The Foghorn Stringband
By MARK VOSBURGH
The Foghorn Stringband. (The finest practitioners of American old-time music on the globe – The Portland Mercury)
Caleb Klauder. (If this were somewhere between 1927 and 1949, Caleb Klauder would be a radio star. – The Oregonian)
Friday Night May 24th, The Top Hat Missoula
What are you hankerin’ for when the Foghorn String Band and Caleb Klauder roll into town? Authentic, Honest, Old time, Country, Cajun, Appalachia, or Bluegrass String Band Music? Check! Hard singing two and three part harmonies, smoking hot fiddle, old time banjo and powerful driving mandolin picking? Yep!
Do you want to A.) Dance yourself into a frenzy? B.) Cry in your beer to get through hard times? C.) Get carried back to a simpler, joyful time by top notch old time music? The Foghorn Stringband and Caleb Klauder can deliver on all counts!
In a recent phone interview Caleb told me, “We like to read the situation with the crowd and the show and its always different. We have so much diversity in the band we can sort of cater to the situation we’re in. If its a party vibe, we’ll play some more ruckus, rowdy stuff. If it’s a sit down show we might play some sweeter stuff, and if we feel like it’s the right situation we might play some dark tunes that are like whoa, that’s crazy, that’s a murder ballad, but its really a beautiful song.”
The diversity Caleb refers to is evident in Foghorn’s vocals. Sammy Lind on Fiddle, Nadine Landry on Bass, Reeb Wilms on Guitar all can sing lead or harmony parts. Caleb said “Our repertoire was huge before and when the girls joined us it got even bigger. One of the hardest parts of our shows is that they are never long enough to get to all the music we would like to play.”
Caleb’s powerful voice has garnered national attention including a recent performance on NPR’s Mountain Stage radio show. Reviewers say, “Caleb Klauder’s voice has a ringing quality similar to Hank Williams or a young George Jones.”- Earshot Online.
Caleb Klauder
Caleb told me he started he music career in college where he played and sang in a rock and roll band but, ”When I was about 23 or 24 I started singing bluegrass songs and my voice literally just opened up, it was like night and day and I was like holy crap this is awesome. I’d go to some bluegrass festival trying to sing a Jimmy Martin song and people would hear it from all the way across the campground and come over.”
Whether it be classic country, bluegrass, or old time music Caleb and his bands are respected for their commitment to honest, authentic and vibrant playing of traditional music. He told me, “When I was playing in my rock band I realized that I was missing something that was really big. I really wanted more connection to the roots of where the music came from.”
He was gripped by a Greg Clarke performance of old time and bluegrass music and he has never looked back.
Caleb’s love of music is evident in his playing. It was also evident in our discussion about music in our lives. He said, “Music means so much in different situations to different people. To sing or play or just listen I think it’s therapeutic. Even if it makes you cry or laugh or be introspective, it’s pretty neat and versatile, we’re really lucky.”
Click to hear Mark Vosburgh’s Phone Interview with Caleb.
Here’s a video taste of a Foghorn Stringband Show.