Railroad Earth w/ Donna The Buffalo, Sat. Sept. 11, 8 p.m., F.M. Kirby Center (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre). Tickets: $23.50, box office, Ticketmaster. Info: 570.826.1100, www.railroadearth.com)
For almost a decade, Railroad Earth’s roots-rock sound has been a natural and popular fit on stages of all types. The six-piece band recently challenged itself to make a very different climate — the recording studio — equally inspirational.
And to find that new balance, the band wasn’t exactly looking for a comfortable situation.
Unlike the recording process Railroad Earth used for its previous album, 2008’s “Amen Corner,” which found the band ensconced in the cozy confines of singer Todd Sheaffer’s 300-year-old New Jersey farmhouse, Railroad Earth put together its forthcoming self-titled album with an outside producer for the first time since 2004’s “The Good Life.” The band further shook itself out of its comfort zone, signing with a new label, One Haven Music, and teamed with a new A&R (artists and repertoire) rep, Michael Kaplan, who’s worked with The Allman Brothers Band, Los Lonely Boys and Keb’ Mo’. Oh, and it was the first RRE effort with new bassist Andrew Altman.
“We kind of went for much more of a production-oriented recording this time,” mandolin player John Skehan said in a phone interview last week. “I guess you can kind of contrast that with ‘Amen Corner.’ It’s kind of something a little more densely orchestrated. … The opportunity presented itself to do something different, and we kind of decided it was time to take a chance.”
Railroad Earth, along with opener Donna The Buffalo, will play at the F.M. Kirby Center on Saturday, Sept. 11. It will be the first time at the theater for Railroad Earth, a band with some Northeastern Pa. connections. Sugar Hill Records signed the band to its previous label deal after a gig at the old Murray’s Inn in Wilkes-Barre. Also, band member Tim Carbone lives near Stroudsburg, where the band plays a yearly run of Thanksgiving shows, a tradition it will reprise again this November. And, at the time of the interview, Skehan said RRE was about to prepare for the tour, which kicks off at the Kirby, by “beginning a week of rehearsals camping out in the Sherman Theater.”
He spoke fondly of both local venues.
“Yeah, we try to keep it going,” he said of the Thanksgiving shows. “It’s certainly nice to have an annual event like that, and the Sherman Theater is so close to home. And the Sherman Theater was closed up for a long time. We hope to be a part of its growth.
“You’re very luck to have the Kirby Center right where you are. It really is a local treasure.”
On the new album, slotted for an Oct. 12 release, Sheaffer, the band’s primary songwriter, taps into some iconic American folklore, including Civil War ghosts and Indian chiefs “as touchstones as he navigates through love and spirituality, loss and desire,” according to a press release. To help bring those tales to life, the band placed a larger emphasis than usual on its vocals this time around, Skehan said.
The songs on “Railroad Earth,” save for an instrumental track, have remained absent from the band’s concerts so far, said Skehan.
“We usually kind of try to save things for closer to the release date,” Skehan said, adding he’s not sure if the band will add all of the new songs at once or track by track. “We’re really looking forward to opening them up. … Once we start playing them live, some may remain intact, some may unfold into larger explorations.”
Railroad Earth’s unique instrumentation — mandolin, fiddle and upright bass are part of the sound — might lead some to think the band’s shows are a laidback affair, but that’s not the case; there is a strong, rhythmic rock ’n’ roll element to what the band does. The group still has the opportunity to share its sound in a variety of environs, like theaters and open-air festivals, for example. Skehan feels the band plays differently depending on where it’s performing.
“Especially festivals,” he said. “I’ve always felt there was something about the sound that we have or what we are going for that lends itself to the outdoors.”
As summer fades into autumn, the band will get to enjoy the best of outdoor and indoor playing spaces, including a slot next month at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, where RRE will perform alongside Ralph Stanley, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Randy Newman, T-Bone Burnett, Kinky Friedman, Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s 7 Walkers, The Avett Brothers and The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, which features Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. RRE’s trip to the Bay Area will also include a two-night stand at the legendary Fillmore.
Asked if he ever envisioned Railroad Earth reaching such rarified air when the band formed almost 10 years ago in New Jersey, Skehan laughed.
“No,” he said. “In all honesty, as it unfolds, it continues to be one surprise after another, which is a wonderful thing.”
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