By Cory Greene, Film Geek and Devourer of Worlds

May 17, 2010

LowerTown Arts & Music Festival Features Bawn In The Mash

Among the many highlights of the LowerTown Arts & Music Festival, May 21-23: bluegrass/stringband/rocknrollers Bawn In The Mash. Here’s some stuff to know:

Bawn In The Mash is: Josh Coffey, Tommy Oliverio, Eddie Coffey, Brey McCoy, Zach Coffey (multi-instrumentalists)

Genre: Experimental Folk

Tommy: “We formed in the winter of 2004. We started as informal bluegrass sessions which led to our first ever gig billed as the ‘Yeehah Jihad,’ then soon after ‘Bawn in the Mash’ which was adapted from a Mark Twain short story. Our first album was bluegrass/stringband style and then Brey McCoy joined the band on drums in 2007. We all got pickups and amps and started playing rocknroll.”

Favorite song to perform: “Usually the newest song. We have our fourth album coming out this summer which we produced and recorded ourselves on Fountain Avenue.”

Influences: “All styles of music from all ages — classical through electronic age with a solid bluegrass foundation. In the van when we are traveling to shows, we mostly listen to Miles Davis, Funkadelic, Bill Monroe, John Hartford and The Grateful Dead.”

Upcoming Shows:

• Saturday, May 22 - Lowertown Arts & Music Festival…Paducah, Ky., 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 29 - LBL Pickin’ Party…Golden Pond, Ky.
• Saturday, May 29 - Big Apple Cafe…Murray, Ky.
• Friday, June 11 - Superman Celebration…Metropolis, Ill.
• Saturday, June 26 - Black Oak Vinyard…Princeton, Ky.
• Thursday, July 22 - Paducah Summer Festival w/ The Union Suit and Jennifer Fox and the Pillowfighters…Paducah, Ky.
• Thursday, September 9 - Big Apple Cafe…Murray, Ky.
• Friday, September 10 - The Vernon Club…Louisville, Ky.
• Saturday, October 9 - 5th Annual Cluckin’ and Pluckin’...Murray, Ky.
• Tuesday, November 23 - Big Apple Cafe…Murray, Ky.

Websites:
bawninthemash.com
myspace.com/bawninthemash
Facebook

I’m ashamed to admit it but I really tried to dislike Bawn In The Mash for a long time. Growing up in the punk rock scene, it was hardwired in our brains that all things hippie oriented flat out SUCK.

Unfortunately I let that mentality affect my judgment of Bawn for far too long.

Red lights went off when I first saw them years ago at the recommendation of some friends. All I saw at first was some long haired dudes playing jammy bluegrass music with an audience flailing about and reeking of patchouli. I couldn’t figure out why my friends liked them. They all have good taste in music. What was wrong with them?

As I sat surly and pouting in the corner, I briefly stopped snarling at the shoeless hippie girl dancing in front of me and actually listened to the band. It was at that moment I figured out the difference between being a music snob and simply being an @#%hole.

I was the latter.

The first thing that struck me is the most obvious thing about Bawn: They’re amazing musicians. That’s always a plus. But I was still in music elitist mode and thought, “Tool is made up of great musicians too and they SUCK.” I powered through the negativity and really started listening to them and it struck me like Colonel Kurtz’s diamond bullet.

They’re great. Great musicians. Great songwriters. Great performers. Great guys altogether. Simply great and that about sums it up as well as can be.

I felt so stupid. Didn’t I know to never judge a band on aesthetics alone? Shouldn’t I have trusted the opinions of my friends whose taste I so revere?

No, I was just the 30-year-old @#%^ in the corner holding on to a punk rock ethos that I didn’t really even understand at the time.

Lesson learned. If you’re going to be a self-described music fan you should give EVERYTHING a chance. Unless it’s a Jimmy Buffet tribute band. They’re always going to suck.