Just another local boys make good (music) story
The bluegrass-oriented Tuesday String Band performs Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., at Main Street Park in Monmouth. Band members, who all have ties to the Western Oregon music department, are, left to right: Mason Akers, Ryan Hanson and Gage Carter. Submitted photo.
It doesn’t get much more local than this.
The Tuesday String Band, comprised of musicians tied to the Western Oregon music department, appears Wednesday at the amphitheater stage in Main Street Park.
Their concert begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are accepted.
TSB follows The Shinkle Band (from Monmouth) and The Severin Sisters (from Salem) in the Music in the Park summer concert series.
Ryan Hanson, Gage Carter and Mason Akers are TSB. Hanson, the band’s mandolinist and booking manager, answered most questions posed by the Polk County Free Press. Others, as identified, were also answered by Carter and Akers.
Their replies follow:
What can you tell us about the band members’ backgrounds?
Hanson: I grew up in Quincy, Illinois and moved to Oregon with my brother in 2014. I have a Bachelor’s of Arts in music from Western Oregon University (WOU) and have been teaching private lessons on several different instruments for over 15 years. I have performed and competed with musical ensembles throughout the United States, from collegiate concert bands and choirs to touring rock and country bands.
Gage Carter grew up in Alaska where he discovered his love for music and began busking, gigging, and teaching at age 16. It was during his youth up in ‘The Last Frontier’ where he took a liking to hunting, fishing, and racing quad bikes competitively. He has studied and performed various styles of music including bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock, blues, folk, Mariachi and many others.
Mason Akers was born in La Grande and moved to McMinnville when middle school came around. Even though he’s mainly known for being a bass player, he started out playing drums and percussion in middle school. He’s attending WOU and majoring in music composition. He’s been in lots of ensembles and plays varying styles. Everything from rock, metal, jazz, chamber, percussion. He’s just joined up playing bluegrass for the first time
How did you come together at Western Oregon?
Hanson: Gage and I met while we were both taking classes in the music program at WOU. When we met, I was playing the oboe and he was playing the baritone saxophone in the Wind Ensemble. We got to talking about a number of things and eventually figured out that we both loved playing guitar. I had recently taken up the mandolin and fallen in love with bluegrass music, and so I suggested that we play the fiddle tune ‘Blackberry Blossom’ together. Gage learned the tune quickly and we found that we had great musical chemistry.
We added Caron Perl on bass (also a WOU music student) and we got to work building a setlist. We made our debut at Sing Fay Restaurant & Lounge, and I began treating the role of booking manager as a full-time job. We've come a long way since then and had a blast doing it.
(Publisher’s note: Perl, the band’s former bassist, recently left the band for a position at Hayden Home Amphitheatre in Bend. He was replaced by Akers.)
What can you tell me about the origination of the name, Tuesday String Band?
Hanson: The name comes from the weekly residency that we have at Gilgamesh Brewing: The River in Independence. We play there every Tuesday from 5-7 p.m. We're a string band in the traditional style, so we figured that this name would tell people exactly what they were getting while advertising when they could come hear us.
We’ve now played shows on every night of the week and have ‘outgrown’ the name, so to speak, but we don't want to change it because it keeps us attached to our roots.
What do you and the other band members do when you’re not performing as TSB?
Hanson: I teach lessons to my students through my private company most days of the week. I also play in another band, ‘Ida Jane & The Weekend Gardeners.’ I help out teaching band students at Santiam Christian during the school year, and I love spending time with my wife Zoe and my dog Charlie. Hiking and biking the Pacific Northwest and getting to the gym regularly help keep my body healthy and my mind calm.
Carter: I am working on building my private lessons studio where I primarily teach guitar and saxophone. I am also studying audio production and have solo projects in the works. Outside of music, I have been getting back into fishing, a part of my Alaskan upbringing that has been missing since I moved to Oregon to pursue music.
Akers: For almost six years now, I have been playing in a 4-piece post punk and indie rock group entitled Interstate-5. We have been working on our first full length record for the past few years and it is almost finished. We have some singles and a 5-track EP out on streaming services. In my free time I indulge in composing, reading, video games, and collecting manga and vinyl. Sometimes I also play with Ryan’s other group, ‘Ida Jane and the Weekend Gardeners,’ whenever their bass player isn’t available.
Why Bluegrass? What is Bluegrass? Who are your inspirations?
Hanson: I fell in love with bluegrass about six years ago when I decided to purchase a mandolin at an antique store. I began learning fiddle tunes out of a book and practiced my technique carefully using a metronome. The melodies were so beautifully crafted, and it always put me in a better mood to play them. I began a ‘deep dive’ into the genre and fell deeper in love than I ever have before learning about a new style of music.
Eventually I did a project for my Ethnomusicology class with Dr. Charles Mueller at WOU where I chose to study the bluegrass community in the Pacific Northwest. This led me to the Oregon Bluegrass Association, where I met a bunch of wonderful people and was introduced to the world of bluegrass jams and bluegrass festivals.
Bluegrass music originates from the ornamented fiddle tunes of the British Isles, which were brought over with settlers who moved into the Appalachian mountains. This music was designed for dance, and Bill Monroe and others combined these traditions with the songwriting styles of Black blues musicians and early country artists like Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family to create a unique kind of folk music.
Musicologist Alan Lomax once described bluegrass as ‘folk music with overdrive.’ Earl Scruggs took an instrument of African origin, the banjo, and pioneered a unique playing style that is now strongly associated with bluegrass. The ‘high lonesome sound’ of bluegrass refers to the characteristic straight tone, nasal type of singing made popular by folks like Bill Monroe and Del McCoury, which is often done in harmony in a style that is derived from Protestant hymns and gospel music. The fast tempos, AKA "Bluegrass time" are also a defining characteristic, which makes the music challenging to play and exciting to listen to.
Hanson: My inspirations in mandolin specifically are Sierra Hull for her fluidity, Adam Steffey for his note choices and timing, David Grisman for his creativity, and Chris Thile for his virtuosity. I should also mention mandolin educators like David Benedict and Wayne Benson who inspire me as both a player and a teacher.
Outside of mandolin, I have a weakness for the great jam bands Phish and the Grateful Dead, especially guitarists Trey Anastasio, Jerry Garcia and John Mayer (of the modern incarnation of the Grateful Dead, Dead & Company.)
For songwriting and performing, it's hard to beat the captivating creative force that is Sierra Ferrell - if you haven't heard her yet you need to check her out.
Carter: The two bluegrass guitarists I have spent the most time studying are Tony Rice and Norman Blake. I also take a lot of inspiration from Billy Strings, Bryan Sutton and Trey Hensley.
For my vocals, my biggest inspirations right now are folks like Hank Sr., Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Thompson.
I also listen to a fair amount of jazz and have studied the work of Charlie Parker, Michael Brecker, Django Reinhardt, Miles Davis and Roy Hargrove.
