Welcome to Monmouth monthly. A peek into the heart of the Willamette Valley. Each month we will bring you updates of the things happening in and around town brought to you by the people who helped make it happen. I am your host Sabra Jewell
And welcome back to another episode of Monmouth monthly. I am tickled pink today to welcome my guests who I have lovingly dubbed the house band of Monmouth and they are Tuesday String Band. They are a trio of musicians, they are Western Oregon University students and graduates of Western Oregon University. And I am pleased to have them - they're going to be performing a couple of times this summer at some of our concert series. And they are playing all around town all through the Pacific Northwest, the mid Willamette Valley and beyond. And I'm excited to have them tell you more about it. So Welcome guys to the podcast.
Glad to be here.
So our audience, I'd love for them to be able to match your voices and your name. So I'm gonna go around the table and have the guys introduce themselves and say what instrument they play. So Gage go first,
I'm Gage and I play the guitar and I sing.
I'm Ryan, I play the mandolin and sing.
I'm Carson, I'm on upright bass, and I hit some of those harmonies sometimes.
So you guys have been playing together for how many years as a band.
Oh, man, we might be close to the year and a half mark.
Okay, so only a year and a half, you have managed to get a lot done in a year and a half
Yeah, me and me and Ryan had been playing together a little longer. We met when I was a freshman at Western. So that was while I'm a senior now. So like three or four years ago. And we played a couple tunes together. And then I went back to Alaska for a year. And I came back and then that's when we formed this trio.
Yes, he returned a transformed man.
That's right.
How so how did Alaska transform you? They returned home
Ryan, why don't you answer that question?
Well, he came back hairier, and he had a pair of antlers. But really seriously, though, he came back a pretty strong bluegrass guitar picker.
Yeah, Ryan fed me the Bluegrass bug. And it stuck with me, even as I left and went back to Alaska. And then I came back here and like, hey, let's play some bluegrass. I was mostly playing jazz and classical saxophone. And then I was going through a little indie rock phase on guitar. That was kind of my guitar thing. But you know, bluegrass has always just been, it's just fun. It's just fun. It's enjoyable. You can improvise, you can make up your own melodies over the tunes and stuff. And I mean, it's yeah, that just felt felt right to me.
So you two got connected first and Carson, how did you get into the mix with these two?
I was in history class with Gage. And he mentioned to me one day you ever played bluegrass? I was like, Oh, I really. And he just invited me to a rehearsal. I showed up. I think they were surprised that I did. And we just kicked it off. It was fun.
Did you know that he was a musician when you happen to ask him?
Yeah, this was a music history class, part of the music program. And we were in the wind ensemble together and he played bass. So I knew that he played upright bass, and we were looking for a bass player. I was just surprised when he showed up and he had a great year, he picked up the tunes real fast. And you know, he was solid on the bass. His technique was good. So, you know, couldn't have found a better fit in my opinion.
And you felt the same way to Ryan, or did you want him out of the band instantly?
Yeah. hated him at first. No. I liked Carson from the start. He's been great to work with.
Okay, so you got together and you were all in the music program at Western. That's that's where you guys all met in your class, your coursework, and you're all studying to be music educators. Is that the case for all three of you.
So I'm studying general music. So so just general music, but my focus is actually bluegrass guitar. I was the first student in Western Oregon University history to complete a 300 level guitar jury playing just bluegrass.
That's pretty dope. It is. That's a great legacy to leave. Ryan's very excited about that, too. Yeah. Yeah. That's neat. Okay, what professors have meant the most to you in this program? I mean, are there some that have really just kind of clicked some things for you?
Absolutely. Yeah. The first one that comes to my mind is Christopher ______. Agreed because he was my guitar teacher, and also gages guitar teacher.
And when I studied with him, it was more jazz focused. I didn't really know that bluegrass would be an option at that point. I guess I just hadn't asked.
Have you always played bluegrass?
No, not really. Love Affair started just a few years ago, actually. Okay, yeah, we'll make it a lot with a little bit of time here. Bluegrass is very contagious. It started with Ryan and spread to me. Spread it to Carson. Yeah.
But it seems do you all play other styles of music as well? And across Carson, you have you're involved in the Central Oregon symphony? Or have been and maybe we'll be again, do others of you dabble what tell me more about some of the music that you're out there playing.
I do enjoy classical music still earliest performing it with the symphony. It's just a lot of fun. I don't know being in school and at Western has kind of introduced me to a lot of different styles of music I didn't think I'd played before. So I'm grateful for that.
