| Among The Oak & Ash | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Labels | Verve Forecast |
| Members | |
| Josh Joplin | |
| Past members | |
| Garrison Starr | |
Among The Oak & Ash is an ever-changing collection of musicians led by American songwriter Josh Joplin. The songs are born out of the musical tradition of the Appalachian Mountains and are either adapted from their folk conventions or are entirely original and are written to sound like old time songs.
The debut self-titled album Among the Oak & Ash was released on June 16, 2009 by Verve Records and prominentely featured, Joplin’s friend and fellow singer-songwriter Garrison Starr on vocals and electric guitar, Brian Harrison on bass (Shelby Lynne), Bryan Owings on drums (Emmylou Harris, Ray LaMontagne), Robbie Turner on pedal Steel (Waylon Jennings) and Cari Norris on banjo.
It was Ms. Norris however who originally exposed Joplin to this genre of folk music years ago at Earlham College. She, along with Pennsylvanian songwriter John Kingman-Smith, led a band called Hurricane Sadee, whose only recording was a self-released cassette tape in 1990, which Joplin claims is the inspiration behind Among The Oak & Ash.
After touring the States (Jessica Lea Mayfield, A Fine Frenzy) and being featured on NPR’s Mountain Stage, Joplin and Starr (who remain friends) would mark their last live performance together in England on BBC radio with legendary disc-jockey, Bob Harris.
Josh Joplin returned to his home in New York City and asked his friend, Grammy-Nominated Producer/Musician David Mayfield (Cadillac Sky, David Mayfield Parade) to participate in and produce the next project.
In February and March 2010 Joplin, Mayfield and Among The Oak & Ash veteran Brian Harrison started working on a new album in Nashville Tennessee, Tracking everything live at Sound Kitchen Studios, with overdubs and mixing taking place at The Rendering Plant.
The album features many more musicians, including Jessica Lea Mayfield on vocals, David Mayfield on guitar and mandolin, Paleface on vocals, Lucy Wainwright-Roche on vocals, Bailey Cooke on banjo and vocals, Richie Kirkpatrick on electric guitar and vocals (Ghostfinger), Ben Martin on drums (Clem Snide), Jeremy Darrow on upright bass and mandolin (The Dixie Bee-liners), Ward Stout on fiddle (Aaron Trippin) and Rachael Hester on vocals.
Josh Joplin has also performed live with Vetiver, Mark O’Connor, and David Bromberg.