Durango’s Six Dollar String Band continues to be a local purveyor of a genre of music that out-dates us all.
The quartet has been playing old-time music locally for three years. While its instrumentation is considered bluegrass, Six Dollar’s style pre-dates Bill Monroe’s bluegrass. The band plays songs that served as dance music in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Six Dollar String Band is Brendan Shafer on banjo, Tony Holmquist on fiddle, Stephen Sellers on bass and Robin Davis filling in on guitar. Original guitar player Cyle Talley recently left the band to pursue grad school. Six Dollar String Band will perform Saturday at the Balcony Backstage.
Six Dollar is more than just a band that has learned songs written while Woodrow Wilson was in office. Members are experts on the style in a musical and historical sense, with the ability to tie the genre into more modern things. Time spent with the band recently included a discussion on their historical take on the genre, digging through Holmquist’s old-time record collection and a pleasant surprise of Shafer’s kid-like affection of his small and obscure stack of punk 7-inch records from the ‘80s and ‘90s, which was shared with the enthusiasm of a baseball card collector touting his rookie Hank Aaron.
The musicians’ infectious energy on stage is matched by their motivation. Their debut CD from 2014 is all but gone, Holmquist won the banjo contest last summer at the Colorado Rocky Mountain Old-Time Music Festival and 2015 is filling up with more dates and regional touring.
The band also remains original, combining older songs with new compositions while sticking to the genre. Something written next week can sound like it was written next week, or 80 years ago.
“I think each of us experiments with writing tunes and songs, but within the ‘old-time’ context. The idea is to interpret the tradition and keep the art form alive,” Holmquist said in an email interview. “It’s a folkloric thing. I’m not sure if public domain is always the best way to describe traditional or roots music, in many instances the sources are regional, individual or just too obscure. We add our own lyrics to old-time tunes and songs, and also embrace improvisation and experimentation within the melody.”
Band members are passionate about the style, from an audio and historical perspective.
“It’s such a melting pot of styles from all over the world, but has a dynamic, noticeable sound that is distinctly ‘old-time,’” Holmquist said. “Even in the modern day, it’s still a very raw and emotional style of music. On top of that we love the sound of claw-hammer banjo and fiddle together. Add upright bass and guitar and you have a full blown energy unit.”
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s best
Saturday: Old-time and bluegrass with Six Dollar String Band, 9 p.m., no cover, The Balcony Backstage, 600 Main Ave., 764-4083.
Sunday: Blue Moon Ramblers play bluegrass, 7 p.m., no cover, Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 375-7150.