Any professors at Western that standout for you that you'd like to give a shout out? Oh, yeah, of course, shout out my audio production teacher, Ethan Wilson. It's the best when you have a teacher that's also kind of like a friend. And, you know, class doesn't seem like class with them. It's kind of just a core creative session, and it's just a lot of fun. So shout out him. I second you, Gage. Yeah, well, I'm in a second Christopher _______. He's, he's my guitar teacher. And he's just taking my playing to the next level. In the short time I've been working with him. I also take audio production lessons with Ethan Wilson as well. And he's been great.
Another person I'd like to recognize is Carlos Velez, the music theory teacher at Western. He's been great. And you know that getting up at 9am for class for music theory of all things. That's a tough one, you know, but he always made it fun. And it was always, you know, it was always a good time. And I learned a lot.
So how many instruments do you all play between the three of you? Because you all play multiple instruments, right? So how many different instruments between the three of you do you play?
Well, I've mainly the guitar and the saxophone. Saxophone was actually my primary instrument in music school until I switched to guitar a few months ago. But I also play a little bit of bass and electric bass. I don't play up, right. And I play some piano too. I'm not great at piano, but those are kind of my main main things.
I teach eight different instruments. I tell people I tell prospective students that if it has frets and strings I likely teach it or if it's a wind instrument I likely teach it to try to keep not the banjo though. That's the exception. I haven't tamed that beast yet.
Why not?
I don't know. I really should. I
really, I mean, what's stopping?
Yeah, well, we're we got our eyes out for the for our banjo player. So I figured I'm gonna hire that out to a banjo expert.
You teach that many years you have mastered, mastered that many instruments,
I wouldn't say mastered I would say I can teach to the advanced level. I can teach mandolin, guitar and saxophone. But up to intermediate, I can also teach clarinet ukulele, drum kit and electric bass.
I'm already losing count of the combined instruments and I haven't even gotten to Carson yet.
You don't have to worry about me and my list is pretty short. Your voice and your upright bass. Oh, bass and piano and piano. I might have gage teach me a little guitar this summer. All right.
audio production. I also consider that an instrument as well. And he's great at that.
So okay, yeah, I've officially lost count. Yeah, I think we're over about 10. So we're just going to call it a lot of instruments between you all my goodness. What is your favorite thing about I'm gonna ask you kind of what your favorite thing is performing with the other two bandmates. So think about something nice that you want to say about your bandmates. Okay, so what do you like about performing with these two?
For me? I mean, I feel like we have good chemistry, which just comes from playing together a lot. I mean, even when we're not having a strict rehearsal, we're jamming or we're hanging out doing something. And we just have great chemistry. And then, you know, in addition to that, they're both great musicians, and I trust them on stage. And that's a big thing. Because if I'm taking a solo or something and I make a mistake, I can trust that they're still going to be on it and be in the right spot, and they're not going to get flustered by whatever I'm doing, you know, yeah,
I enjoy the group intuition that sort of developed as we play on stage, because it's playing live as a flexible thing. You're constantly kind of having to adapt. But if you ever see me laugh while we're performing, that's usually because one of my bandmates has surprised me with something that I really enjoyed. And that's just how I show that that joy in that moment, I guess.
That's a pro tip. I'm going to be on the lookout for that.
No one No one's having more fun at one of our shows than we are
Right.
What about you?
I think I think the way we've gone about creating our setlist has been really creative. And some of the segways we do and whatnot are. They're pretty cool. So I think collectively we've we've done a good job on that.
Now you disappeared this past summer. Did you go out of the country for a little while?
I did. Yeah. We formed a whole background story on this. Yes. And it was like Where were you like true story? Yeah, it was true. Truly disappeared.
He was kidnapped by the jug band society. This was back when we were still the Tuesday jug band. That's why we had to change our name. It was promo for the name change
and rollout marketing campaign. I love it. Okay, so you are born and raised in Alaska?
Yep. That correct. And you've lived here for, you know, on and off in Oregon. Back and forth. Yeah. For the last few years. I've been back and forth a little bit, but I'm pretty much here now. Full time.
You like it? You love it?
Yeah, like it. No snow. It's a lot better. The snow is the one thing I can't stand. It's tough.
And Ryan, did you grow up in Missouri?
Close Yeah. Well, I grew up Yeah. On the Mississippi River on the Illinois side. So I did go into Missouri for cheaper gas and fireworks.
