Biography

By successfully parlaying an extensive knowledge of bluegrass music with major elements of jazz and Southern rock, Blueground Undergrass has forged a unique, new listening experience, one rooted in the essentials of great American genres. Their Landslide Records debut, Faces, represents a strong culmination of the band’s lengthy musical experience as well as its legendary live shows.

Formed originally in 1998 by Jeff Mosier, Blueground Undergrass has developed a solid reputation and nationwide following by playing its multi-faceted music mix coast-to-coast. The band has always been known for exciting performances and eclectic arrangements. Its sonic “wall of twang type sound” pleases the whole spectrum of fans from hippies to cloggers to rockers, taking Blueground Undergrass to the brink of almost moshpit energy, yet guiding each show with song-driven clarity along the way.

Blueground Undergrass consists of Mosier (banjo, vocals), David Blackmon (fiddle, mandolin), Matthew Williams (guitars, vocals), Francisco Fattoruso (bass) and Matt Cowley (drums). Faces, the band’s fourth album, showcases its high-energy bluegrass hybrid style, which leaves plenty of room for improvisation. Special guests include Col. Bruce Hampton (Aquarium Rescue Unit) on pedal steel, Jimmy Herring (Phil Lesh & Friends, Allman Brothers Band) on guitar and Gary “El Buho” Gazaway on trumpet. In addition to eight scintillating originals, Faces serves up first rate cover songs by Guy Clark (“Dublin Blues”), Ralph Stanley (“Clinch Mountain Backstep”), Bill Danoff (“Potter’s Wheel”) and Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter (“Black Muddy River”).

A veteran of the jam band scene, Jeff Mosier has consistently remained on the cutting edge of experimental music. He was a founding member of Col. Bruce Hampton's original Aquarium Rescue Unit, and over the years, has performed on stage with Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers Band, Leftover Salmon and Phish. In 2002, he played banjo on Leftover Salmon's first tour after the tragic loss of banjoist Mark Vann. Mosier toured with Phish in 1994, prompting “The Phish Companion” to state: “Perhaps no guest artist has had as great an influence on the band's history as the Reverend Jeff Mosier.”

David Blackmon’s world-class fiddle playing has also been recognized by a number of notable bands, including Widespread Panic, who utilized his talents on the group’s Space Wrangler and Ain’t Life Grand albums. Guitarist Matthew Williams, who joined the band in mid-2004, provides a rock influence that plugs naturally into Blueground’s original musical vision and journey. The group’s stellar rhythm section, Fattoruso and Cowley, present a well-schooled combination of styles. Mosier says it best: “I’ve always dreamed of having the optimal rhythm section. With Matt and Francisco this one is World, Folk, Urban, and Future all at once....plus they play their butts off.”

Mosier and Williams share original songwriting and lead singing credits on Faces, and the combination adds new dimensions to the band’s style. “Having another writer in the group has definitely enhanced our repertoire, and Matthew’s lead vocals allow me to stretch out as a background singer as well,” said Mosier. “I missed singing harmonies more than I ever realized.” The two styles dovetail seamlessly as Faces moves along.

The CDs title track, a plaintive, thought provoking Mosier composition, sets the album’s opening tone, which leads into a virtually definitive version of Guy Clark’s classic “Dublin Blues.” Williams’ exuberant “In This Life” and funky “Our Feet” follow as the band’s knack for cranking out infectious, and occasionally surprising, grooves takes hold. Mosier shows prodigious vocal chops on the almost symphonic sounding “Clock Goes On,” which is sandwiched between the mood altering Williams tunes, “Feel At Home” and “Like Discovering The Ocean.” Two highly distinctive covers, “Potter’s Wheel” and the foot stomping “Clinch Mountain Backstep,” flow into a mind-bending “Ole Love Ole Tune,” featuring Mosier’s former bandmates, Herring and Hampton. “Coming back together with Col. Bruce and Jimmy was wonderful. Hopefully, we found that old love and old tune which kept us wanting more in the ARU days,” Mosier commented. The CD closes with a poignant version of the Grateful Dead standard, “Black Muddy River.”

Faces was produced by Jeff Mosier and co-produced by Ben Holst, who also added lap steel, Hammond organ, and harmony vocals.

Speaking recently of Blueground’s sound Mosier said, “I never want our music to lose the tradition of the porch no matter how much remodeling was done to the house over time.” The band will continue in that spirit and tradition by re-creating old Blueground Undergrass originals, “rocking out” bluegrass standards, and by introducing new songs and sounds to their live shows.

For sure, Blueground Undergrass will be doing what they have always done best, which is to provide every audience with an energetic and unforgettable live show of great music. And with the superb studio offering that is Faces, the band is poised to take on a whole new set of devoted listeners.