Washington
25 June 2008
Ten years ago, Eric and Leigh Gibson were one of the hottest new actsin bluegrass. In 1998, The International Bluegrass Music Associationnamed them "Emerging Artists of the Year." The Gibson Brothers changeddirection, trying their hand at mainstream country music beforereturning to their roots in 2004 with a well-received CD, "Bonafide."Two other albums followed. VOA's Katherine Cole reports on the GibsonBrothers latest release, "Iron and Diamonds."
Seven of the 12tracks on Iron and Diamonds, including the title song, are GibsonBrothers originals. The others come from writers including RogerMiller, Julie Miller (no relation) and Tom Petty.
The cover songs TheGibsons recorded for Iron and Diamonds fit in with their originals sowell you might be surprised to learn that it was Steve Earle who wrote"The Other Side of Town," not Eric or Leigh Gibson.
On thesurface, Eric and Leigh Gibson seem unlikely candidates for "bluegrassstardom." The brothers were raised not in Kentucky or Virginia, but ona family dairy farm in upstate New York, just a few kilometers from theU.S. border with Canada.
Eric Gibson, older than his brother Leigh byless than a year, and a banjo player since the age of 12, puts "theblame" on his parents for exposing them to the music.
EricGibson: "My mom and dad liked all kinds of music. At various timesthey bought instruments, but never really learned to play them, but hadthe desire to do so. We listened to a lot of different kinds ofmusic, and I remember listening to bluegrass on Saturday nights, therewas a local [radio] program featuring bluegrass. And then when Istarted playing banjo and Leigh stated playing guitar, well, we wereintroduced to Flatt and Scruggs by our instructor. And then, westarted scoping out the local scene and hearing local bluegrass bandsand caught the bug for bluegrass. It gets a hold of you. You seeartists all the time who played bluegrass when they were young, andthen went off and played other kinds of music. They always come backto it. It's just something that, well, once you start likingbluegrass, and playing bluegrass, I think it gets ahold of you and itnever lets go."
Cole: "What is it, do you think, about the music that does that to people?"
LeighGibson: "There's an honesty about the music, about the bluegrass thatsurvives through the decades. There is kind of a common thread. Idon't think you have to be a rural person, although we were, to relateto that. And to understand longing for home and family and things likethat. And, I think maybe the improvisational aspect of the music mightattract people. The fact that a mandolin player will jam out for twominutes in the key of B with no capo, it's pretty impressive."
Cole: "So, in other words, you also have to be a good musician to play the music well."
Leigh Gibson: "I think so. To play it well. Certainly the people I respect are great musicians."
Inaddition to Eric and Leigh, The Gibson Brothers band includes MikeBarber on bass, Clayton Campbell on fiddle, and Rick Hayes onmandolin. The band has a full schedule of upcoming concerts, includingappearances at some of the most prestigious festivals in North America.
One of the sweetest sounds in bluegrass music is that ofbrothers singing harmony. There's plenty of that to enjoy on the newGibson Brothers release, Iron and Diamonds.