We went to Alabama for liquor and fireworks. I get it. Yeah, I get it. It happens and what brought you to Oregon.
I went on a road trip with my older brother flew into Portland and explored Oregon and then went down all the way down the west coast and stayed in a different city every night. In Bend Oregon was the one city that where we had to spend a second night because he loved it so much.
What about it? What made you want to stay that second night?
Oh, the culture there is really cool. You know, we were both really into craft beer at the time. We were also both very into hiking. We were starting to get into snowboarding. And so it's a perfect place for all of all of that. And you know getting on the river to stand up paddleboarding was starting to become popular to so many cool things and live music. They have a they have a great live music scene there. They seem to have everything that we were into
Ryan,are you studying to be a music educator like it's it's what you're doing now full time now that you're out of school. And this is like the gig.
I've graduated, I graduated a couple of terms back. And I've been working. I've been teaching private lessons with Northwest School of Music in Salem, and had like, I think at the most 30 Some students there. But I recently decided to go my own way. And I purchased an LLC that I named music lessons with Ryan, so you know exactly what you're getting. And so I'm just doing that independently out of my own home and going to other people's homes, also out of Bullfrog music in Corvallis on Fridays. And then I'm just putting in I don't know how many hours a week just as the booking manager of this group, but it seems like it's constant. And I'm just always trying to create opportunities for this group and keep an eye out.
And Carson year about your went to terms away from graduating yourself. I'm graduating soon. Oh, you're graduating like by the time this airs audience, you will have already graduated. Right? Okay. And what's next for you after graduation? Going to disappear again back to Paris. What's up?
Oh, I wish I'm going back to bend for I got a position at the amphitheater as a stage chain. Super excited.
So what does this mean for the band? If you're going to be in band, are you still going to be able to work it together and rehearse and jam?
Not exactly. No, I'm I'm splitting off unfortunately. But if they ended up making it over to bend at some point, we'll have to play a few shows.
We have some really talented bass players. helping us out in the interim. We have Mason acres, also from the music program at Western Oregon University. He's covering at least 30 gigs coming up this summer. And then we have our friend Molly, who I know through my other band, Ida Jane and the weekend gardeners. She's gonna cover a few. Oh, Lucas, Devon, our newest prospective bass player. So we've got we've got some options here. We're just kind of it is a big commitment. So whoever we ended up taking on as a bass player has got to be prepared to play like, over 100 gigs a year.
Because it seems like y'all you're really amping up live performances. I mean, you're just everywhere. What are some of the upcoming performances that you are the most excited about? And I'm sure Monmouth music in the park is going to be on that list.
July 4. Well, we got the Fourth of July festival. I'm excited for that one. We're going to be playing on the main street amphitheater there in Monmouth right after the Grand Parade. So We're really hoping that the fine folks of Monmouth will show up for that one,
one to 4pm. Folks, that's going to be three hours of picking.
That's a long set. That seems like a long set. But that's a good time out there. All right. So that's at the moment, Fourth of July. Celebration, you guys will be out there for that. That is fantastic. You're also playing the Monmouth music in the park series. And that date for you all is August 14. And this will be your first time playing mommoth music in the park. Correct? That's right. All right, well, let's hear a little bit from Tuesday String Band and this is their song BlackBerry blossom.
Again, that was BlackBerry blossom by the Tuesday String Band and you can find that song wherever you download music,
the group and the band and then forward motion is happening very fast. Does it seem that way to y'all? Or do you feel like you've been working at this for ever?
Well, I mean, I mean, I'm sure Ryan feels the same way. But I've been working my whole life learning these instruments and, and just trying to, you know, I've always known that music is what I wanted to do for a living, but I didn't quite know where my niche was, if that makes sense. So, you know, it's definitely it's definitely been a part of my plan from the beginning. But now it's like, okay, it's finally happening, you know?
Yeah, it's moving very quickly. But I'm, I'm pleased about that. And I would say that something that has been a pleasant surprise is that, as I've been, you know, booking with all sorts of different restaurants, bars, venues of all sorts. And then once we've kind of opened ourselves to playing private parties, I've been getting lots of emails, just from people I haven't met before, lots of stuff is just rolling in without me having to seek it out. And that's, that's a good place to be. But then at the same time, you know, you want to say yes to everything, the calendar starts filling up. And so I'm getting to the I enjoy being the booking manager I do it's a fun challenge. But at some point, you're like, maybe I need to hire this out.
