On The Verge

Railroad Earth (Relix Revisited)

We look back to November 1999 when Railroad Earth appeared in our On The Verge section…

Northwestern NJ
www.railroadearth.com

One of the hottest bands that played the summer festival circuit this year was Railroad Earth. The group played Telluride, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and the High Sierra Music Festival, as well a slew of club and theater gigs. Not bad for an unknown band! The band has created an incredible buzz, which makes sense when you learn that it’s fronted by Todd Sheaffer from the underrated and sadly missed From Good Homes. In addition to Sheaffer, the band consists of five seasoned and incredible players, all from Pennsylvania and western New Jersey bands—Tim Carbone on violin and vocals; John Skehan on acoustic guitar and vocals; Andy Goessling on acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and dobro; Carey Harmon on drums and vocals; and Dave Von Dollen on upright acoustic bass.

The players knew each other for years before forming the band, and after just one rehearsal, they knew they had something special. Railroad Earth combines elements of bluegrass, rock, country, jazz and Celtic into soaring improvisational-based music. Proving that the spontaneous things in life are often the best is the band’s debut album, The Black Bear Sessions (BOS), recorded mostly live with no overdubs, which was only intended to be a demo. “We started out jamming in a barn, playing the music we love,” said Todd Sheaffer. The end result was so good that the band decided to put it out as its debut, and what a gem it is. Aside from adventurous and inventive playing, it is Sheaffer’s songs and the band’s great vocals that grab your attention. If you took classic “newgrass,” a splash of Donna the Buffalo, a bit of String Cheese Incident and mixed it with sparkling, original tunes, a good-time vibe and an abundance of energy, you’d get a clue as to what this band sounds like. Expect big things from these guys.