Green Mountain Grass
The four band members in GREEN MOUNTAIN GRASS are Dave Wilmoth (29, mandolin), Adam "Pickles" Moss (24, fiddle), Trevor Smith (18, banjo/guitar), and Jesse Dalton (25, upright bass). Together, they are folding together the sounds of traditional bluegrass, gypsy swing, folk, funk, reggae, and jazz to create their own stew of so-called gonzograss. In the spirit of the late-great gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and inspired by the most vital endeavors in life, gonzograss is described by the band as “melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic mastery with heavy elements of sarcasm, quotes, humor, and exaggeration.” Bassist Jesse Dalton goes further to call it “a self-induced psychedelic frenzy of quick-witted talent as seen from the other side of the musical looking-glass.”
The gonzograss approach to music does a lot for the band’s sound, as well as explains their appeal. The combination of intimate acoustic instrumentation and adventurous free-spirited improvisation allows the band to be equally compelling no matter where they are. Whether they are in front of an attentive listening-room audience, on a tall stage playing to a throng of sun-baked festival-goers, or in a local venue orchestrating a gonzograss dance party for their fans, something exciting and inspiring is always being created.
Originally hailing from the Midwest’s grass-roots-music hub, Champaign-Urbana, IL where they passed licks around front porch picking circles with folks that would go on to join Yonder Mountain String Band, Cornmeal, Leftover Salmon, and the How to Grow a Band, GMG has been picking their way into the acoustic bluegrass jam scene since 2001. That seems to have become much easier for them since they relocated in 2006 to Austin, TX with its reputation for live music. Since their move they have added Jesse Dalton, of San Marcos, TX and Trevor Smith, of Tucson, AZ, to their lineup and have maintained a frenetic tour schedule that keeps them moving from coast to coast. “We love being home,” says Dave Wilmoth, “but touring is really the only way to play for all the audiences we want to be in front of.” Eighteen-year-old banjo phenomenal Trevor Smith loves the adventures of being on the road too, but laments the fact that “we haven’t really gotten a chance to explore the rest of the galaxy yet.”
GMG has been playing well over 200 shows a year, most of which are on the road and a vast majority of which are within this solar system. In that time they consider themselves fortunate to have shared the stage with Hot Buttered Rum String Band, Billy Bright and the Two High String Band, Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band, Tony Furtado, Dubconscious, and have opened for acts such as the legendary Wailers, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Leftover Salmon, Peter Rowan, and Jazz Mandolin Project. They have also managed to appear on dozens of radio shows across the country, and have lent their talents to numerous benefits supporting causes they believe in.
Having recently acquired a small hard-working crew to assist them with their road shows, they look forward to continuing to tour in support of their album “Both Sides of the Mountain” as well as returning to the Zone Recording Studio in Dripping Springs, TX to focus on a new album that should be released in winter of 2007.