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Ramble on

After seven days in California, The Legendary Trainhopppers return home with an album that may well put Fort Wayne on the Music Map.

By Jason Stuart Roemer

Fort Wayne Reader

2006-01-23

If you’re thinking about rambling down to the Indiana Hotel for the much-hyped Legendary Trainhoppers CD release party, listen up. This band is going to scorch the banks of the Three Rivers with its slash and burn persona and cavalcade of songs.

Loaded with singles, The Legendary Trainhoppers’ debut album Ramble On is under the influence of another legend, producer Scott Mathews. Over the past three decades, Mathews has earned a reputation as a brilliant producer, inspired musician and friend of luminaries like Elvis Costello and Brian Wilson. Throughout his career, he’s been part of projects that have sold millions worldwide, produced several top 10 records and been featured in magazines like Rolling Stone, NME and Time.

The question is: with his name and reputation strapped firmly to Ramble On, can Scott Mathews help shine some light on the local music scene?

The Legendary Trainhoppers are counting on it.

Last October, the band hopped on a plane bound for San Francisco en route to Mathews‘ Marin County recording studio, TIKI TOWN. Arriving with a suitcase of demos, the Trainhoppers worked night and day to lay down the album in less than a week — an aggressive schedule by industry standards.
“We made the album Dylan style, guitarist Matt Kelley explains. “Which is to say, 11 songs in six days. It was incredibly demanding and also incredibly creative. Ideas were worked out on the fly. One person could be inside recording a guitar part, while the other Trainhoppers would be on the back porch working out new background vocal parts. Lyrics were changed when the feeling struck. Singers changed. The guitars were passed back & forth. You really never knew what you might be asked to do, which created the most exciting sort of anxiety.”

In addition to the Trainhoppers, a few guest musicians sat in on the California sessions. On the album’s fourth track ROLL TO JESUS, avant-garde bluegrass legend David Grisman’s mandolin drenches the already mournful tune with a sense of melancholy that wraps around the chorus with exceptional clarity.

The album seems to be filled with these types of moments. Whether it’s singer Matthew Sturm’s explosive I’M NOT WAITING, singer Dan Smith’s sugary sweet LET’S BE FRIENDS AGAIN, or singer Chris Dodd’s steel-lined C-MINOR SKELETON BLUES, it’s obvious why this collaborative, multi-dimensional band is, as Monkey Wings Records founder Jeff Britton says, “making more big smoke than the Wabash Cannonball.”
“I probably like CANNONBALL the best,” admits Kelley. “It's a song that's been around awhile and the Hoppers were able to take it to another place, a higher and better place. There's a collective and collaborative spirit to it that really shows how the sum of this band can be greater than the parts. Plus, it rocks. When we play it live, I feel like we're doing everything we know how to do, all at once. Straight from the heart — sad, lonely, hungry and unsatisfied.”
The future is still a bit hazy for Fort Wayne’s newest supergroup.
“Hopefully, we can get hooked up with some established Americana band and open up for them on tour next fall and sell our albums as we go,” says bassist Damian Miller. “That’s what’s it’s all about. And everybody is willing to drop what they’re doing and pursue this if the right opportunity comes along.”
Only time will tell if Ramble On becomes the album that catapults this young band into a national spotlight. However, this collaboration between band, record label and producer is a ginormous document of what happens when a few believers have the faith to chase down the sound, no matter how far away from home it takes them.

A few facts about the Legndary Train Hoppers…


#1 — The Legendary Trainhoppers are a collection of guys you might know better from their "day job" bands: Chris Dodds & Matt Kelley (of Go Dog Go), Dan Smith, Damian Miller & Phil Potts (of Brown Bottle Band), Jon Ross (of Definitely Gary) and Matthew Sturm (of his own self-titled Band).

#2 — The Legendary Trainhoppers CD Release party at the Indiana Hotel: Friday, February 3, with 2 shows @ 6:45 and 9 pm. $10 at the door (includes a copy of their brand new CD Ramble On.)

#3 — California Ping Pongin’ — “When we weren’t recording the album, we spent a lot of time playing ping pong at the hotel. We met a couple of local legends; a Tunisian man named Philippe — a true rock, emotion-less, and unbeatable — and a rat-tailed blonde punk kid named Bryan who flailed around, all drama and huffing and celebration. Everyone has earned a nickname on the table. Philippe was the Velvet Fog. Wearing his velvet-y fleece, he gently rolled in and enveloped his opponents. Bryan was dubbed the Golden Mongoose. Hoppers had names too. Dan, with his Spanish confidence and swashbuckling moves, was The Conquistador. His signature shot was the Don Pablo. Dodds, who wins simply by not losing, was Stonewall. Damian scampered back & forth with arms flailing, but never turning. For he was The Crab, with his signature move the Crabcake. Phil, with his cross-spanning shots and subsequent poses, was Atlas. Jon, all big and huggable, was The Beef Eagle. I was the Salty Sailor. My signature move was a no-look serve that’s been dubbed The Blind Sailor. And Sturm drank apricot ale and took it all in. I loved it.” Matt Kelley

#4 — "Scott Mathews is known for making household name artists sound great. His brilliant productions with new, emerging artists are even more stunning."_Mojo Magazine