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Welcome to the Grass It Up media page, where you'll find some 3rd-party coverage of the band. Please view this page for upcoming appearances and past coverage.
Recent Media Coverage2/10/06 KKCS 104.5 2/14/06 KEPC 89.7 DOWN LOAD MP3 2/17/06 KOAA 5/30 - Grass It Up entertains Colorado Springs, live on the morning show 2/25/06 Jon Bross Wins the The 12th annual Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo cook-off Read Article 3/16/06 Grass It Up featured in the Colorado Springs Independent Read Article 7/22/06 Tommyknocker Times, Grass It Up at the Tommyknocker Festival 8/3/06 Summit Daily News, Grass It Up Feature, Keystone Bluegrass Festival (below) BY LESLIE BREFELD summit daily news August 3, 2006 Cover Lead: Grass It Up KEYSTONE - There aren't many pure bluegrass festivals left. And Keystone's Bluegrass and Beer Festival is following the trend. David Jeffrey of Grass It Up, who plays at 1 p.m. on Sunday, said his band is stuck in the middle between traditional and new grass - and described its music as "almost funk bluegrass." Grass It Up pleases crowds with bluegrass renditions of songs from Cake, Jimi Hendrix, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Pearl Jam and Willie Nelson among others. The addition of rock and punk stylings comes from the band members' own personal influences. Jeffrey said of the trio that bass player Jon Bross grew up playing in funk bands while guitar and banjo player Shannon Carr was versed in blues and rock 'n' roll. The Hickory Project, which kicks off the music at the festival Saturday, also attributes its crossover from pure traditional bluegrass to new grass to the musical influences of its members. Vocalist and fiddle player for the band, Sue Cunningham, described her background as influenced by jazz and swing. "I love listening to music from the '30s and '40s and '50s," she said. Mandolin player of The Hickory Project, Anthony Hannigan, brings in the rock band sound, while guitar player Danny Shipe plays for another band that only plays Grateful Dead tunes in the style of bluegrass. "We bend it (bluegrass) and twist it into something more contemporary," Cunningham said. The new grass evolution of bluegrass has been going on since the '70s and the likes of the New Grass Revival. The standard instrument lineup of upright bass, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and guitar now is seeing drums, more percussion and even electricity added. One of the organizers of the event, Mike O'Brien, said the Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival tends to attract people who are curious about bluegrass or are newly exposed to the genre. "We try to make it musically accessible to the average person that may not be entirely immersed in traditional bluegrass," he said. Josh Blanchard with the Keystone Neighbourhood Company said this is Keystone's most popular festival. Reasons for this probably include the presence of a beer-tasting with 33 breweries and Keystone restaurants catering their menus to the Appalachia theme, but there is also the enduring appeal of bluegrass. "I don't worry about trends doing away with the profession," Jeffrey of Grass It Up said. "Bluegrass has been around for decades and decades. There's a following for the music. "It traces so far back in time, it's easy for everyone to relate to and catch on to. You know when you're listening to bluegrass," Jeffrey continued. "Different bands have different sounds, but you still know it's bluegrass. In The Shade of The Oaks Grass It Up recently had the honor of opening up for The Oak Ridge Boys, the legendary Tennessee-based quartet who brought you Elvira, American Made and Leaving Louisiana, among decades of great hits. With the venue at capacity (Pike’s Peak Center), all was well as we had the pleasure of pickin’ backstage with their charismatic lead-man and banjo extraordinaire, Joe Bonsall. Stagefright however, hit me like a wrecking ball, as I broke a bass string 5 minutes before stage time, with no spare or back-up bass - that’s a mistake. I sprinted to their tour bus searching for a string or bass… and Jimmy & Chris came through instantly with a few laughs at the rookie and a beautiful hollow body electric acoustic. We played a few original songs, some Jimi, The Dead, but the biggest applauds came from Shannon’s yodelin’. The Oak Ridge Boys are a class act - hilarious, harmonic and backed by an extraordinary 5-piece band. Their performance was superb, and many, many thanks to The Oaks a great time! Our set list includes 70's Funk, Jimmy Hendrix, Steve Ray Vaughn, Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Bill Monroe, Jack Johnson, Allman Brothers, Thelonius Monk, Merle Haggard, Nickel Creek, and many original songs. All three members have contributed original material including Dig a Hole, Grass Is Green, Rodeo Friend, Modern Day Miracle, Whiskey on My Breath, Shades of Blue, Going to Colorado, and Several Memories Ago. Shannon Carr does a fine job playing lead guitar for Grass It Up. Shannon's playing can be compared to a mixture of Tony Rice, Steve Ray Vaughn, and Tim Reynolds. Shannon has composed several instrumentals that Grass It Up plays on a regular basis. Jon Bross plays Upright Bass and rhythm guitar. He is the marketing brains behind the band. He has worked in corporate marketing for over a decade and has really helped with the commercial success of the group. Jon grew up playing Funk in Wisconsin and brings that same sound and energy to Grass It UP. David Jeffrey should probably be considered the "motivating factor" that drives Grass It Up. He plays mandolin and guitar. Most people consider David to have a natural ability for song writing and musical expression. He wrote the words for "Grass Is Green" and then the band finished arranging the song. |
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