King Wilkie

by Lewis Geffen, 02/16/2004

Rip snorting. Pure, raw and hard-driving. High and lonesome. Contagious. A young Hot Rize.

These are some of the thoughts that come to mind when thinking about the bluegrass band King Wilkie, a young Charlottesville, VA based sextet that signed with Rebel Records in mid-2003 and is expecting to release their third CD in April 2004. With Reid Burgess (mandolin, vocals), John McDonald (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ted Pitney (lead guitar), Abe Spear (banjo), Nick Reeb (fiddle) and Drew Breakey (upright bass), the lineup that came together in mid-2002, King Wilkie has drawn praise from diverse audiences for their talented musicianship, spirited vocals and contagious enthusiasm.

With the exception of banjoist Abe Spear, the members of King Wilkie didn’t grow up listening to bluegrass music. All of which makes their devotion to the traditional sound and their knowledge of the genre’s roots and nuances the more surprising. The band traces their origins to 2000 when Reid Burgess and Ted Pitney, then students at Kenyon College in Ohio, attended a bluegrass festival on a whim. Deeply impressed by the sound they heard, Burgess and Pitney immersed themselves in bluegrass music to learn everything they could, graduating a year later determined to start a bluegrass band. The two moved to Charlottesville, VA and began to recruit other musicians from across the country to join the band, which they named King Wilkie, adopting the name of one of Bill Monroe's horses.

“True Songs”, the band’s first full length CD released in early 2003, showcases the band’s ability to perform the traditional classics with a new energy and enthusiasm. In part, the energy is captured from the one-take live recording done in the studio. There is no overdubbing or Nashville ”polish” present here.

Listen to the Bill Monroe classics “Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine,” “Goodbye Old Pal” or “Little Cabin Home on the Hill” to get a sense of the band’s understanding and appreciation of the raw power and gusto of straightforward, driving bluegrass rhythm. “In The Pines” and “Does It Have To End This Way” demonstrate the ability of McDonald (baritone) and Burgess (tenor) to team up for some powerful, soulful high and lonesome harmonies. Both singers have a “raspy” edge to their vocals, which underscores the band’s pure and raw overall sound. On “Cold Winds,” a tune popularized by Joe Val, among others, Ted Pitney joins in with McDonald and Burgess for a very nice, lonesome 3-part harmony. On my favorite track on the album, the band takes Don Stover’s “Things in Life” and gives it a nice twist. The King Wilkie version is driven by Ted Pitney’s tremendous flatpicking and, after the long lonesome harmonies of McDonald and Burgess, Pitney takes control of the song and slowly winds it down to a stop, as if he is using his flatpick to echo the song’s lyric: “I often sit and wonder why / Life has to be this way…” True Songs also contains one original composition, “It’s Been A Long Time,” which is written in the spirit of bluegrass music from the 1940s and 1950s.

When performing live, the band also evokes a traditional appeal – the young men all dress in suits and move around and about the two central microphones (instrument and vocal) in carefully choreographed steps. But don’t get the idea that King Wilkie plays only the coffeehouse, church and festival circuit. This group of twenty some-things also takes their brand of bluegrass to the bars, clubs and “honky-tonks” where many of their peers are to be found on any given weeknight. In fact, the band is actively trying to expose more people of their age and background (who tend to be non-bluegrass listeners) to bluegrass music. As John McDonald has stated in one interview, “We have people come up to us and say ‘I’ve never heard bluegrass before and really enjoyed you guys,’ so it’s been encouraging . . . I’d like to think we’ve already made a lot of converts.”

The next challenge for King Wilkie is to prove they can write original material that will satisfy their audience and listeners. Their upcoming self-titled debut on Rebel Records (recorded and produced by Bob Carlin) will be released in April 2004 and will contain at least 5 original compositions, penned primarily by Pitney and Burgess. I had the recent pleasure of hearing King Wilkie again this past weekend (at the 19th Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Massachusetts), where some of these songs were played. After hearing a few of the new songs, especially "Lee and Paige" (a tragic love story sung in close harmony and accompanied by sparse and simple guitar and mandolin) and "All Night Blues" (an up-tempo barn burner), I’d venture a guess that the boys are up to the challenge.

The short samples below are both from “True Songs”. “In the Pines” demonstrates the band’s ability to take an oft-covered classic and make it sound fresh, with their energy and the tight, raw vocal harmony of Burgess and McDonald. “Things in Life” showcases the band’s talent for interpretation, letting Pitney’s guitar drive the song and wind it down at the end. Enjoy!

MP3 samples available!
In The Pines
Things In Life