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Packway Handle's strength is in its cohesiveness. Vocal Harmonies and string syncopations lock together like Legos. -Aspen Daily News.
It all started in Athens, Georgia in 2001 during a most peculiar spell when 5 or 6 bluegrass bands circulated the town. The famous Athens, which had once spawned the B-52s, REM, Widespread Panic, and countless other indie, pop and punk acts, was now the home to a competing minority of bluegrass players. The Packway Handle Band emerged from this small scene, finding national acclaim first as finalists at the Telluride bluegrass competition in 2002 and 2003, then taking 2nd place in 2004. The bandâs 2003 debut album, âChaff Harvestâ? was produced using prize awards from a local Battle of the Bands. PHB was on a roll and has continued to win over fans and rack up awards.
In early 2006 the band went on the road full time, wowing audiences across the country with close 4-part harmonies and their dance around two tightly-spaced condenser mics. The Packway Handle Band has emerged at the national forefront of bands that use this âgather around the micâ? style. PHBâs second full length record â(Sinner) You Better Get Readyâ? was recorded this way. Theirs is not a mission to preserve historical stylesâitâs just how they do what they do the best. And what they do best is rooted in thought provoking songwriting, clever choice and arrangement of bluegrass traditionals, and totally unexpected (even totally inappropriate) covers, all delivered with a crackling energy. If you get an idea of what Packway Handle is early in a show, youâll probably change your mind several times before theyâre done. But itâs obvious their enthusiasm and sense of humor are honest, and that what they do appeals to broad audiences, even those who donât normally listen to bluegrass. Yes, they play bluegrass instruments, and hey, they even play them mostly in the bluegrass way; but you wonât find a whole lot of lyrics about rambling or trains or wagon wheels, and youâre not going to say youâve heard this band before, unless you actually have. |
| Band Members |
Tom Baker - banjo, vocals
Josh Erwin - guitar, vocals
Andrew Heaton - fiddle, vocals
Zach McCoy - bass
Michael Paynter - mandolin, vocals |
| Favorite Bands |
| The very first influences were Old & in the Way, Hot Rize, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, & David Byrne. Things have changed from then to obscure gospel songs, more old time music, the Violent Femmes, the Flaming Lips, & other genres of music outside the bluegrass field. |
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