#jay lapp

The Steel Wheels with Frances Luke Accord at King Arts Complex, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 9, 2017

The Steel Wheels rolled out a drum solo early in their Dec. 9 set inside Columbus’ King Arts Complex.

This would hardly be noteworthy, except for the fact that the Steel Wheels are ostensibly a bluegrass band, and bluegrass bands rarely have percussionists and basically never do drum solos. Quirkier still, the group’s new drummer, Kevin Garcia, doubles on keyboards - because every bluegrass band needs a quality keyboardist for pickin’, grinnin’ and snythesizin’.

This fondness for the non traditional is what makes the Wheels - the core quartet of singer/songwriter Trent Wagler (guitar, banjo), guitarist/mandolinist Jay Lapp, bassist Brian Dickel and fiddler Eric Brubaker - so appealing. Lapp plays a resonator without a slide, fashioning leads that sound as if they’re coming from a Stratocaster as a result, and bangs his head and makes rock-star poses with a tiny mandolin in his hands. Dickel, meanwhile, occasionally sets down his standup bass in favor of a four-string electric instrument.

The show marked the Virginia-based quintet’s second visit - and fourth overall - to Columbus’ Six String concert series since early 2016 and far surpassed their most-recent performance. Whether this was due to Garcia’s presence, an infusion of new material or the band simply having a really good night is unknown. And it doesn’t really matter, because the Steel Wheels gave music lovers an early Christmas present made of memories.

The quintet’s exuberant, 90-minute show featured a significant swath of 2017’s Wild as Where We Came, a record that found the Steel Wheels further expanding their musical universe. Highlights included “Scrape Me off the Ceiling” and “Take Me to the Ending,” which feature Wagler’s clever wordplay and the band’s uproarious arrangements. On the flip side, the tender “Till No One is Free” was a melancholy meditation on societal strife that employed brief snippets of silence as part of the song’s structure.

But for all their non-traditional vibe, the Steel Wheels also roll old-school.

Brubaker shone on his instrumental “Mountain Quake,” which Wagler aptly described as sounding “ancient.” And when the band abandoned their instruments and gathered around a single mic for a cappella gems such as “Rain in the Valley,“ the effect was stupefying; these were the moments that earned the band the handful of standing ovations it received.

Similarly, “Red Wing,” based on a traditional melody Wagler learned from his Amish grandfather and added words to, caused the full house to fall silent - spellbound applause didn’t ring out until the last note had faded completely away.

Band members spent the show interacting with one another, each stepping to the fore when it was his turn to take a solo, sometimes facing off and grimacing with rock ‘n’ roll attitude in a decidedly non-rock ‘n’ roll setting. Despite the addition of Garcia - a wise choice as his work with mallets, brushes and hand-held percussion gives the group a fuller sound - Wagler still plays percussion with his boots, whether bashing his heels on the stage or employing stomp boxes that filled out the sound with pops and bashes.

All of which is to say the Steel Wheels are a band bluegrass fans and non-fans alike can likely get onboard with.

If Crosby and Nash and Simon & Garfunkel had a kid, it would likely come out sounding like Frances Luke Accord, a folk duo with a name that sounds like a solo artist and a style that sounds like the second coming of the Milk Carton Kids. Their low-key, 30-minute warm-up set showed a band that’s strong on harmonies and instrumental interplay but that’s still finding its way in the songwriting department.

Bassist Brian Dickel Leaves the Steel Wheels

- “I plan on being their biggest fan”

Bassist Brian Dickel is leaving the Steel Wheels after the band’s July gigs and will “return to my roots” as a luthier.

Dickel announced his impending departure - and his new status as co-owner of Huss & Dalton Guitar Co. in Staunton, Va. - in a post on the group’s Facebook page.

The end of Dickel’s 16 years with the Steel Wheels does not signal the end of the band, which “is moving forward and sounding better than ever.

“I’m excited for the direction and the plan that is in place and look forward to supporting them in whatever way I can,” Dickel said.

His replacement has not been named.

The bassist used his note to thank his bandmates, and their fans, for their support over the years.

“I’ll miss you, but the next time the Steel Wheels come to your town, don’t be surprised to see me in the crowd next to you,” he said.

“I plan on being their biggest fan.”