So we're open to hiring management. I just want to say real quick, it's, it's been interesting for me, because I a while back when we had one show a week, and we were you know, it was exciting to have one show a week to now where we have three or four shows a week and that just feels like normal. It's just it's very interesting change that's happened in such a short amount of time.
And I'm seeing y'all just everywhere, right like a mean fundraisers parties. I mean, obviously stuff at the city, I mean, your your go to call for a lot of folks in the city, and that has nothing to do with me all the senior center stuff in the library. Those are just people who have heard you and absolutely love you know, you've gotten the attention of the university president as well. He is a big fan, so I couldn't be more happy for you guys on that. And now you're featured on Spotify, which is super cool, right? That's a new thing or Apple Music and all that the whole the whole gauntlet of what's next so obviously for you guys trying to find a couple of more parts to it right at an a banjo player, another bass player, but what do you guys think in like an ad a longer album, a full album down the road? Like what's what are your thoughts, just playing gigs for a little while?
Definitely a full album soon. And I would, I'd like to start branching out and hitting different regional pockets doing some mini tours outside, maybe even outside of the Pacific Northwest. Some of the first that come to mind are those that would be easier because we have family living there like Arizona and Illinois, we might have, you know, a place to stay. So when we look at the budget for touring, that's a big one to consider.
I really hope we can make it up to Alaska some time for a tour. You know, I mean, I grew up in Alaska. And as much as I didn't like the winters, the summers there. I mean, there's no other place on earth. I'd rather be there incredible. So I'd love to get us up there one summer for a tour.
Well, we'd love to see you guys hit the road. And always make your little homecoming tour back here in Monmouth even though none of you are from here, we're going to claim you anyway, that's just how we roll. What's one thing that you have learned maybe either about yourself or about being a musician are about being in a band that you did not expect that you would learn in this journey so far?
Well, for me, I gotta say I always knew that being in a band would be a lot of work playing music for a living. But sometimes, you know, I, I realized, wow, there's a lot more work involved, aside from just playing instruments that people don't think about, you know, when, when you think about a professional musician, you know, say you have a three hour gig, it's an hour away, that adds two more hours getting there and back, plus an hour of setup an hour of teardown, I mean, you're looking at a full seven or eight hour work day for that gig.
So it's, you know, being a professional musician is is just as valid of a profession as any other, you know, profession. You know what I mean? I would say, I've learned a little bit about what makes building a business in the music sphere unique. because prior to this, I built businesses as a personal trainer. And as a landscaper, seemed like different lives. There's definitely some some things that make playing music unique. Sometimes you have to stand your ground as a professional, because there are those who kind of, maybe they see music as more of just a hobby. And so you kind of have to fight to be treated like a professional. But then oftentimes, you're pleasantly surprised by other folks. So I guess just knowing your worth, in the music sphere is is important.
There's a there's a couple that comes to our weekly Gilgamesh show. Their names are Val and Michael. And they always they've, they've showed up to every show for probably two months now. It's just been a great surprise. They're always so enthusiastic to come and hear us play the same tunes. And they support us. Yeah, it's just a nice treat to see some some folks come out and see us every time and they even invited us over to their to their barbecue at their house and have a little jam session over there. So I think building a relationship with some of those really supportive fans has been really sweet and rewarding. And that's been really cool to see
Ryan who's buried and your influences like who really spoke to you
for mandolin specifically
I don't know - you tell me.
got a let's say Adam Steffi he's a great a mandolin player as far as crafting a tasteful solo break that follows the changes tightly but with enough surprises and twists and turns - he's probably my number one influence for mandolin also Sierra hole god, she's so clean. So fluid in her playing. Those are probably my two biggest influences currently. Any others that just as a musician like people their energy just the way that they perform like anything you jump out at you like that
Ryan's a big Phish fan. Yeah, Trey
Trey vibes. We'll get you a trampoline.
Yeah, Trey's guitar work is incredible. It never fails to be entertaining, and tell a story.
And John Mayer is about to say I was about to ask you how you feel about John Mayer as a guitar player. John Mayer is an extremely impressive guitarist. I mean, he is incredible. He's versatile. I mean, look at look at what he did with the Grateful Dead recently with DeadCo. You know, people don't understand how hard it is to just learn the grateful dead's entire discography like that. That's impressive. A big influence of mine has been Hank Williams Sr. I can't stop listening to him. So you're definitely gonna hear some of that sound and pretty much anything I write a lot.
What about you, Carson? Who are some of your influences?
