Not only is “Mountain Minstrelsy” the most original work, the creative journey has brought the book of “Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania” by Henry Shoemaker into proper modern folklore. It, also, comes with a sense of beaming Keystone pride.







There are few bands in this day and age that can dare their audience to follow them on a journey unlike either has experienced before in the name of artistic merit and honesty. The almighty dollar and new technology have too many racing after the next big thing. “Marah Presents Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania” is tangible proof that to do something extraordinary, one need not chase the dragon everyone else is after.







An album recorded to tape in a hallowed church in Central Pennsylvania that can speak with music lovers worldwide because it calls to something much more deeply innate; the idea of truth.







A truth to the vision. A truth in commitment. In musicianship. In its execution.







It can be heard in every nook and cranny of the album. It produces a stunning work that will stand the test of time and hopefully inspire those in the future to undertake a task like Marah did with Shoemaker’s book.







We recently had the chance to speak with Marah (Gus Tritsch, Christine Smith and Dave Bielanko) about making the album and the past year.











The Swerve Magazine: Do you have a favorite moment on the album, like where a song just came together effortless? Why that particular moment?











The Swerve Magazine: Do you have a favorite moment on the album, like where a song just came together effortlessly? Why that particular moment?







Gust Tritsch: I walked down to the church where we were recording Mountain Minstrelsy to see what Dave and Christine were up to. I mentioned that I had just written a song out of the Mountain Minstrelsy book called Harry Bell, which is a song about a boy who pretty much gets cut in half at a sawmill. The words just seemed perfect right out of the book. I didn't change anything, I just put them to music. I played Harry Bell for them and we decided to record it that very instant, one take, one microphone. It was so quick. I never imagined that it would be on the record, but that's where it ended up. It’s probably one of the songs that's changed the most since it was recorded. We've played it at just about every show.







SM: Taking the flip-side was there any part of taking the book and making it into a song that gave you any issues? What were they and how did you overcome them?







Dave Bielanko : Well, sometimes you kinda got the feeling you were being watched by some ancient ancestors in an old oval frame on the wall...It was a little daunting, but we just went about our business as fearlessly as we could. To overcome that type of nagging apprehension (disappointing some long dead lumberjack) it's best to just trust your gut and get something on tape as fast as possible.







SM: Knowing how much time and effort was put into the album and that it has been out for the better part of the year and the band has toured the USA and Spain, what have you found the most rewarding from the experiences?







GT: Going to Spain. Spain is just my favorite place on the planet now.







Christine Smith: Seeing all of this through Gus's eyes. Saving a bunch of songs that probably would have been lost forever. Making the town of Millheim proud.







SM: The street festival in Spain (pulled from the story on your website) seemed a harrowing frenetic moment, what happened?







GT: La Patum is kind of hard to explain. Imagine 10,000 people shoved into the space that 500 people could be comfortable in, jumping up and down, and getting fire shot at them. When we were at the Patum, most of the time we were pretty far to the back of the whole crazy festival. But then, all of a sudden the crazy fire shooting dragon thing was right there 10 feet away from us. It was kind of scary but also very fun. Everybody was very nice, while politely slamming into each other. Everybody was worried that we didn't have the right kind of hats to protect us from all the sparks and fire. Everyone else had these huge red floppy sun hats on.







CS: I had never seen anything like it. Gus is right, it was scary and fun, a wild night!







SM: Mountain Minstrelsy is taking Pennsylvania history and creating folk songs. Was there ever a moment in the writing and recording process where you thought maybe it was too daunting of task?







CS: Once we were truly in it, there was no way we were ever not going to see it through to the end. Not just for ourselves, but more for everyone else involved.







SM: Going with the old-school recording process for this album would there be anything that would possibly draw the band away from recording this way on future projects?







CS: No, there's no turning back now. We recently made some new improvements to our studio (and also sold the last of our digital crap!) and now we're really looking forward to an even better sounding analog record next time around.







GT: Recording on analog tape machines you only had 8 tracks so you were constantly mixing them together. I learned a lot from recording on reel to reel machines. I think if we record again that way we may use the computer to back the recordings up.







SM: I ask this question because Marah is part of a small group of bands that will follow artistic intuition for each project. While you are still enjoying the afterglow of Mountain Minstrelsy, are there any ideas of what could come next?







CS: Dave and I have been discussing a few different ideas and we plan to start recording as soon as the holidays are over. As for the new "project," stay tuned!







For an earlier interview with Marah click here.

