You can do many things to and with Ryan Shupe's music -- groove to it, sing along with it, even just smile at it.
The one thing you cannot do is pigeonhole it.
This fact has been both a blessing and a curse for the Ogden-born multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Ryan Shupe, who plays a show with his RubberBand at Layton's Kenley Centennial Amphitheater on Saturday.
Traditional instruments, such as mandolin, fiddle and acoustic guitar, are all featured in the act. And sure, this fine band, now based mostly in the Provo area, can indubitably pick and grin alongside the best bluegrass outfits, past and present.
Yet the five-piece band can also delve into songs that decidedly rock out, or feature the solo improvisations of the best of jam music. Some songs even have a world beat or reggae feel.
The group was once signed with commercial country giant Capitol Nashville, and delivered an album in 2005, "Dream Big," which made it into the Top 20 of the Billboard Country charts.
But Nashville, and its very successful but often formulaic music juggernaut, didn't know quite what to do with such wide-ranging fare. The band and the label ended up parting ways.
No matter. Shupe and the boys keep right on going, delivering music that is tasty and accessible -- and which really doesn't sound like anyone else's.
"We like the diversity," said Shupe, calling from his Utah County home. "That's the part that keeps us all entertained. We like mixing it up -- playing one song really fast and bluegrassy, the next with a slower reggae feel, the next, a little more rocking. I think, so far as us selling, marketing the album, it is a unique approach.
"But it does sometimes get hard, because people want to know just what you are. 'Are you a country band?' And it's like, 'Well, if you like country, you will probably like us.' 'Oh -- are you more of a rock band?' 'Well, if you like that, you'll probably also like us, too.' Someone in Colorado once called us pop-grass, and I kind of liked that. So it proves to be a little more hard to define, but once they come to the show, and sort of see the vision, people usually go, 'Oh, now I get it.' "
Shupe says if there is a common theme, it might be that the RubberBand makes good-time music.
"Generally, our music is very positive, a kind of celebration of life." Shupe laughed. "But sometimes, folks just really want to know where to put our album on the shelf."
The shoe fits
The latest RubberBand album, "Brand New Shoes," arrived early this summer. It is the band's seventh.
"Seven is a magic number, you know," Shupe said. "It's funny, I had to stop and figure out which number this is. When you first start a band, you think, 'Be nice to have one CD, maybe I'll end up with even a couple of CDs.' But really, you don't imagine you are going to have seven."
With the last album, "Last Man Standing," Shupe said, the band went with a more rocking sound than usual. "Brand New Shoes" leans more acoustic.
"On this one, I kind of feel like it is closer to the quintessential RubberBand sound than we've done for a while," he said. "We take acoustic instruments and push them to their limits, trying to make them sound unique but traditional, getting back to those acoustic roots, is the idea of this album."
Creative pathway
Shupe said he takes pleasure in making albums, especially writing the material and seeing where it leads him.
"I like writing, really enjoy that element," Shupe said. "I started a band to play the music I wrote. So I pretty much write most of the songs, then we all get together and arrange them. I like to take it and see what they can come up with. I believe that collaboration makes it best overall, because everyone has their own ideas to add."
Shupe said he gets his songwriting ideas from the world around him.
"I am always thinking along those lines, throughout the day. I have a little notepad I keep with me. I jot down ideas, but then from there, songs are kind of inspired, I think. I think maybe it was Tom Petty who said, 'I was just lucky enough to get this song and share it with everyone.' I kind of feel like that."
He thinks his subconscious comes into play.
"It works things out. One day, you look at all these little notes you make, and it's like, 'Look at that. There is a whole song here.' Or other times, you start writing, and don't know what it is about, yet there it is. It's like a creative pathway that you're not sure where it will lead you. I love that part."
Shupe draws inspiration from the people he sees on the street, imagining their lives, as well as news stories or tales he hears at church. And these days, he also draws material from his three children.
"It's just dang fun," he said. "I get ideas rocking them to sleep, making up songs for them. There is a song on this album about my daughter, 'My Dandelion.' She was always telling me she wanted to do go pick dandelions. And she reminds me a little of a dandelion herself ¬-- pretty, but a little wild and out there."
Performers at heart
Shupe notes that everyone in the band comes from a performing background.
"We didn't just say one day, 'We want to play songs.' We were performing with family bands since we were kids, and eventually said, 'Let's make this a band.' "
Although you can capture the sound of a live performance on tape, Shupe said, the essence of what makes a live show is altogether different.
"We really love both making records and playing, but what I love is to have people come out of the show and get something a little more out of it."
As for the show at Kenley, Shupe said the entire band is looking forward to it.
"Layton is a great venue, a good-sized place. It actually holds a fair amount of people, but it feels pretty quaint. With amphitheaters, sometimes they just sort of fall the right way. This is one of those amphitheaters."
Shupe scoops
l Ryan Shupe was born in Ogden, to the musical Shupe family. He marks the fifth generation as a fiddler in his family line. His father, Ted, once ran an all-ages club called The Junction in Ogden, giving young musicians a place to hone their stage skills.
l Shupe began to fiddle at about age 5. At age 10, he began playing with a national child fiddle act his father began, the PeeWee Pickers.
l Shupe originally named his outfit the RubberBand because he knew that musicians tend to come and go in any particular lineup, and also because it gave him permission in a way to keep the lineup flexible.
Still, the band's lineup has stayed amazingly stable for nearly a decade. In May, longtime drummer Bart Olson did leave to pursue other projects. Drummer Nate Smeding then joined the group.
l The RubberBand has released seven albums since 1996, including a 2005 major-label release on Capitol Nashville, "Dream Big." The album hit No. 13 on the Billboard U.S. Country charts. The title cut was used on the NBC show "Three Wishes," starring Amy Grant.
l The RubberBand has since parted ways with Capitol Nashville, but has released two more albums since -- "Last Man Standing" in 2008 and "Brand New Shoes," which came out in June of this year.
Sources: Ryan Shupe, www.shupe.net, www.allmusic.com, www.billboard.com.
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