The Wronglers Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 7th 2010 9:00AM by Kelly Rose
Comments

Listening to the Wronglers conjures up memories of a simpler time in music. It's not over produced -- no synthesized beats or doctored vocals. It's just made up of beautiful sounds laced with simple melodies, accompanied by the sweet sounds of a fiddle, guitar, banjo and mandolin. It's music at its purest. Spinner recently caught up with the Wronglers' members, Warren Hellman [vocals and banjo] and Colleen Browne [vocals and bass guitar], who'll be playing at their first SXSW this March.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Warren Hellman: Old time music. Our mantra is simple music played by complicated people.

How did your band form?

Collen Browne: The band came together when the four original members [Hellman, Nate Levine, B Martin and K Martin] were all students of teacher Jody Stecher. He put these guys together to learn how to play with other musicians. When they were invited to play at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, they added me as a bassist-vocalist and Warren's wife, Chris, as another vocalist. The Wronglers were born.

Who are your musical influences?

WH: I grew up loving Earl Scruggs, Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt. I like traditional, old time music. I guess I'm hard wired for this type of music.

CB: Folk, fiddle and banjo tunes. Appalachian music. Old Crow Medicine Show.

How did you come up with your band name?

WH: It was a play on Wrangler jeans since we're in San Francisco where Levi Strauss is located. It's fun. Also, the first time the Hardly Strictly Blues Festival [happened], there was a band called the Wranglers so it was a play on that. And the Wronglers wasn't copyrighted.

Beatles or Stones?

WH: Who are they [laughs]? I'm going with Elvis.

CB: Both. Why do you have to choose? Our music is older, so they weren't really an influence on our style.

What's your biggest vice?

WH: Obsession with whatever I'm trying to do. Right now it's the banjo. I wasn't a great student, but I graduated from Harvard Business School. I wasn't a great swimmer, but I was on the college water polo team. I just think if you keep doing more [and] longer than your competitors then you'll be better.

CB: Facebook.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

WH: Since I own Hardly Strictly Records, I get five or six CDs a day, so I listen to those. I like the Austin Lounge Lizards, Todd Snider, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Old Crow Medicine Show. I love Emmylou Harris. Oh, and [the] all girl Canadian group, the Be Good Tanyas.

CB: I just saw a documentary on the Magnetic Fields. Stephin Merritt is a great songwriter.

Have you ever been starstruck when meeting any famous musicians?

WH: Yes, all of them. I sat in with Earl Scruggs once. That was next to Heaven.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

WH: There's a girl who comes to the festival almost every year, and one year she was dancing to Roan Mountain Hilltoppers. She was wearing a jean skirt that kept creeping further and further down, exposing her butt crack. Banjo player,Amy Michaels didn't like playing next to "Miss Buttcrack." Of course, the next year the same girl wore the same skirt and a see-through shirt!

Kelly Rose is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.