New Artist Spotlight: The Greencards
By Gary Voorhies
The Greencards' musical influences include any and all great acoustic music - including works by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Ricky Skaggs.
The band got its start in Austin, Texas when Kym Warner (mandolin) and Carol Young (bass) met Eamon McLoughlin (fiddle) at a recording session. The connection was immediate and based on a shared love of traditional acoustic music. They joined forces to crack the Austin music scene, and landed a standing Sunday gig playing bluegrass and Country cover tunes.
The trio that played this distinctly American bluegrass style of music was comprised of two Australians (Warner and Young) and a Brit (McLoughlin). "Part of the reason we moved to the States was because we didn't have very many opportunities to play this kind of music in Australia and England," Warner explained.
The band believed its music possessed a kind of global energy. "We each have listened to so many kinds of things and that comes into the music we created," Warner said.
The Greencards released an indie album, Movin' On, in 2004, and then returned to Australia to play shows and visit family. While they were out of the country, the project climbed to the Top 5 of the Americana chart.
After they returned to the United States, the band played more than 200 dates and sold 10,000 albums out of the back of their van and on the Internet.
Nashville record companies began to take an interest, and The Greencards inked a deal with Dualtone Records and chose Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch) to produce the Weather & Water album, which was released on June 28. "It's been great to test these songs with live audiences," Warner said. "They let you know what works."
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
If you could go back in time what year/era would you visit and why?
WARNER: "I'd be in my teens in England in the late '60s and '70s. I would loved to have experienced The Beatles and The Stones at their peak and I wish that I could have seen Bob Marley and the Wailers live just once."
What song do you wish you had written?
YOUNG: "'The Lucky One,' a Robert Lee Castleman song. Alison Krauss & Union Station recorded it on New Favorite."
What moment in your life would you relive if you could?
WARNER: "High school - I would have paid more attention (and showed up more)."
Do you have a lucky charm?
McLOUGHLIN: "My lucky charm is a gift from Turkey which hangs by my doorway. It is meant to attract and absorb all the evil thoughts in the house. If it ever breaks it is because there is too much negativity in the room."
What instrument do you wish you could play?
YOUNG: "Definitely the Dobro. I love the flavour it adds to acoustic and bluegrass music. In my next life I want to come back as Jerry Douglas, but don't we all?"
What would the title of your autobiography be?
McLOUGHLIN: "Gut Strings on a Wooden Box."
On the Web: www.thegreencards.com
® 2005 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
July 26, 2005
© Traci Goudie