Song Review: The Steel Wheels - “Get to Work”

The Steel Wheels are bossy on their sing-songy new single.

And if that weren’t off-putting enough, “Get to Work” is repetitive and grows tiresome despite a runtime that barely breaches the two-minute barrier.

Get up in the morning and get to work/get up in the morning and get to work/we’ve got a lot of work to do/so let’s do it, the Wheels sing in four-part harmony that would be delightful if the lyrics didn’t sound like placeholders.

The percussion - an assortment of exotic sounds - is a wonder. But ill-fitting electric guitars and lack of any melodic intrigue put “Get to Work” in the same passable category as “This Year,” another track from Over the Trees, the new Wheels LP that arrives July 12.

Grade card: The Steel Wheels - “Get to Work” - D

Single Review: The Steel Wheels - “Working on a Building” b/w “Red Rocking Chair”

The sound of hammer on steel heralds the arrival of the new charity single from the Steel Wheels.

Featuring contemporary takes on two traditional tunes - “Working on a Building” and “Red Rocking Chair” - the release finds the group channeling its spiritual and folk-rock sides, respectively.

The former is a work song with lyrics and harmonies, anchored by baritone underpinnings - if you ain’t workin’ get out the way, goes the refrain - right out of the field, while the latter features electric guitar, fiddle and percussion. And each is something unexpected from a group that’s ostensibly a bluegrass band.

And the unexpected is the Steel Wheels’ stock in trade.

A portion of the proceeds from the single - released digitally and on seven-inch vinyl - will be donated to Build United, which works to provide affordable housing to people in need.

“With today's distractions and divisions swirling all around us, we want to be a part of building something positive and bringing people together,” the band said in a statement.

The music does that. The donations are a bonus.

Grade card: The Steel Wheels - “Working on a Building” b/w “Red Rocking Chair” - A-/B-

Album Review: The Steel Wheels - Wild as We Came Here

Less traditional than Steep Canyon Rangers, but more so than Greenksky Bluegrass and not as jammy as Railroad Earth or Yonder Mountain String Band, the Steel Wheels have staked out a nice place for themselves in the new-grass landscape.

Featuring fiddle from Eric Brubaker, standup bass from Brian Dickel, mandolin, banjo and guitar from Jay Lapp and guitar and lead vocals from main songwriter Trent Wagler, who possesses a unique, deep-throated voice, the Steel Wheels’ latest album Wild as We Came Here continues the Virginia-based quartet’s penchant for bluegrass-rooted music infused with bits of pop, rock and soul. Unlike most bands in the genre, Steel Wheels don’t lean much on pristine, high harmonies, but they do sing together about dying and lying in the grave, spending time in church and staying grounded.

From the electric guitar and rock ‘n’ roll rhythm of “Broken Mandolin” to the banjo-led hootenanny of “Scrape Me off the Ceiling” to the melancholy waltz of the set-closing “Till No One is Free,” the Steel Wheels spend the 40 minutes of Wild as We Came Here showing off their versatility as they bring Wagler’s songs to life.

Take me to the ending/I wanna see it from the beginning, they sing a cappella style at the beginning of “Take Me to the Ending.”

It’s typical Waglerian wordplay and sage advice - Wild as We Came Here is an album best heard as a single entity rather than as 10 individual tracks.

Grade card: The Steel Wheels - Wild as We Came Here - B

Song Review: The Steel Wheels - “Scrape Me off the Ceiling”

From the first listen, there’s something familiar about the Steel Wheels’ “Scrape Me off the Ceiling.” It’s still there after several spins and it’s not just the title’s vernacular for being inordinately happy.

You got me on my heels so long that I’m barely breathing/tell me something hard to hear, scrape me off the ceiling, guitarist Trent Wagler sings to open and close the first track from Wild as We Came Here, out May 5.

Unlike so many bluegrass numbers, this one’s devoid of harmony vocals. But there’s something in the music of Wagler, fiddler Eric Brubaker, mandolin man Jay Lapp and bassist Brian Dickel that harkens back to something else, although Sound Bites cannot for the life of him put his blogging fingers on it.

Even if I never figure it out, I’m glad the song’s nebulous roots forced me to listen multiple times. Because “Scrape Me off the Ceiling” is a track that grows on you.

Grade card: The Steel Wheels - “Scrape Me off the Ceiling” - B