THE WAYBACKS - DEVOLVER

THE WAYBACKS
''DEVOLVER''
MAY 18 2000
58:42

01 - Lickkus Interruptus/3:44
02 - Compadres In The Old Sierra Madre/5:08
03 - Gone Wayback/3:59
04 - Been Around/3:32
05 - Scrapple From The Apple/3:39
06 - The Last Steam Engine Train/4:02
07 - I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)/4:57
08 - McHattie's Waltz/4:45
09 - The Witch Of The Westmereland/6:18
10 - JNPT/3:39
11 - Cluck Old Hen/8:25
12 - Untitled/0:47
13 - I'm Really Fine/5:09

REVIEW
by Ann Wickstrom
Is it bluegrass? newgrass? folk? jazz? Yep. And it's terrifyingly brilliant. The debut CD from San Francisco-based the Waybacks delivers everything you could desire in an acoustic album: insanely hot picking, soaring fiddle, great harmonies, and a perfect blend of styles and tempos, covers and originals. One of the first things that hits you between the ears here is the guitar playing of James Nash, although you'd be hard-pressed to choose the top dog in this pack. Nash and Wayne Jacques (mandolin) sound as one as they pull off a dual lead on Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From the Apple," bebopping their way through a tune recorded by everyone from Sonny Stitt to Bobby McFerrin. Jacques also doubles on fiddle, and shreds it to smithereens on "Lickkus Interruptus" (too funny), the bright and energetic opening track with playing that is as fluid as anything you'll hear from Mark O'Connor, Sam Bush, and the like. "Been Around" and "Compadres in the Old Sierra Madre" feature delightful harmonies, the foremost a catchy, masterful original written by Nash; the latter a well-chosen Riders in the Sky tune. Keeping in line with their knack for selecting cool covers, the boys tackle "The Last Steam Engine Train," a song recorded by both its originator, John Fahey, and Leo Kottke. Here's your chance to see what an entire band can do with it. Nash pulls out a slide for this one and Stevie Coyle keeps it driving forward on finger-style guitar, at one point turning the lead over to Jacques on fiddle. the Waybacks are not bluegrass purists, to be sure, but they know that every proper bluegrass-inflected album must contain at least one waltz -- and Kenny Baker's "McHattie's Waltz" satisfies that requirement in fine fashion. Scotsman Artie Fisher's ballad "The Witch of the Westmereland" is arguably the brightest gem on this recording. It's beautiful, lilting melody and plaintive vocal reading from Coyle result in recurrent grasps for the volume knob. the Waybacks bring it all home by plugging in for Jacques' wild 'n' woolly arrangement of the traditional song "Cluck Old Hen." (But don't miss the uproarious hidden track!) The musicianship here is absolutely top drawer. Devolver can easily stand repeated listenings -- many of them. It is a treasure that no serious music lover should be without.

BIOGRAPHY
by Craig Harris
The traditional sounds of old-timey string band music is only element of the musical tapestry woven by San Francisco-based quintet the Waybacks. Roots Town Music Magazine called them "a dream combination of punk vandalism and hyper-intelligent, seldom heard, humoristic musicality," while the Winnipeg Free Press praised them for their "unpretentious musicality." Describing their musical approach, www.shoprecords.com wrote, "it's everything from 'Kumbaya'-like folk and cowboy jazz, space jam, celtoid, agnostic gospel, beat poetry, Grappelli-esque swing, and acoustic originals." The Waybacks' sound represents the combined efforts of lead guitar, mandolin player, and vocalist James Nash; fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and Humanatone player and vocalist Chojo Jacques; and rhythm, fingerpicked and Weissenborn slide guitar player, and vocalist Stevie Coyle. A native of Nashville, Nash has been playing guitar since the age of nine. Throughout high school, he studied with renowned Nashville session guitarist Jerry Kimbrough. Relocating to the San Francisco area to attend Stanford University, he became a member of the alt-rock band Occam's Razor. Increasingly drawn to traditional Southern music, he taught himself to play mandolin. In addition to working with the Waybacks, he performs as a soloist and with Lane & the Badass Chicken Bones. Although he initially studied piano and viola, Jacques found his natural voice on the guitar. The instrument was only one step, however, on his musical journey. After playing guitar in a truck stop bar band in East Missoula, MO, he began studying fiddle with the Montana Fiddlers Association. Two years later he added the mandolin, which he played with the Lost Highway Band. Moving to Austin, he became involved with the city's thriving music scene for eight years. At the suggestion of David Grisman, he moved to San Francisco in 1982. In the nearly two decades since, Jacques has become an in-demand session player. The lengthy list of artists with whom he's worked includes Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Johnny Paycheck, Frank Wakefield, and Michael Hedges. Much of the Wayback's irreverent approach is stirred by Coyle, whose resumé includes emceeing killer whale shows, doing standup comedy as one-half of the Reagan Brothers, and performing with satirical folk bands the Foremen and the Frontmen. The Wayback's rhythm section features double bass player and vocalist Joe Kyle, Jr. and drummers Chuck Hamilton, who tours with the group, and Peter Tucker, who performs with the band in the San Francisco area.
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