Band unites genres

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Hailing from Cincinnati, the energetic string quartet Rumpke Mountain Boys is regarded by many as one of the best bluegrass bands in Ohio. Rumpke has cleverly dubbed their music as “trashgrass,” according to band member Jason Wolf. The term plays off the name of Rumpke Waste & Recycling Co., which is based just outside of the Queen City.

“‘Trashgrass’ is all of our musical pasts discarded, then reconfigured and brought back together,” said band member Adam Copeland. What’s so enjoyable about Rumpke’s music is that it can’t be classified as one specific genre of music.

“Trashgrass” encompasses a diverse variety of music other than just bluegrass, including rock, reggae and folk, among others. As a result, Rumpke is able to appeal to most everyone with their music, while maintaining their own unique sound–making their shows a sight to behold.

Wolf founded and has played under the Rumpke name since 1999. Ben Gourley joined the band in 2002, after he noticed an ad for a mandolin player in the local paper. Copeland came along in 2005 after the band he had been playing with around Dayton, Ohio, disbanded.

“We’d seen Adam (Copeland) play before and liked what we saw,” said Gourley. “Luckily for us the band was guitar-less around the time Adam’s band separated.” To round out the band, J.D. Westmoreland joined the Rumpke Mountain Boys in November 2011, just before the band departed for their second West Coast tour.

Rumpke plays a gig every Tuesday night at Stanley’s Pub in Cincinnati. Compared to most of their other shows, those at Stanley’s are much more intimate and are a way of giving back to the community that has supported them over the years. Unique to Rumpke is that everyone contributes to songwriting. Most bands only have one or two people who write music, or have someone else entirely who writes for them.

“Writing music comes in spurts of creativity for each of us,” said Gourley. “One or two of us will begin writing something new, and that usually inspires the others to get working on something too.” Gourley went on to say that “Disconnected” is one of his favorite tracks of those he’s written, but stressed that his favorite is constantly changing with his mood and current musical influences. Wolf offered up a much more blunt take on his favorite. “My favorite song is always what I’m working on right now,” said Wolf.

The Rumpke Mountain Boys are known for playing in the moment and bringing intense energy to their live performances, due in large part to the structure, or lack thereof, that the shows have. The band does not follow traditional set lists, but rather plays off of the crowd’s emotion and intensity to make every show one-of-a-kind.

“One of the things I love about the Rumpke Mountain Boys is that there’s a fundamental honesty in their presentation”, said David Gans, host of the Grateful Dead Hour, a nationally broadcasted weekly radio show that can be heard locally on WUKY 91.3 FM every Sunday at 9 PM. Gans was also present for the second annual Rumpke Mountain Boys New Year’s Bash at the Thompson House in Newport, Ky., earlier this year, along with many other bands, including Lexington’s own Restless Leg String Band.

“Thompson House has been unbelievable the last two years,” said Wolf. “We hope to outgrow it one day, but for the time being it’s been a blast! We always love playing in front of our hometown fans.” The Rumpke Mountain Boys are proud to call Lexington their home away from home, and try to return to town as much as possible to perform for some of their most loyal fans, according to Wolf. Rumpke’s Lexington shows are always packed to the brim with fans, whether they’re playing at Cosmic Charlie’s, Willie’s Locally Known, or any of the other music hot spots in town.

Rumpke is officially slated to return to Terrapin Hill from April 17-19 for the Cabin Fever Reliever festival.The band has also announced stops in New York, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Missouri. “We can’t wait to announce the rest of our plans for the summer,” said Wolf. “Our fans are gonna be jacked up!”

Matt Wickstrom is a journalism junior.

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