Read the Album Review - St. Paul Town

Most of my life (except for a thankfully brief period around ages 18-19), I have considered modern country music a genre to be avoided like the plague. The sappy, simplistic lyrics, the predictable chords, and the cookie-cutter, matching clothing just grated on my nerves.

Very recently though, I have discovered several groups that have gone back to the authentic styles of AmErikan roots music (whether it be country, folk, or blues) and are now producing truly original music within the confines of the genre, while avoiding the cheesiness of the "young country" movement.

The Urban Hillbilly Quartet is a prime example of such a band.

The UHQ hails from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and has been playing together in one incarnation or another since 1992. They play a hybrid kind of music that defies easy description, having been dubbed everything from roots-rock/alt country to hillbilly/rock/jazz with a little polka mixed in.

Despite the labeling confusion, the music has gained quite a following in the local, Twin Cities coffeehouse circuit during the last few years. The Urban Hillbillies may even be going on a national tour in the near future (or possibly international, as their label Fundamental Records has talked of sending them to Europe). Their music has also gained them critical acclaim in many local music publications in their area, an appearance on a Wisconsin Public Radio show, several local television appearances, and even the 1999 Minnesota Music Award for "Best Bluegrass Recording." (For what it's worth, though, I don't think they're very close to Bluegrass.)

I first got to hear this strange mishmash of Yankee/backwoods song at Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois, where the Quartet played to an audience of over a thousand. By the end of the set, the majority of the audience (most of whom were probably hearing The UHQ for the first time) was dancing in total glee to this utterly enjoyable music.

Being caught up in the pervading glee myself, I had to find out more. So I caught up with Erik Brandt (acoustic guitar, vocals, accordion, harmonica, jawharp, hammond organ, piano, mandolin, and tin whistle) after the show. He quickly rounded up any band members within earshot, and we all retreated to a little dressing room behind the stage. The room was about the size of a large walk-in closet, and by the time we got Erik, Greg Tippett (bass, bass on a stick), Milo (washboard), Beth Turner (vocals), and Sena Thompson (making her debut that night on fiddle) into the room, it was a tight fit.

As much as I hated to ask the stereotypical question, I had to know. "How did you choose your name?" (I was really wondering, "How can you be urban and hillbilly at the same time, and why are there more than four of you?")

Erik responded, "Actually, I picked the name. I just tried to think of the music I liked. Urban is kind of rock, hillbilly is hillbilly, and quartet is jazz. When you put 'em all together you get us."

But aren't there more than four of you? "Yeah it's really seven (tonight) . . . it's hillbilly math," Erik acknowledges laughingly. Well, how many people normally play? "Three to eight. We're almost always within two or three of eight. There's never really four. It's really rare that there's only four of us."

Another question that came up was why the band chose to play this style of music. "It's just what happened," Erik says simply. "Greg loved progressive music and classical, and I liked hillbilly stuff and jazz. He and I were both enrolled in folk music … it's just what happened."

The individual band members cite a variety of musical influences ranging from the Vigilantes of Love and the "great washboard players of the 40's and 50's" to even classical music and the 77's. This musical diversity can be heard in their music, yet the band does a good job of not veering too far from their rootsy approach to music. I never thought I would hear a sitar (a stringed instrument from India) in hillbilly music, but it works!

The UHQ's dream right now is to pay the bills and to be able to live off just what the band makes. As Erik confesses, "We're a music junkie band." And you can see this band's passion for their music in their live performance, as well as hearing it in their lovingly-produced albums. Overall, the Quartet's music is truly a delight to hear, and their authenticity and genuineness make them worthy of the attention they are receiving.

Sidenote: Since my interview with the band, they have just released their new album Beautiful Lazy. Be watching EXIT during the next months for a review of the album. It is available for order from CDnow.