When a band titles its CD “Amen Corner,” you just have to ask why.
Not to sound too Zen influenced, but was there more to the name than the lyrics in a song and the famous reference to a difficult golf hole? Not really, said John Skehan, the band’s mandolin player, although he professes gratitude for the band’s success and the positive response to the new CD.
“I would say (the songs on this CD are) a little bit happier; it has a natural and immediate feel to it,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with the manner in which we recorded it. … ‘Bring My Baby Back Home’ was probably written an hour or two before we recorded it.”
That’s nothing new for Railroad Earth, whose members recorded their first album just a short time after jamming together. What often goes unsaid is that the band members had known each other for the better part of 10 years, some had even toured together as members of other bands.
The magic of the band, which often is categorized by critics as bluegrass, is undeniable as evidenced by dozens of fans following it around the country ala The Deadheads that followed The Grateful Dead.
“When we started, we only loosely had the idea of getting together and playing some music,” said lead vocalist and songwriter Todd Scheaffer. “Over a six-month period we started working on some original songs, as well as playing some covers that we thought would be fun to play.”
When the eureka moment hit and the band formed, members adopted the name of a Jack Kerouac poem as its name. The gritty, all encompassing world view Kerouac embraced meshed perfectly with the various genres members’ bring to create the sound of Railroad Earth.
“I think jam band music is more about the audience,” said Scheaffer, eschewing musical labels. “The audience wants to see musicians exploring possibilities of music.”
(If you go: Railroad Earth with the Everybody Fields; 9:30 Club; 815 V St. NW, Washington; 7 p.m. Thursday; $25; 703-218-6500; www.tickets.com.)
