Driftwood
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Driftwood

Binghamton, New York, United States | SELF

Binghamton, New York, United States | SELF
Band Folk Acoustic

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Music

Press


""This is a fantastic discovery""

“This is a fantastic discovery, There is something great here” –Record Producer Eric Paul- Willie Nelson, Towns VanZandt, Emmylou Harris, etc. - Eric Paul


"Twisted Roots"

"That energy is addicting and the growing audiences in Syracuse and elsewhere are living proof: They’ve got people hooked on the Driftwood drug, and they can’t help but keep giving the goods"
- Syracuse New Times


"With the release of a new album, Driftwood beats with "A Rock and Roll Heart""

"Today these old-time sounds are being fused with more modern influences of rock n roll; and bands like Binghamton-based Driftwood are moving right along pace with today's most popular Electronica acts, breaking ground, strings, and expectations by drawing on our roots to create a sound that speaks to us all."
- Kayla MacLachlan, Upstate Live Magazine - Upstate Live Magazine


"Driftwood is a serious force on the Upstate NY music scene"

"Driftwood is a serious force on the Upstate NY music scene. Wrapping together all manner of musics that fall under the "Americana" blanket, combining "holy smokes, didja see that?" instrumentalism with "holy smokes, didja hear that?" lyrics, they're a fast-rising force to be reckoned with!"

- Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance
- Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance


"Debut Album Shows Driftwood's Alt-Country Side"

Folks who have seen Driftwood at shows around the region know the band for its rousing live performances that turn traditional-based music on acoustic instruments into high-energy rock 'n' roll. - Press & Sun Bulletin


"Driftwood Comes Ashore"

“Shanty Rock” is how Driftwood describes its sound. Aside from its aspirations to take over the world, the band is passionately dedicated to bringing its rowdy grassroots sound to the audience in the most dynamic way possible. Dan Forsyth handles vocals/guitar/mandolin, Joe Kollar does vocals/guitar/banjo/percussion, Claire Byrne can be found on vocals/fiddle, and Jon Doll grabs the upright bass. “Our music is the people’s music,” says Byrne. “One cannot help but smile when you hear it.”

What they consider grassroots is an eclectic mix of bluegrass, jazz, and rock, with a sassy twist. “In a way it’s a revolt. We’re using modern recording techniques and equipment … but we’re also using banjos and home-made wooden boxes. Sounds are sounds and we try to draw on everything we can,” says Kollar, who co-writes the group’s original tunes with Forsyth. They have years of experience and a variety of inspirations — everything from Vassar Clements, to Johnny Cash to ex-girlfriends — that make their music totally unique. Their personality really comes through in their music. It’s upbeat, easy to listen to, and has the kind of lyrics that the audience can relate to. They compare themselves to young bands playing old music and adding the modern sounds, but, Kollar points out, “They don’t have a fiddle! In general, bands our age aren’t playing acoustics.”

Driftwood’s sound is a genuine experience. A new CD, Rally Day, was just released, and its music can be heard on Myspace.com/driftwoodgroove. For a show that might sound a little bit like, “American roots music played after four shots of whiskey, a pot of coffee and a fistful of adrenaline,” as Doll puts it, you can check it out live at Spiritual Haze on Friday, Sept. 4. - Worcester Magazine


"Driftwood. Taking it there and back"

In a community that is driven on technology and instantgratification, there is also an area of timelessness that takes one to the range with a shotgun on horseback, even just to kick back on the front porch with a rocks glass of dark whiskey in your favorite chair is all some could ask for. This timelessness we speak of is simpler, powered by muscle and a coarse voice where the people would use stringed instruments to tell their stories and everybody would get close and gather ‘round, because that’s what you did when there was no amplification, you gathered ‘round. They used sticks to make fire, and it wasn’t before long that the band was gripping the road, armed to the teeth with fiddles, mandolins, 6-string guitars, a banjo, a double bass and a stomp box.

