On The Verge

Dead Winter Carpenters

Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Bluegrass Rock and Roll
www.deadwintercarpenters.com

It would be easy to write Dead Winter Carpenters off as another hybrid bluegrass act. Yet, this Northern California combo’s high-energy output sparked by a full-kit drummer, electric guitarist and an upright bassist (that doubles on electric) sets it apart from the crowd. “It’s melding bluegrass and rock,” says guitarist/vocalist Jesse Dunn. “We introduced the drums and added a rock and roll flavor.” The five-piece, which recently released Ain’t It Strange, nimbly updates classic bluegrass and fiddle tunes with crafty songwriting and impressive playing over and among various intertwined genres that drift into Grateful Dead jams, alt-country, reggae and even hip-hop. All this makes for a rowdy, fun, kick-up-the-heels live experience as the band follows improvisational impulses in fleshing out established songs or just cuts loose with scorching guitar leads, blistering fiddle romps and breakneck drum solos—decidedly not your typical bluegrass fare. If anything, DWC are more like alt-bluegrass pioneers New Grass Revival. “We’re not trying to hold ourselves to any particular candle,” Dunn adds. “We’re just trying to do our own thing.”