Railroad Earth
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Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of
progressive bluegrass Bluegrass music is a Music genre, genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has r ...
, folk, rock,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
and other Americana influences. Recognized as "carrying on the tradition of improvisational, genre-spanning music laid forth by the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
," Railroad Earth is known for lyrical songwriting and extensive live improvisation. The band takes its name from the
Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...
prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...
"October in the Railroad Earth". The band also has a song of the same name.


History

The band was originally formed in 2001, and was composed of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Todd Sheaffer, violinist/vocalist Tim Carbone, mandolinist John Skehan, multi-instrumentalist Andy Goessling, drummer/vocalist Carey Harmon, and bassist Dave Von Dollen. Though each member was aware of one another, it was only Todd, Tim, and Andy who had played together. Tim, had joined Todd's band From Good Homes on stage, in addition Tim and Andy having a 20-year friendship through their former bands, The Blue Sparks From Hell, and
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
rock outfit Kings in Disguise. When rehearsals of original music, mostly written by Sheaffer, began occurring, the band soon realized that something musically unique was happening. After three weeks of rehearsing, they went into a local recording studio to track a five-song demo. Recorded live with no overdubs except backing vocals, this untitled demo set Railroad Earth's career in motion. Within a week, they landed a slot at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, an appearance that was only the new band's tenth as Railroad Earth. The previous nine gigs had been little more than warm-ups at small North Jersey bars and Elks lodges and a couple of support slots for regional bands. Realizing immediately how strong the initial five-song demo was, the band decided to return to the same studio to cut another five tracks to complete an album for release in time to debut at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. In early April 2001, the band tracked another five songs, and '' The Black Bear Sessions'' was completed. It was released to the public in June 2001, just one week before their appearance at Telluride. That album contains what are still some of the most popular songs in Railroad Earth's repertoire, including "Seven Story Mountain," "Head" and, of course, "Railroad Earth." The band was approached by Sugar Hill Records after seeing their performance at Telluride. Right after their show, Railroad Earth was offered a record deal on the spot. In June 2002, Railroad Earth released its follow-up album on Sugar Hill titled '' Bird in a House'', featuring such enduring songs as "Like A Buddha," "Mighty River," and the album's title track. Throughout that year Railroad Earth's touring schedule increased dramatically and their growing fanbase began to emerge as something tangible to promoters, radio stations and other media. They were garnering raves for their unique sound and exciting live shows and had become a staple act on the line-up of any roots, folk or jam-band festival. Their fans, who were now calling themselves "Hobos," began to grow quickly in number, and the venues were getting larger along with them. In late March 2003, Dave Von Dollen was replaced by Atlanta-based bassist Johnny Grubb. The following year, the band released its third studio effort, '' The Good Life'', featuring "Storms", "Mourning Flies" and "Goat". The band continued to tour throughout the country, and its first live album, '' Elko'', was issued in late January 2006. They performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on September 15, 2007. The band's fourth studio album, titled ''Amen Corner'', was released on June 10, 2008. The album features songs such as "Been Down This Road," "Hard Livin'," " The Forecast," and "
Lovin' You "Lovin' You" is a song recorded by American singer Minnie Riperton from her second studio album, '' Perfect Angel'' (1974). It was written by Riperton and her husband, Richard Rudolph, produced by Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, and released as the ...
." On November 11, 2009, Grubb announced his departure from the band after Railroad Earth's New Year's Eve run of shows in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. In February 2010, Andrew Altman of the
Codetalkers A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge ...
and Blueground Undergrass was named as his successor. The band's self-titled, fifth album was released on Oct 12, 2010. The album featured new songs from Todd Sheaffer including "Jupiter and the 119" and " Too Much Information" plus an 11-minute instrumental, written by John Skehan, "Spring-Heeled Jack." It is the second-longest studio track to date for the band. In February 2013 Railroad Earth performed at the Jefferson Theatre at the University of Virginia, and at Workplay in Birmingham, Alabama. On January 14, 2014, Railroad Earth released their seventh album, ''Last of the Outlaws'', to rave reviews from media and fans alike. It featured the 21-minute-long "suite" of "All That's Dead May Live Again" and "Face With a Hole" both written by Todd Sheaffer, and featured instrumental movements written by John Skehan In the tour that followed Railroad Earth headlined Red Rocks for the second time, selling out, and with the help of the Mile High Horns (arranged by Jay Rattman). The result can be seen on the DVD ''Live at Red Rocks''. Railroad Earth backed
Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...
on February 3, 2015 for a taping of the PBS series ''Front and Center'' for airing in May 2015. There were also studio Haynes tracks recorded with Railroad Earth. In May 2018, Railroad Earth released a 7" vinyl EP in collaboration with the
John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
estate called ''Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters''. The project included lyrics penned by
John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
with music composed by Todd Sheaffer and performed by Railroad Earth. The album was released on Earth Day and a portion of proceeds went to benefit Youth Climate Strike in honor of both artists commitment to the environment. The members of Railroad Earth have also released numerous solo albums. In 2009, Skehan released a duet album with mandolinist Todd Collins, performing the eighteenth-century Italian sonatas of Emanuele Barbella. In 2010 Carbone co-founded the jamband supergroup The Contribution with Keith Moseley and Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident along with Jeff Miller and Phil Ferlino of New Monsoon. Carbone has also produced albums by many bands, including Greensky Bluegrass and
Great American Taxi Vince Herman is a bluegrass guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for being one of the founding members of the band Leftover Salmon. Biography Herman began playing guitar as a child. He discovered David Bromberg & his Big Band while in ...
. In 2015 Carbone contributed to '' Waywords and Meansigns'', a collaborative project setting James Joyce's ''
Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...
'' to music. Andy Goessling (born Andrew James Goessling on February 5, 1959) died of cancer on October 12, 2018, at age 59, as announced by the band. After a succession of special guests throughout 2019, the band has settled on a new touring ensemble featuring Matthew D. Slocum on keyboards and Mike Robinson on pedal steel, banjo, and guitar. Railroad Earth entered the studio in 2019 to record 2022 album ''All For the Song''. Andrew Altman announced his departure from Railroad Earth at the end of November, 2022. The bassist’s final shows with the group took place during their Horn O’Plenty event in Stroudsburg, PA on November 25 and 26. Just prior to their appearance a
Strings & Sol
2023, Railroad Earth announced tha
Dave Speranza
would be joining them as their new bassist.


Personnel

;Current members *Todd Sheaffer – guitar, harmonica, vocals, (2001–present) *Tim Carbone – violin, accordion, electric guitar, vocals (2001–present) *John Skehan – mandolin, bouzouki, piano, banjo, vocals (2001–present) *Carey Harmon – drums, hand percussion, vocals (2001–present) *Dave Speranza – acoustic bass, electric bass, vocals (2022–present) ;Touring Members *Mike Robinson - Acoustic guitar, steel pedal, banjo (2019-) * Matthew Slocum - Keyboards (2018-) ;Former members *Dave Von Dollen – bass, vocals (2001–2003) *Johnny Grubb – bass, vocals (2003–2009) *Andy Goessling – acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, dobro, mandolin, flute, pennywhistle, bass clarinet, percussion, clarinet, lap steel, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, vocals (2001–2018; his death) *Andrew Altman – acoustic bass, electric bass, vocals (2010–2022)


Discography


Albums


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control American bluegrass music groups Jam bands Musical groups from New Jersey