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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Ogden-born fiddler brings high-energy show to amphitheater
By Linda East BradyAudio: Listen to Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband perform "Last Man Standing"
Fiddler/RubberBand leader Ryan Shupe feels most at home in the Top of Utah.
As well he should.
Born at McKay-Dee Hospital and raised in and around Ogden, the violin-wielding singer/songwriter started playing music in Junction City when he was but knee-high to the proverbial fiddling grasshopper.
"I was a fifth-generation fiddler in my family," Shupe said, calling on his way to a sans-RubberBand gig in Tremonton. "People always say how amazing that is, but I just didn't know anything different."
Ryan's father, Ted Shupe, formed the PeeWee Pickers to showcase local talent, including his son's. Shupe was not yet 10 when he went pro with the Pickers.
"It was a great thing to do for us kids," said Shupe. "It taught us camaraderie and teamwork, and we got to travel all around the country. Hey -- making 20 bucks as a little kid is the greatest thing in the world." He laughed. "Of course, now we hope to bring home slightly more for a night's work, but you never know."
With the advent of a new album, "Last Man Standing," from Montage Records, Shupe is bringing his RubberBand (Roger Archibald, guitar/vocals; Craig Miner, multi-instrumentalist/vocals; Ryan Tilby, bass/vocals, and Bart Olson, drums) to Layton's Kenley Centennial Amphitheater on Monday.
"We are always excited to play that beautiful amphitheater," said Shupe. "Heck, Ryan (Tilby) and I grew up in Ogden, right up the street. So we have many friends there."
Stretching the 'band
After he outgrew the PeeWee Pickers, Shupe joined Mike Iverson, Harrisville-based clawhammer banjo whiz, in Powderidge in 1987. Shupe fiddled for the outfit until he left on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
After returning from the mission in 1992, Shupe played several years with Iverson's current traditional outfit, Blue Sage. Shupe provided fiddle until the mid-'90s, when he started laying the groundwork for the RubberBand.
"He has played on everyone's record, from Peter Breinholt to Brenn Hill," said Iverson of Shupe. "Ryan is simply one of the most versatile fiddlers out there. Usually, players with his technical skill are not that wide-ranging. But he never tries to make the music suit his style -- he makes his fiddling serve the song."
The idea for the RubberBand was to offer a flexible lineup, said Shupe. He had the idea that he could pull from a pool of area musicians as needed for a particular gig. That also gave the other members of his band the flexibility to play other gigs or work elsewhere.
Said Shupe: "The name stuck from the beginning -- even after we started to solidify as this five-man operation. Now we like to say it is our musical style that stretches out in all directions." He laughed and added, "Or maybe you could lie, and say we do a lot of yoga, to add a little color."
Defining the band
The group, which released four albums on its own to regional acclaim, decided to take a shot at Nashville's Music Row about four years ago. The band landed a deal with Capitol Nashville, delivering "Dream Big" for the label in 2005.
"But we all still live along the Wasatch Front," said Shupe. "We went to Nashville because you kind of have to pick your music city -- L.A., Austin, New York, Nashville. People were really nice in Nashville, we found, and as we have mandolin and banjo in the group, we thought that might open doors in a country music town. So our business stuff -- management and PR -- are based out of there. But we try and base out of here. That's what phones and the Internet are for."
While Shupe's tasteful fiddling style is unique and as definable as his left thumbprint, the music he and the RubberBand make is not so easily pigeon-holed.
"We sat down one time and tried to make a list of all the bands and people we have in common -- like Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen, The Police, Metallica and AC/DC. Then there is Johnny Cash and Alison Krauss," said Shupe.
"Roger's mom played accordion, he played bluegrass guitar, and his brother blasted AC/DC. I was a fan of a lot of rock stuff back in the day -- well, still am -- and love songwriters, too. Miner plays with a jazz background, and has the banjo thing, too. So you mix that all in, and you get some kind of range.
"Alison Krauss to AC/DC." He laughed. "I don't know how you could get more different from each other than those two artists."
Still standing
Unlike "Dream Big," in which the band tried to capture its live sound, Shupe said, the band decided to have some fun in the studio, adding elements they couldn't in a live performance.
"I think I've come to discover it's best to have kind of two different things -- a great studio creation and a great live thing. I think we do that here. We decided for this one, we'd take liberties in the studio, add different instruments."
He also brought in Jason Deere, a Utah-based producer, songwriter and performer, to help on a few cuts.
"We took the songs Jason helped us with to the label, and they gave us the go-ahead," said Shupe. "Then we produce the rest of the songs ourselves. Jason has a good ear for that radio kind of sound. He is connected in Nashville, and keeps his ear to the grass for what they are looking for there. Of course, we want to make sure our sound is ours, but it is good to have an extra ear to help you."
The sound of "Last Man Standing" couldn't very well be anyone else's, with Shupe's signature fiddle soaring over a variety of styles.
"A longtime RubberBand fan would see this album as part of what we do, I think. Some of the songs on here are short and to the point -- you'll sing along with these," Shupe said. "And then we have introspective songs, too. Our style is all over the place. We have a kind of Latin groove here, more bluegrass feel there.
"The main thing for us is, we always want to keep on stretching."
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