Driftwood, suited in Binghamton, New York, is one of the regions hardest working tailor made folk outfits
in the area, sometimes playing three gigs in a day followed by another two gigs and busking in a town 4 hours away from the night before. Hardly ever do they have a chance to rest their bones, and it‘s their fans that help keep their art as chiseled as possible. They’ve played the most illustrious venues, to the local farmer‘s markets and dusty garage attics, spanning the entire circumference of New York State and everything in between. Driftwood is paying their dues and they are now making something out of nothing, keeping this whiskey fire burning all the while. Up from the earth they all rise, clawing through the dirt and making a new name for their brand of folk music they like to call “Shanty Rock.”

It’s not everyday you hear this kind of pickin’. I’ve heard a lot of bluegrass bands that have similar old time bluegrass styles and common progressions but Driftwood does it differently with their nose to the grindstone and an ear to the wind. They still pay homageto their roots and they’re never shy to tell you where they came from, yet their takes on traditional songs are a far cry from the norm. Their sound is true and homespun. It’s to the point now that it sprouted wings and flew the coop for the highest, tallest mountainthat they could shout from. They’ll hit you so hard you fall clear off that mountain and sink like a stone to the deepest depths of the lake below. You’ll feel no pain but you’ll know exactly what it was that hit you. Driftwood has an unmistakable identity that has set them apart from smacking a label on them and they will continue to push the envelope of these hard time work songs.

Driftwood is embarking on a six week cross country “dive bar” tour at the end of August. The weeks and days leading up to the departure for their American Dream will be spent doing it the only way they know how, with face-melting folk music. They’ll be playing all over New York one last time and a farewell show at the Cyber Café before they shoot across the Mason Dixon Line and head southbound for the bars in the Virginias and Carolinas, where they’ll couch surf and busk their way on through Nashville to Texas and the Southwest. They plan to hit the Grand Canyon and play the west coast from San Francisco on up to Portland and play the backwoods dive bars back down through Colorado and Utah before they decide to trod their way back home, ragged, tired and with more facial hair.

I urge you, if you haven’t seen their act already, to catch a Driftwood show. They always bring the heat, so bring your sweat rag. With blazing fiddle action, a banjo that knows no boundaries, an upright bass that summons a depth charge miles wide and a six string guitar that picks apart the fundamentals of folk music, Driftwood aims to please and chances are, you’ll enjoy it. Their debut album, “Rally Day” is in stores as well as in their box o’ merch that they bring with them to every show. Now’s your chance to do something positive and support these players as they plot their way across the country and back. They do it all for you, just to see you there, kickin’ and a’stompin’ with a smile on your face that reaches ear to ear.

For a complete list of tour dates, visit: www.myspace.com/driftwoodgroove

Driftwood is:
Dan Forsyth - Guitar
Joe Kollar - Banjo, the box
Claire Byrne - Fiddle
Jon Doll - Double bass - The Groovelink


"Grassroots 2010 Performers"

Winners of the 2009 GrassRoots Festival Band Contest (no small feat... there was some serious competition!), Driftwood is a serious force on the Upstate NY music scene. Wrapping together all manner of musics that fall under the "Americana" blanket, combining "holy smokes, didja see that?" instrumentalism with "holy smokes, didja hear that?" lyrics, they're a fast-rising force to be reckoned with! - Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance


"You May Walk, Ride, Drive, or Fly – It’s Rally Day, All are Welcome!"

A new sound is drifting its way to the shores of the Upstate New York music scene. Take one part bluegrass, fold in a bit of folk, add a pinch of experimental jam, and you’ve got yourself the soulful songwriting of Driftwood’s newly-released album, Rally Day.

Two-time winners of the Grassroots Music and Arts Festival new band competition, Driftwood is a band with a multi-talented blend of musicians who bring traditional American roots music to a whole new level, creating a truly unique sound by blending old time folk with modern and world music.

Catching Driftwood live brings one back to the heart of an old-time bluegrass ramble. The dance floor (whether there actually is one or not) heats up and gives way to an all-night ho-down full of finger pickin’, partner swinging, booze slugging, and feet stomping.

