Strangefolk Begins New Chapter in Music Career

Author: Andrew Zrike

When bands lose their chief singer and songwriter, they often break up or disappear into rock 'n' roll obscurity. Strangefolk's performance last Friday night at Lupos Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, R.I., however, made it evident this is not the case with this Vermont-based band.

When co-founder Reid Genauer played his last show with the band in September, 2000, the future of the band was in jeopardy. However, after sitting down, the three remaining members of the group, singer/lead-guitarist Jon Trafton, bassist/singer Eric Glockear, and drummer Luke Smith, decided that unlike Reid, they still wanted to make music and tour.

Soon thereafter, the band held auditions that produced two new members, Luke "Patchen" Montgomery and Scott Shdeed. Thus began the next chapter in the 10-year history of Strangefolk.

In the last year the new and rejuvenated Stangefolk has hit the road with an incredible amount of energy.

Though still sticking to their traditional folk-based, rock 'n' roll sound which had garnered them an extensive national following, in the last year the band has expanded their sound with the assistance of their new members and the addition of keys in their on-stage instrumentation.

Though only playing together for a little over a year, the band already has incredible chemistry. It has added many new tunes to an already extensive catalog of songs written by three talented and extremely distinct singer/songwriters in the band. The band's incredibly rapid cohesiveness culminated in the release of Strangefolk's fourth album at the end of the summer, "Open Road," which was made up entirely of new material since Genauer left the band.

At Lupos, Strangefolk demonstrated to a packed club why they are still drawing crowds across the country.

The band quickly got the almost 1,000 person audience dancing with the aptly titled, "Gets You Moving," as the always energetic Patchen sang "it's nice to have a little piece of music for your feet. It's all you need." As the first set progressed, each song displayed the immense talent of the musicians in the band, and each member was given a chance to stand out and take the spotlight.

For instance on "See To," Jon Trafton took over lead vocal and guitar details, and demonstrated why he is considered such a talented guitarist. Later on, with bassist Glockear on lead vocals, the group played a jammed-out version of the popular song "Paperback Book." It was evident that each member plays an integral role in rounding out the band's sound and adds to the diversity of Strangefolk's song catalog.

Another standout song during the night was "Stout-hearted," which is one of the few songs penned by Genauer that still appears in the set list. Patchen handled singing duties, and easily matched the intensity with which Reid used to sing this Strangefolk classic. The song has taken on a new sound with the addition of keyboards and the interplay between Patchen and Trafton's guitars near the end of the song.

The band closed the night with the 80s classic "Electric Avenue," which was presented in a truly funked out form that had everyone of the floor dancing. By the end of the song both band and crowd where covered in sweat, a testament to the band's hard work on stage and their ability to get the crowd moving.

Strangefolk now embarks on a huge two-month national co-headlining tour with mid-west rockers Big Wu. If the band continues to play with the intensity they had on Friday night, their once uncertain future will be nothing but bright.