There's no way to back the Waybacks into a musical corner.
The San Francisco band, which will be in concert Sunday night at Mickey Finn's Pub with JT & the Clouds, skedaddles all over the musical map. And they'll challenge listeners to keep up with them as they leap from bluegrass to blues to jazz.
The five-man band features Stevie Coyle on finger-style and rhythm guitar and vocals; James Nash on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; Joe Kyle, Jr., on standup bass and vocals; Chojo Jacques on fiddle, mandolin, nose flute, and vocals, and Chuck Hamilton on drums and percussion.
But just because the Waybacks pack a fiddle, mandolin, and the occasional nose flute, it doesn't mean the group stays around the bluegrass end of the musical spectrum very long.
Sure, they'll crank up a flat-out, flat-pickin' John Fahey instrumental like "Last Steam Engine Train," but they'll follow it with a traditional blues number such as the Rev. Gary Davis' "Hesitation Blues," and jump right into the bebop jazz frenzy of "Scrapple from the Apple" by Charlie "Bird" Parker.
The Waybacks know that the world feels compelled to pin a label on any and all musical entities, so Coyle kindly offers the term "acoustic mayhem" to describe their music, which, he explains, "is a groovy little term that really means nothing."
Other attempts at labeling the Waybacks have included "musical mongrels," new grass, jam grass, western swing, Americana, and jug band. None of them really work, though, because the Waybacks are just too independent, adventurous, and talented to be pinned down.
The eclectic group has released three discs, "Devolver" (2000), "Burger After Church" (2002), and "Way Live" (2003), and has performed at such prestigious music festivals as the Kerrville Folk Fest, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, and Merle-
fest, as well as shows at the Ark in Ann Arbor, the Knitting Factory in New York, and the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage.
Also performing tomorrow night will be JT & the Clouds, the trio comprising former Toledoans Jeremy Lindsay on guitar and percussion, Drew Lindsay on guitar, and Dan Abu-Absi on guitar and mandolin.
The eclectic trio, now based in Chicago, plays music with a country twang that echoes across the blues, gospel, and American roots music.
The group was formed in early 2002 and has released a CD, "Delilah," which showcases Jeremy Lindsay's knack for lyrical insights and melodic magic.
The Waybacks and JT & the Clouds perform at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Mickey Finn's Pub, 602 Lagrange St. Tickets are $10 at the door. Information: 419-246-3466.
Contact David Yonke at:
dyonke@theblade.com
or 419-724-6154
First Published May 28, 2004, 11:45 a.m.
