The Student Loan String Band

Artist Information

Biography

The Student Loan is bringing a fresh sound to the world of bluegrass. Mixing folk, rock, jazz, and jam grooves, the acoustic quartet has created a distinct and innovative musical style. They have been recognized by Jazz at Lincoln Center as the cutting edge of American roots music and have toured extensively outside the United States.

The band formed through a series of adventures and misadventures that only the college years could have provided. Their personal and musical chemistry is undoubtedly something special, proven by the band's 7-year birthday this year. West Virginian Chad Kimbler blazes a trail of furious mandolin picking and writes a majority of the band's songs. Ohioan guitarist and fiddler Liz Chibucos brings a wealth of jazz, classical, world, and rock influences to the table. Upstate New York banjo player Mark Gerolami draws upon a rich background of folk, western, and world music. Washingtonian rock, gospel, and jazz bassist Julio Appling lays down a creative and solid foundation.

The Student Loan has appeared with prominent national and regional acts including Sam Bush, Greensky Bluegrass, The Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars, Alejandro Escovedo, eKoostik Hookah, and The Ragbirds, and were featured alongside Larry Keel at the 2008 Appalachian Uprising All-Star Bluegrass Jam.

Notable Appearances Include:
Cosquin Folk Festival (2011, Argentina)
Jazz at Lincoln Center (2009, 2010, New York)
National Geographic Society (2009, 2010, Washington D.C.)
Bainbridge Bluegrass Festival (2010, Washington State)
Jakarta International Jazz Festival (2009, Indonesia)
Rolling Stone Indonesia (2009, Indonesia)
Appalachian Uprising (2008, Ohio)
The Bluegrass Bash (2008, Wisconsin)
The Black Swamp Arts Festival (2008, Ohio)

The Student Loan released their first album, “Wake Up to The Student Loan” in 2006 and followed up with “A New and Different Life” in 2008 and "No Host Lunch" in 2011. With original songs and a vast library of covers from groups as diverse as The Beatles, Bill Monroe, Rage Against the Machine, Afroman, Phish and The Grateful Dead, The Student Loan will entertain time and time again!

Instrumentation

Liz Chibucos - Guitar, Fiddle, and Vocals
Chad Kimbler - Mandolin and Vocals
Julio Appling - Upright Bass and Vocals
Mark Gerolami - Banjo, Guitar, and Vocals

Discography

Discography
"No Host Lunch" - 2011
"A New and Different Life" - 2008
"Live: St. Patrick's Day in Suva, Fiji" - 2009
"Wake up to The Student Loan" - 2006

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Reverb Nation

Audio

• Moustache of Justice (Live in Fiji)
  Listen  
• No Host Lunch
  Listen  
• Don't Bring Me Down (feat. Omniblaze, live from Jazz at Lincoln Center)
  Listen  
• I-5 to San Fran
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• Hard Travelin' (Live in Fiji)
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• The Campbell Hill Backstep
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• Funny
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• Insomnia (Live at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center 1/31/09)
  Listen  
• Maeby
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• Tone Rolls
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Lyrics

• No Host Lunch
• Moustache of Justice
• I-5 to San Fran

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Jazz at Lincoln Center Press Release [+ Show ]
  

  Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs anno...Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs announced that The Student Loan will tour to the South America with The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program. The bluegrass quartet from Portland, Oregon, was selected from a pool of 132 applicants to travel abroad and promote cross-cultural understanding. International tour activities will include public concerts, master classes, lecture-demonstrations, workshops, jam sessions, collaborations with local musicians and media outreach.

• The Student Loan in Asia [+ Show ]
  

  This article has great photos and accounts of our travels as musical ambassadors in Thailand, Myanma...This article has great photos and accounts of our travels as musical ambassadors in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Fiji, Samoa, and Indonesia.

• NPR's "Here and Now" with Host Robin Young
  

  The Student Loan featured on "Here and Now," discussing their 2009 tour in Yemen.

• The Student Loan Blends with Arabic Beats [+ Show ]
  

  Student Loan, an American bluegrass band, synced with Yemeni drums, the mizmar flute, and the deep, ...Student Loan, an American bluegrass band, synced with Yemeni drums, the mizmar flute, and the deep, soulful voice of Shrooq, a famous female Yemeni singer, for a live performance at the Sana’a Cultural Center last Sunday.
  
  The band played traditional bluegrass songs such as Orange Blossom Special, and then fused with classical Arabic music. When asked if blending the two seemingly contrasting genres, Liz Chibucos, fiddler/guitarist/pianist, said, “When we met, we just played. It worked instantly. We were worried, but it turned out great.”
  
  This is the first time for the band members to visit Yemen. “Everyone is so hospitable. The audience was loud, and that’s what we love!” the band explained when asked about their experience in Yemen.
  
  StudentLoan is a band composed of Mark Gerolami, Chad Kimbler, Liz Chibucos, and Taylor Bergren-Chrisman, American musicians. They originally met in Ohio at college, where they were all music majors. “We started this band, not realizing that it would come to this, these tours and visiting the world,” said band member, Gerolami. They currently have 2 albums out and will also be visiting Italy, Cyprus and Algeria on their present tour.

• The Student Loan in Samoa [+ Show ]
  

  "A breath of fresh air wafted into town Thursday evening, or more accurately, a fresh sound. The rh..."A breath of fresh air wafted into town Thursday evening, or more accurately, a fresh sound.
  The rhythms of The Student Loan played at the To’oa Salamsina Hall were certainly unlike any emanating from the night clubs further along the road. "

• Grass Menagerie [+ Show ]
  

  Nothing haunts you quite like an unpaid student loan, especially when you have a phone and your loan...Nothing haunts you quite like an unpaid student loan, especially when you have a phone and your loan officer knows this. Therefore, it’s a bit disconcerting to hear a band named The Student Loan, given how completely opposite they make you feel as you do when avoiding said officer. This quartet’s refreshing yield of bluegrass, or, in their case, new grass, includes blades of rock, punk, progressive pop and other influences. Give the hard-driving Student Loan a listen, and you just might be willing to finally make a payment — for their CD, that is.
  
  - Rob Cullivan, 01.14.10

• Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune [+ Show ]
  

  "From the furious picking of a Bill Monroe instrumental to the fiery lyrical angst of a Rage Against..."From the furious picking of a Bill Monroe instrumental to the fiery lyrical angst of a Rage Against the Machine anthem to the technical demands of a jazz standard, members of The Student Loan have worked hard to take their traditionally-based acoustic instruments to new levels, both in original and cover material."

Setlist

We are very flexible with our set lengths and are willing to play whatever the venue requests. We prefer long sets (around 90-120 minutes) to develop our musical ideas, but also request to have an option to set break for any show longer than two hours.

We play many original tunes from our three albums, as well as never-recorded tunes and yet-to-be recorded tunes!

We also play a wide variety of covers:
The Beatles
Bill Monroe
Osbourne Brothers
Grateful Dead
Paul Simon
Ween
Rage Against the Machine
Phish
Sublime
Ray Lamontagne
Duran Duran
Gillian Welch
Yonder Mountain String Band
Chris Brubeck
Hot Buttered Rum
Tracy Chapman
Afroman
Nine Inch Nails
Cake
Velvet Underground
And many more...

Basic Requirements

Calendar