TUES 6 APRIL 2004
Bluegrass brings diverse group of musicians together
By Bennett YankeyArgonaut Staff
What do you get when you mix chemistry, computer science, biology, geology, conservation biology and ecological genetics? Somehow you end up with bluegrass band Chubbs Toga.
These majors make up the local quartet that turned upscale Moscow restaurant The Red Door into a haven of bluegrass music Thursday evening.
JOSH DEAN / ARGONAUT / Members of Chubbs Toga play Thursday night at The Red Door in Moscow. It was the first time the band had played at the restaurant. They plan to perform at the Hemp Festival and Renaissance Fair later this year.
The band also played an original tune called “Clamdigger,” written by guitarist Noel Palmer and arranged by the full band.
“We like to segue some songs and extend them out, because that’s when the really cool music happens,” Palmer said.
When Chubbs Toga started the second tune, two women began to dance to the steady, driving rhythm. Most of the people sitting down to dinner turned their chairs to see the music better.
“It’s awesome. I like to see live music at the Red Door. The guitar player, ‘Doc’ Palmer, is a total shredder,” said audience member Noah Beck, a music student at UI.
With Palmer on guitar and lead vocals, John Brunsfeld on the mandolin, Sam Schumacher on banjo and Thor Hanson on the upright bass, and with backup vocal parts shared by all members of the group, Chubbs Toga possesses the necessary ingredients for a bluegrass ensemble.
In addition to the core quartet, the band sometimes adds a fifth musician, Eric Gilbert, on accordion.
The traditional bluegrass band — as popularized by the acknowledged father of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe — consists of guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and bass.
The lack of a fiddle player is no deterrent to Chubbs Toga. The ensemble plays a style of bluegrass made famous by guitarist Doc Watson, who figured out a way to play the fiddle parts on the guitar.
The literally hundreds of so-called “fiddle tunes” in existence are the backbone of bluegrass music today.
Palmer, who teaches chemistry department labs, said he had owned a guitar and played off and on before he learned his first fiddle tune five years ago. It wasn’t long before he became consumed by the music.
“Bluegrass is kind of addicting,” Palmer said.
All of the band members have their own unique stories about how they became interested in the traditional American music known as bluegrass.
Brunsfeld, a junior studying computer science and biology at UI, said he bought his first mandolin on a whim, initially playing Irish music and eventually getting into bluegrass. He is also proficient on the guitar and the sitar.
His first experience playing bluegrass music was with Schumacher, the band’s banjoist, and also a cousin of Brunsfeld.
Schumacher, who studies geology, was first exposed to bluegrass two years ago while on a road trip. He stopped at a bluegrass festival in Stevenson, Wash., and attended an introduction workshop on the banjo, which covered the instrument’s basic technique.
Hanson, a Ph.D. candidate in conservation biology and ecological genetics who has been playing the bass for 24 years, said most of his bass playing up to this point has been jazz, blues and rock. Playing with Chubbs Toga has been his first experience playing bluegrass.
The name Chubbs Toga was the creation of a fourth-grade student at Lena Whitmore Elementary whom Palmer knows through the Moscow Mentor Program. The band liked the name and asked for the student’s permission to use it.
Thursday’s show was Chubbs Toga’s first appearance at the Red Door, but it will not be its last. The band will play at the restaurant again April 15. Other coming performances include appearances at the Hemp Festival and the Renaissance Fair.
Schedule for Eastside Cinemas
“Dawn of the Dead” R (2:45) and 9:20 p.m.“Taking Lives” R (2:50) and 9:35 p.m.Ê
“Secret Window” PG-13 (12:35), 5, and 7:10 p.m.
“Hidalgo” PG-13 (12:50), (3:40), 6:30 and 9:20 p.m.
“Starsky and Hutch” PG-13 (12:35), 5:05, and 7:20 p.m.
“Home on the Range” PG (1:30), (3:20), 5:10, 7 and 8:50 p.m.
“Walking Tall” PG-13 (1:30), (3:30), 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Schedule for U4 Cinemas
“Hellboy” PG-13 (1:30), (4), 7 and 9:30 p.m.“Prince & Me” PG (1), 4:30, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.
“Scooby Doo 2” PG (1), 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
“Lady Killers” R (1:30), 4:30, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.
Showtimes in ( ) are for Saturday and Sunday only.
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