Yonder rambles on to CoMO

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Oct. 2, 2007

Banjo player Dave Johnston, of the Colorado-based progressive bluegrass quartet Yonder Mountain String Band, said he wants to assure audiences that even if they have seen the band at The Blue Note before, they should still expect some surprises.

"Our live show is two sets and it's usually pretty long, and we don't repeat ourselves," Johnston said. "So people who came to the last Blue Note show don't have to worry about hearing the same thing that they heard last time."

Johnston credited a number of influences in creating the band's progressive-but-down-to-earth grooves, from Dylan to Duran Duran. Among them were also "probably Earl Scruggs, any sort of kind of cheesy '80s pop from my childhood, although we don't do any of that," Johnston said.

Yonder Mountain String Band started when Johnston and mandolinist Jeff Austin began performing together in a band called The Bluegrassholes in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., where both attended school.

"The Bluegrassholes was the second band I was in, and Jeff was in that band as well," Johnston said. "It was just kind of a roadhouse, slug-'em-out-duke-'em-out bar band. It was pretty fun. We kind of carried over that kind of fun idea into this band."

The group disbanded as several of the members quit to start graduate school. Johnston decided to follow the musical path instead, noting some similarities between performing and his academic studies.

"I went to school for writing and English and stuff like that," Johnston said. "I thought of banjo playing for me as being an extension of those two things. It's just something that I was interested in, and it was something that you could do by yourself. And you have to perform, which is very different, of course, but I really liked bluegrass because of the lyrics and because of the stories and the kind of folkiness of the whole thing. I kind of saw the two as not the same, but roughly equivalent."

The band began its journey with its current ensemble in 1998 in Colorado. It continues to tour on its fifth studio album, a self-titled rock-oriented effort released in spring 2006.

Tom Rothrock, who has also recorded albums for James Blunt and the Foo Fighters, produced the album.

"I guess the biggest challenge was doing it in L.A. and having to go to L.A. to work on it," Johnston said. "Working with Tom was a real blast though. It was a real good time. We had a very high level of trust in his decisions and in what he wanted to do. His resume, I thought, kind of spoke volumes about his ability to really take something that maybe wouldn't be so popular and make it accessible for everyone."

The band has also found a successful home on the festival circuit.

"I think people call us a 'festival band' because we seem to generate a really good time and a good feeling with the crowd," Johnston said. "And it's a compliment to be playing festivals. There are a lot of great bands there. You all try to create this one great time, and we're always happy to be a part of that."

Sometimes, the "good time" Johnston spoke of can get a bit outrageous, even a little revealing.

"We had a naked guy jump on stage once," Johnston said. "We had some friends who were playing with us who weren't used to that sort of thing, and they were very, not scared, but taken aback. We had to explain that this happened quite a bit."

Nudity aside, Johnston expressed his gratitude toward the band's loyal fan base, citing them as an essential part of the communal concert atmosphere.

"We have a really cool community of people who love to come see us," Johnston said. "And it's a really good time. When the band and the audience get together, it's a transcendent thing, where it's not just the band, it's not just the audience, it's a really unique experience."