With roots in bluegrass and country, The Spikedrivers have come a long way during their nine years in Appalachia to mix in a little blues-rock to their folk sound.
“The Spikedrivers have gotten more rock and roll over the years” said Steven Fox, bassist for the band. “Starting off, it was more country blues and we’ve gotten more bombastic over the years.”
The group will play at Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery, 24 W. Union St., at 10 p.m. Friday.
Jesse Henry, lead vocalist and guitarist, said the band’s changing sound is largely due to the addition of new guitarists with backgrounds in blues playing electric instruments and drums.
“Our style is rooted in bluegrass and then comes all the way up to a modern day version of blues and rock,” Henry said. “It was a natural progression; there wasn’t anything that we had collectively thought about.”
Henry added that the band is still largely rooted in country but the traditional bluegrass style has gone by the wayside.
However, all music truly comes back to the blues in the end, Henry said, and there is a lot of overlap between styles for the band.
“You can hear the blues in everything; even in bluegrass you can hear the blues,” Fox said. “We’re an eclectic band. … It’s a musical road map.”
The band has started recording a new album that they hope to release in the summer or early fall. They plan on continuing a trend toward Americana rock and roll.
The group released its first album, The Spikedrivers, in 2006 and its most recent album Gather Round in 2009. Gather Round features more rock songs, Henry said, and it also had a feeling of companionship and togetherness, as suggested by the album name.
“Gather Round was more in the style that we’re in right now,” Henry said. “(With the new album) we’ve got some straight up rock and roll.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
