Categories: New MusicNews

NEW ALBUM FROM HAYSEED DIXIE: “HAIR DOWN TO MY GRASS”

Hayseed Dixie began in the summer of 2000 in the fertile valley of Deer Lick Holler, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee USA. In this area which was completely isolated from outside cultural and musical influence, the boys grew up playing the traditional music of their forefathers on banjo, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and acoustic bass.

All of this changed abruptly one afternoon when a stranger crashed his car into a stately old oak tree on a particularly dangerous curve, which the locals refer to as the “Devil’s Elbow.” Sadly, the stranger expired, but his legacy lives on! As the boys searched through the wreckage looking for identification, they discovered several vinyl AC/DC albums. After playing these back on an old Edison 78rpm Victrola, everyone agreed that the songs were rather fine country music . . . and that the Lost Highway of Brother Hank Williams and this Highway To Hell of AC/DC were indeed the exact same road! And the rest is now enshrined in musical history.

Hayseed Dixie are now the acknowledged creators of the musical genre, Rockgrass. They have released 15 albums since 2001, consisting of both original material and reinterpretations of previously rendered songs, selling a combined total of over 500,000 copies. They have also performed over 1,000 live shows in 31 different countries.

More recently, Hayseed Dixie have been exploring the inspired catalogue of the stadium rock of the 1970’s and 1980’s. This interest began during a 2014 Spring tour of Germany, in which the band heard the song “Eye of the Tiger” 6 different times on 6 different German radio stations in a single day while driving between Dortmund and Frankfurt. “As the seed is planted, so the tree shall grow” – this very quote appears on the inner sleeve of the 1980 album “Escape” by Journey. How true indeed.

“Hair Down To My Grass” is the newest release from Hayseed Dixie and was recorded in the Mountains of Cumbria in a converted barn.

Hayseed Dixie are:

John Wheeler aka Barley Scotch – guitar, fiddle and singing
Jake Bakesnake Byers – bass and harmonizing
Hippy Joe Hymas – mandolin and harmonizing
Johnny Butten – banjo and harmonising

Tracklisting

Don’t Stop Believing
Eye Of The Tiger
The Final Countdown
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Summer Of 69
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Dude Looks Like A Lady
Livin’ On A Prayer
Wind De Veränderung
We Are The Road Crew
Comfortably Numb
Don’t Fear The Reaper

XS Noize

Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.