed an instrument with a carved top and a carved back, like a violin.” Gibson’s American mandolins borrow the violin’s F-hole design, while the European styles use a single oval hole, a design that originated from lutes.

In this composition by Owen Hartford, violinist Rachel Panitch performs a solo with the Providence Mandolin Orchestra in the Netherlands.

However they ended up here on this Tuesday night, mandolin in hand, exchanging smiles over their music stands, the musicians of the PMO couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Many have been with the ensemble for 30 years or more. “When you come into this group, it’s almost like you’re coming into a family,” says Mark. “It’s a real community.”

How long have you been working on this album?

The idea to pursue recording records as a thing to do got in my head when I was a senior in college. The first record I ever made was when I was a freshman in college, actually. So, I’ve been [recording] for a while, but this particular one started summer 2016.

As a self-recordist, what was the process like?

When I first started recording with the intention of making a record, I was basically in a little attic room in Providence, recording into a cell phone. I had no contacts, no studio, no equipment, very few resources to devote to it. All the equipment that I purchased to make the record I ended up selling to pay for mixing and mastering. So, I had no resources and no expectations except that I wanted to make a record.

Where did you record the album?

The piano, vocals, and some of the guitar were recorded in a studio. I ended up meeting an engineer, Seth Manchester, who works at “Machines with Magnets,” a recording studio, art gallery, and music venue in Pawtucket. Strings were recorded in a Bushwick basement in Brooklyn, NY. But the horns, woodwinds, bass, and maybe half of the guitars were recorded in my home studio.

How did you keep a consistent sound quality when recording in so many different places with different acoustics?

Part of the challenge was going into it knowing that it would end up being a collage-y thing. Everything was recorded individually and then overdubbed and mixed together. Were I advising somebody to do something like this, I would recommend that they use their ears to make sure that what they’re recording doesn’t assume the quality of the room. I think it’s important to treat your room with bass traps or Persian rugs or whatever in order to have the rooms acoustically similar.

What guitars do you play on this album?

I used 3 guitars primarily. One was a 1962 Gibson LG1, a student model from the 1960s, famously played by early Rockabilly musicians. And then I used a hollow-body electric guitar, an Epiphone Elitist Casino. And then a 1965 Guild Mark 2, a nylon string classical guitar, which is one I’ve had forever. That’s the guitar on which I wrote most of the songs.

Anything else that you want to add?

I think that people who are self-recordists have a tendency to focus too much on the gear they’re purchasing and the brand names. If you read magazines, they’ll tell you what mics to buy, what equipment you need, stuff like that. But it’s really not about what you can afford. It’s much more about your desire to do it and your ideas and your musicality. That’s much more important.