Railroad Earth is a seven-piece new-grass band known for its song-crafting abilities, impeccable bluegrass production quality and infectiously electric energy during live shows. For over two decades, these New Jersey musicians have been providing lovers of the bluegrass genre a wealth of music. I spoke with Carey Harmon, the drummer for the band, before a New Year's Eve weekend double-header on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31.
Harmon began working his way behind a drum set in elementary school.
"I was in the 4th grade band, and we were told to pick an instrument." recalled Harmon. "I picked a saxophone, and they didn't have any more to rent out, so they gave me a drum pad and sticks. Kind of in a 'here's this until we can find you one' kind of way, you know?" Harmon's admission is punctuated with a hearty laugh.
Harmon also admits that finding his way in a band with such prolific talent has been a challenge but has never stumped him musically. "It's been pretty interesting to be the drummer in a string band," said Harmon. "In bluegrass, there's no need for a drummer. It's got mandolins and bass, guitar and fiddle. You look at it and go, "How can I support this without flattening it?" that's been a really fun challenge for me all these years."
Harmon lived and worked in New York in the '90s, learning from and collaborating with Latin and West African musicians in Spanish Harlem before teaming up with Tim Carbone and other talented musicians for some session time in the recording studio.
"No one really knew that it was our record when we were recording it — we just really wound up with a sound," Harmon commented. "It certainly wasn't something I was aware of, but it was an eye-opener for us."
Those unassuming efforts were released as "The Black Bear Sessions," an eclectic 10-song bluegrass/rock album with stunning ideas steeped in Americana roots. The seventh track on "The Black Bear Sessions," titled "Stillwater Getaway," provides the fiddle-prowess and barn-stomping energy that listeners have come to know and love about the bluegrass and jam-grass scene. On this expansive 6-minute track there is no vocal and there is no lead instrument; every instrument is the lead instrument.
"Finding the right groove in bluegrass never gets old. There's definitely a flow. It's boom-sha boom-sha boom-sha," Harmon relays. "It's relaxed, but it's driving. It's subtle, it's really hard to do correctly, I think."
On the band's latest album, 2022's "All For the Song," the group bounces back from the passing of band member Andy Goessling and continues to deliver fresh takes, utilizing brass sections and catchy moonshine melodies. While the album delivers tunes like "The Great Divide" and "It's So Good," it's the unexpected ballad "My Favorite Spot," that encapsulates the evolution of the band as songwriters and musicians. The track paints a journey from innocence to experience as a foray into fuzz pedals masks earnest lyrics lamenting the difficulties of our modern world. It's a daring move to believe distorted power chords can mingle with mandolins and hi-hat hits from Harmon, but the band executes this combination masterfully to create a song that sounds like Willie Nelson's take on a b-side from The Modern Lovers, or maybe vice versa.
With zero hesitancy, Harmon assured that the band's creative energies have shown no faults nor fractures, with its latest musicians gelling well. "Everyone kind of falls into their perspective and roles. It really is a band full of producers and I don't feel like we're at a point where we're relying on nostalgia. We've got a lineup now we're really fired up about," Harmon remarked. "We just got together to start the creative process with the seven of us. It's far off, but I see a new recording project out there sometime in 2024."