Oh, from from a music making standpoint, I really love artists from the 70s like Earth Wind Fire Steely Dan Beegees I just think their their composition and production process is so clean and interesting. And just the arrangements of all their songs are so cool. I also love I love working with synthesizers, and keys and stuff like that. I really like Mike Dean is probably the greatest producer ever, in my opinion. But yeah, just a lot of creative minds. I like to look up to
it's crazy that you all found each other with all that different mix of influences. None of those things are much like the other but is that for quality of sound and composition right which is what something that seems like you all value a lot.
For me. It's just I like listening to good musicians no matter what they play what style what instrument just good musicians inspire me, you know,
anything that you're listening to what are you listening to right now? Besides Hank? Like if I were to look at your Spotify and most listened is it going to be Hank senior most listened would be
would definitely be Hank Sr. I've also been listening to as I've kind of been getting back into sac Spend a little bit there's a saxophone player that's really impressed me named Eddie Barbash. And I actually met him in Sitka Alaska. And that was before I really knew who he was. So it's kind of just like, Oh, hey, you know, shook his hand. But if I could meet him again, I would talk his ear off. He actually he's the first saxophonist, I've heard play, play bluegrass fiddle tunes. on saxophone, he actually collaborated with Sierra hole who Ryan mentioned. So it's just really cool to hear that.
Well. Hopefully, he's a Monmouth monthly listener, and he'll be able to hear this this homage to him. If I want to represent Tuesday String Band wearing your merchandise, do you have that available? And if so, we're gonna find it.
We sure do. We just made it available. Actually, we'll be doing an unboxing if you follow us on social media on our Instagram or Facebook or YouTube, at Tuesday, Stringband we have three different t shirt designs, hopefully to fit different personalities. One has a a groovy little alien playing a mandolin on it. One has these very cool goats. You'll understand when you see the design, and the other is kind of a hand drawn collage with a saloon. A skeleton with a revolver. It's all very western themed. And we also have can koozies and a tote bag. A little something for everyone. We hope Yeah, sounds like this will be available at our shows. And also online. If you go to our website, Tuesday stringband.com We'll have a link to our prenta phi shop
and all of that stuff, all that merchandise that you buy helps the band get out there and tour and make great music for all of us. If you have not seen them perform live yet, you are truly missing out. As we wrap up today, I just want to say thank you so much to the guests today for taking our time these are students at Western two out of three of them are students at Western Oregon, which means that they are in the throes of their finals right now. So the fact that we were able to get them in here for that and not only that, but their performance schedule is much much appreciated. So you heard here that you can get some Tuesday String Band merchandise on their website. You can also learn more about their concerts and follow along with all the things that they have going on this summer and beyond. You can also if you are a music student and you want to take classes please reach out to either gage or Ryan gageCartermusic@gmail.com is how you get in touch with Gage. And Ryan is musiclessonswithRyanllc@gmail.com. But don't forget to go to Tuesday string band's website which is do Tuesday string band.com To learn more about not only the concert series, but the merch that they are going to be selling. I did want to remind folks that we do have a lot going on this summer music in the park officially kicks off on July 10 with Bon Bon Viant and we'll end the concert series on August 28 with coming up threes and right smack dab there towards the middle August 14 Tuesday String Band will be performing at Main Street Park. Don't forget to bring a chair you can bring in food and dance the night away. Also on July 4 Don't forget there is a two day festival at the city of Monmouth Wednesday July 3 is when the fun kicks off at noon for the festivals and vendors. Apple Box Theater will have a performance there's a band The Marshalese performers you can not want to miss out on all of that family fun. Thursday July 4 begins at 9am festival closes at five and Tuesday String Band will be playing from one to four. So after the Grand Parade, we hope you will come back to Main Street Park to enjoy all those activities. I did want to remind folks that these activities are 100% at no cost to your family. Thanks to the mommoth Business Association, the city of Monmouth and other sponsors who helped bring this to our city. Other things going on in the summer continued summer reading at our summer reading program at Mama's Public Library. There is always something going on please make sure you check the city's website that you're signed up for our E newsletter and that you are on our social media channels don't forget to rate review subscribe tell a friend keep enjoying this summer mom I'm gonna let the band play us out today. This is their song Betty Lou - don't forget to download and follow along every you download music.
thank you for joining us for Monmouth monthly My name is Sabra Jewell Our music is catching up by chill Study and we record at Indy Commons which is a co working community in independence Oregon. Please find us wherever you find podcasts rate review, tell a friend and we will see you next month.
