Sons & BrothersWestcliffe's Finest Bluegrass Band: Wetgrass
Mike Wolking - guitar, Dobro and banjo * Aaron Wolking - bass * Frank Wolking - mandolin and guitar * Joe Wolking - mandolin and fiddle * Fred Wolking - guitar Contact:
Sons and Brothers, Westcliffe's finest (and only) bluegrass band, started as a Christian music band. Now, this talented family plays a range of music from gospel to Gram Parsons. They are a high-energy acoustic band with four years of experience. They sing hard, play hard and drive their version of gospel and bluegrass into their audience with powerful arrangements. They were heavily influenced by the Dry Branch Fire Squad, and that shows in their humor and Joe's mandolin cross-picking and fiddle playing. On stage, they're professional and dynamic, with great instrumentals and three-part harmonies. Audience response to their music has been tremendously enthusiastic. Eldest son Mike does everything "to perfection", including singing lead and harmony, playing lead and rhythm guitar, Dobro, and "flogging" banjo. Aaron can switch from bass guitar to upright bass without missing a bit of his patter as M.C. or a note of his lead vocals. And, father Frank shows where the boys get their talent, switching seamlessly between guitar and mandolin, singing harmony, and watching his boys with understandable pride.
Sons and Brother’s “Westgrass” Music Scoring Big with Audiences By Kathy Foster-Patton, from Pow'r Pickin', March, 2005Ten years ago, Mike Wolking pulled a dusty Martin guitar out from beneath his parents’ bed. From that moment, a musical force began to build in the tiny town of Westcliffe, Colorado, bursting out last year like a prairie storm, in a blizzard of success. In 2004, The Sons and Brothers Band performed all over the country, carried off the National Bluegrass Playoff trophy at the Huck Finn Jubilee, and then swept away on their first international tour. Selling CD’s and videos, they continued to infiltrate the concept of “westgrass” to unsuspecting audiences—their own homebrewed sound that mixes a strong western strain with old-time, folk, and bluegrass music. With 80 shows under their belts last year and shooting for 100 in 2005, they are on the lineup at festivals every weekend solid from April to September. There are instruments all over the stage at a Sons and Brothers performance. The father of the group, Frank, plays both the guitar and mandolin. Twenty-one year old Mike switches off between the guitar, the dobro, and a banjo. Aaron is on the bass and youngest son Joe trades back and forth between the fiddle and the mandolin. Over and above their skill as instrumentalists, though, this band is passionate about their vocals and harmonies. Aaron, Frank, and Mike trade roles on lead and back-ups. Born with natural talent, the boys sang on pitch as children and intuitively understood harmony singing. Striving to set vocal arrangements with a lot of diversity, they labor over phrasing to make every song as intense as possible. Aaron explains that they love to experiment. “We do some pretty complex arrangements—sometimes we get confused ourselves when we haven’t done a complicated song in a while.” Their set lists are a rich mix of storytelling, gospel and mountain songs, all overlaid with sparkling harmonies. The concept of a family band grew up right along with the three Wolking boys. Frank played music with his siblings as a child, but stored his guitar under the bed upon reaching adulthood and devoted his energies to running a plumbing company and raising a family. When oldest son Mike reached the age of ten and wanted to play, the guitar came out and it’s been out ever since, in a big way. Frank took to singing back-up with Mike, second son Aaron chimed in with his vocals at six years, and Joe, now 16, took up the fiddle at age 11. Aaron clarifies that the term ‘westgrass’ was coined by the proprietor of a show they did in Salida, to describe bluegrass from Westcliffe. Sons and Brothers adopted the term to characterize their material, with its many themes focused on the Rocky Mountains. Mike explains, “We’re not from Kentucky and didn’t grow up listening to bluegrass, so we have our own take on this music.” According to Joe, “Our style is different from the traditional, but we feel the same as Bill Monroe. We don’t know exactly what it is—maybe the ability to connect.” Frank elaborates, “We take the bluegrass model of passionate, hard-driving, high-tension, high lonesome and apply it to themes we know and audiences recognize. They can relate.” The eclectic song selection on their latest recording has Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” followed by a John Denver CO tune and then their version of “Wild Horses,” by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The band credits a plethora of mentors and influences for their growing success. Aaron cites his uncle, Fred, who was a professional guitarist for 30 years and Larry Heid, a friend who encouraged him to pick up the bass. Joe admires Bill Daily, a fiddler. Mike is inspired by Doc Watson on guitar and Mike Aldridge from the Seldom Scene. Listening to the list of role models, Frank remarked on how none of them had credited him as an inspiration. “That’s what you get for 20 years as a parent—honorable mention!” Describing himself as a bluegrass player with a rock and roll heart, he lists Graham Parsons, Rich Mullens and Emmylou Harris as influential to his own musical development. The Wolkings also give major credit to an ally in their hometown of Westcliffe for supporting their growth and success. Frank explains, “Ron Thomason of the Dry Branch Fire Squad has been extremely charitable with his time for the boys. He even loaned Joe a 1911 F2 Gibson mandolin.” In addition to Thomason, Frank continues, “People took chances with us. Festival organizers like Ken Seaman, Dick Pearle, and Damien Rotolo all gave us a chance to play at their events.” Winning the 2004 National Bluegrass Championship provided a new level of credentials and opened doors that led to the International Bluegrass Music Association in Louisville, Kentucky and their December tour of Scotland, England and Wales. The boys each attend high school or college, even while spending so much time on the road. Frank admits, “We juggle a lot, but we are fortunate to be able to do this together. The goal for this year is to keep up with the schedule.” That schedule includes events in Arizona and California, where they’ll be in stellar company playing on a bill with Merle Haggard and Rhonda Vincent. Not surprisingly, the plumbing business has been relegated to second fiddle. Their staff stepped up to the challenge, allowing the Wolkings to focus on music, and keeping the guitar out from under the bed. The one member of the family who doesn’t perform on stage is wife, mother and product manager, Val—the glue that keeps them together. Don’t miss [an] opportunity to hear some great, hard-driving,
westgrass music.
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