But Strings discovered the fertile intersection of bluegrass and jam-band culture, popularized by Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass. Their duo specialized in hard, fast and loud renditions of the staples that Strings’s stepfather taught him. In Traverse City, Strings met Don Julin, an area mandolin aficionado three decades his senior.
I was not going to mess this up with booze.” “Music was my one opportunity - otherwise, I was going back to being a meth head, overdosing, prison. “I had decided this music stuff could save my life,” Strings said by phone from a parking lot in Spokane, Wash., lounging in one of his twin buses. He swore he’d never again let the partying interfere with the playing. Strings hung his head from a window, streaking the van’s sides with last night’s regret. Every 15 minutes, he shuffled outside to vomit until the rest of his band agreed that, if they were going to reach their South Carolina show, they couldn’t stop again. Was it the previous evening’s onstage bottles of beer or post-show cans of wine? The late-night tumblers of whiskey that Strings - then an unsigned 23-year-old bluegrass hot shot - bought to celebrate that profitable night in the summer of 2016? The endless bumps of cocaine?īarreling down Interstate 85 the next afternoon through suffocating Southern heat, Strings just knew he’d made a mistake. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.Billy Strings did not know what exactly had given him the hangover from hell. Â For once I can say that if you want the real essence of a great live performer you can go buy his record, Turmoil & Tinfoil.Ībout the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah.
 That this is his debut full length album is surprising, but he definitely did it right.
 It’s even more amazing given that he’s barely in his mid-20’s.  Strings has been a fixture on the festival circuit for a few years, often playing guest spots with the headliner.  “You know I don’t want your opinion, I just want to blow your brains out.”  Punk!  You’re humming along, tapping your foot to a classic bluegrass tune and suddenly the lyrics leap out at you.  Spinning is a spoken word piece that’s a throwback to the psychedelic era.  These Memories Of You is an old-timey number written by Billy’s dad, Terry Barber.  In addition to the standard bluegrass material, While I’m Waiting brought back reminisces of Gentle On My Mind with some of its chord changes and rhythmic elements. Strings plays broadly across styles on the album.  Living Like An Animal is a hillbilly stomp resplendent with harmonica and Ozark harp.  Salty Sheep is an instrumental duet with Bryan Sutton that’s a 21st century Little Martha.  Doin’ Things Right amps that up by pretty much doubling the tempo.  This is rock and roll attitude bluegrass with solos that lean closer to Drive-By Truckers than Del McCoury.  I probably have to start with Meet Me At the Creek.  Strings enlisted the help of Glenn Brown (Greensky Bluegrass) as producer and they captured the live magic across a broad range of songs.  The intensity, passion, and jaw-dropping picking skills that you get from Strings live are very present on Turmoil & Tinfoil.  I’m here to tell you that Billy Strings, in his debut album, has done just that.  Hence the reason most jam bands, and many others frankly, never have much of a hit recording, yet fill large venues. There’s a saying most of you are familiar with, “like catching lightning in a bottle.”  In the music business it’s not unusual to hear that applied to the idea of catching a band’s live performance energy & style in the studio.