With Rally Day, however, we see the musical mastery of Driftwood in a different light. Self recorded at Yellow Bike Studios in Chenango Bridge, NY, the album reflects the softer, more soulful side of Driftwood with its warm, welcoming vocals, melodic beats, and seamless stringed, acoustic solos.

The album’s first track, Walking into the Sun, is both aptly placed and named. The song sets the pace for the rest of the album with the soothing and sultry sound of Dan Forsyth’s vocals, Claire Byrne’s swaying fiddle back drop, and steady rhythms. The songwriting appeals largely to the senses, evoking memory and bringing one to a place of placidity and warmth.

While many of the tracks mirror the musical craftsmanship of Walking into the Sun, a few tracks appear that give listeners an inside look into the “live Driftwood experience.” City Gal and Cigarette Addiction are two tracks whose upbeat tempos are largely driven by the steady rhythms of an upright bass, fueling the fire for an old time, bluegrass romp.

Talkin’ Walmart is a track that should not go unheard. It combines the art of storytelling with banjo pickin’ and guitar strumming to create true stringed instrument satire. This witty song sheds light on modern day societal concerns with lighthearted humor, making it a perfect fit for any live performance.

Annie is a track that shows the more experimental side of Driftwood. The song begins with a soft acoustic guitar melody backed by Joe Kollar on banjo, but quickly gives way to an edgier, experimental jam held down by the lead of Jon Doll’s upright bass.

Personal favorite, Tin Pan Momma, deserves nothing short of praise. The track reflects the true heart and soul behind music with its genuine lyrics, musical virtuosity, and saturated sense of soul. “I’ll sing what I want to sing, and play what I want to play and it’s alright you see the Hit Parade has got nothing on me” quotes Forsyth in this track. Taking American roots music to a whole new level, Driftwood’s certainly singing what they want to sing, and playing what they want to play and their using Rally Day to let their voices be heard.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/driftwoodgroove

- Upstate Live Music Review


Discography

"Rally Day" released in June, 2009
"A Rock & Roll Heart" released in November, 2011

Photos

Bio


To understand the hype surrounding this self proclaimed “Shanty Rock” quartet out of Binghamton, NY, catch them at a festival or club and you will surely not be disappointed. But to really see why they are catching so much buzz, follow them around for a few shows.

Climbing out of two hatchbacks one by one, they rustle out a Banjo, Guitar, Violin and a Bass and start to warm up before a show in a small café in New Paltz, NY. They play for maybe 75 people and are off to play a rock club in Providence, RI the next night. They play the opening slot for maybe 45 people and are off to New York City for a nighttime show in the village but they start the day in Washington Square playing for tips. From show to show whether there’s three hundred people or five, a stage, lights, or just a sidewalk with some foot traffic there is one constant: there is something so unbelievably contagious and sincere about the music that flows out of them that no matter where they are, people listen.

It is obvious that there is a strong influence from the traditional American Roots/ Rock artists such as, Bob Dylan or The Band or even Hank Williams along with the modern string band music of today like Old Crow Medicine Show or The Avett Brothers. But there is another side to this band that pays homage to the Pop Rock of the 60’s, the simple straight forward lines of the Classical Period and even the more obscure, popular songwriters of today such as Regina Spektor. Whatever the influences or the sounds, from ballads to up tempo rock feels, the songs are beautiful and the energy is off the chart.

Formed in late 2005 the band spent about four years playing just about anywhere they could. “We just wanted to be able to play for any crowd and turn heads” says banjo player Joe Kollar. “We played everywhere. Coffee houses, bars, churches, rock clubs, bluegrass festivals and the streets…a lot on the streets. We didn’t make any money but what we learned was invaluable”.

After building an incredibly loyal local and regional following they spent the last two years reaching out to a bigger audience. With constant trips to New York City and a grueling touring schedule spanning from Providence, RI to Austin, TX to Portland, OR to Buffalo, NY they have managed to build a fast growing national fan base.