A NEW TWIST TO COUNTRY
The Washboard Union draws new fans to genre
If you’re still stuck on the idea that country music is all about sad cowboys, lost dogs, trucks and broken hearts, it may be time to take another listen.
Why? Well, these days, the genre is a lot more palatable than many may have found it before.
“There was definitely a time when even I wasn’t as interested in country music,” admits Aaron Grain of The Washboard Union. “I think country music took a bit of a twist where it was searching for some new fans ... or was trying to expand itself and try different things . ... People were tired of the cliché lost my dog, lost my job, lost my girl.”
Thankfully, things have changed. “Now you’ve got this great, new rebirth of country music with more folk elements and your Florida Georgia Lines and Sam Hunts who bring in this new, almost hiphop edge to country that has roped in new fans,” Grain says.
“It’s now more popular than ever.”
That shift has opened the door for new acts such as the Vancouver-based band The Washboard Union, which is led by Grain, Chris Duncombe and David Roberts, to rise to fame in a musical genre that had otherwise grown a little, well, depressed.
“Some of the sub-genres of country music that have come out have really opened up, not only new fans to country music, but also opened up new artists who are like, ‘wow, I didn’t know you could do that with country music,’ ” Duncombe says. “It has changed more than ever.
“We get a whole lot of people who say, ‘I wasn’t even a country fan, and I love you guys.’ ”
But their stomp-your-feet songs such as Shot of Glory and Maybe It’s The Moonshine aren’t merely a byproduct of an industry trend toward more happy, upbeat tunes. Although, it certainly hasn’t hurt their cause.
“We don’t get too hung up on the trends of country music,” Duncombe says. “I think if you’re going to chase that stuff, then you’re already behind.
“We’ve always been a band that didn’t really sound like anybody else in country music on the road right now. We’ve drawn from the things we always felt were really important, which was a lot of really early country and really early trucker music and really early bluegrass.
“I think we just found our own path and sound that is uniquely The Washboard Union because we synthesized all those things that were important to us along the way.”
Well, whatever the mash-up of inspirations (coun-trucker-grass, anyone?), it’s working for the B.C. band. And for their growing following of country music fans, too. So, do their faithful fans have a name, like the Beliebers for Justin Bieber or Selenators for Selena Gomez (yes, it’s real — Google it)?
“Unofficially, we’ve always just thought of our fans as The Union,” Duncombe says. “Because, we spend so much time with our fans on the road. Bands get really pressed for time, but one of our primary things is we meet absolutely every person. We get offstage after the show and stand there and meet every person who comes to meet us.
“It’s either that, or the Washboard-editrons,” Grain chimes in with a laugh of the officially unofficial moniker. “It rolls off the tongue, you see.”
Duncombe says that, in addition to making a personal connection with the crowd, the prolonged postshow interactions with, “these people who have such incredible stories,” has even provided them with fodder for their next big hits. And they admit they’ve been known to delay their schedule a bit in order to afford more time with their fans — much to their team’s chagrin.
“It probably drives our agents and our managers crazy, but for us, that time with the fans is sacrosanct,” Duncombe says. “So we tell them, don’t schedule anything around there, because we’re going to spend as much time as we need to with people.
“That’s our favourite part, other than being onstage ... but I guess there are a lot of favourite parts.”
The Washboard Union troupe can expect to pick up a few more followers when they “Shine” at Rockin’ River Country Music Fest in Merritt on Aug. 4.
The four-day festival, which includes performances by Toby Keith, Kacey Musgraves, The Band Perry, Brett Kissel, Willie Nelson and more, will feel a bit like a homecoming for the Okanaganraised pair.
“Chris and I both grew up in Kelowna, so we had always heard about Merritt,” Grain says. “It’s that huge country show that happens in that dusty town in the heat of the summer. It feels like a bit of a homecoming to be able to play that.”
Oh, and as for those who choose not to give a country tune another chance? Well, The Washboard Union has a few choice words for them.
“You’re missing out,” Duncombe says with a laugh.