root salad f20 The Other Years
It’s that new kind of old music that sounds like it’s made of rough wood and lace, says Tim Chipping.
she was telling me she was so surprised by all the ties to Appalachia and that my great- grandmother lived right outside Elkins, West Virginia and loved going to the Sinks of Gandy, which is what one of my songs is about, and was constantly around fiddle music and sang with her friends. That was cool to find out.”
Was there a conversation about what
The Other Years would be? Because it sounds like a very complete and defined, divine thing.
“I had this idea of writing songs and having them be inspired by old-time melodies, and using that as a tool,” consid- ers Heather. “So that’s part of it.”
“We always want to be more old-time than bluegrass. We’re not gonna rip solos or jam for too long,” Anna laughs. “But I think that it’s one cohesive thing because we both come with such strong individual music backgrounds. And we know each other so well. But there seems like endless ways we could go.”
I
f you’re wondering where this year’s extraordinary album that appeared to come out of nowhere is, I’ve found it. Or rather, Uncut magazine’s Jason Anderson found it and wrote an enrap- tured full-page review with so many of the right combinations of words I felt sure that when I checked with the old-time music heads of my acquaintance they’d say, “Oh sure, The Other Years are great. How have you not heard of them before?” Only nobody did. Which was even more surpris- ing when I heard the record; it was as if the contributors to this magazine had imagined it into being for their own delight.
It’s that old kind of new, new kind of old music that sounds like it’s made of rough wood and lace. A banjo, a fiddle and two voices singing the sort of harmonies you’d make up with a best friend on a long walk home. Their self-titled album was recorded in a cabin. Take my heart already.
“We both live in Louisville,” explains Anna Krippenstapel, when I ask where they came from. “I was born and raised there. And that’s where I met the people that I played old-time with, and that took me beyond Kentucky to other places. But my trajectory is pretty straightforward because I’m just straight out of Louisville.”
Heather Summers, the other Other Year, also grew up in Louisville. “And then a
large portion of my childhood was spent in a small town in Kentucky, really small. I don’t know what the population is there.”
Anna and Heather aren’t complete unknowns. There are Facebook connections with kindred souls Anna & Elizabeth and House And Land. Anna also plays in recent fRoots cover star Joan Shelley’s band. But this is their first record together, so they still count as newcomers although they’ve been pals for a while.
“We were random roommates in our dorm when we were freshmen in college,” says Heather. “And we continued to be roommates for years after that. We even lived with Anna’s mom for a little while. I slept on a bed on the floor, next to Anna’s real bed.”
“With a picture of her boyfriend taped
to the wall!” “We’re basically family.”
And was old-time a family tradition?
“Not for me,” replies Anna, who only began playing traditional music in her twenties.
“Not for me either,” adds Heather. “Although I did recently learn… So I’m adopted. I was adopted when I was 15 and I don’t really know a lot about my biological family. And I was talking to a long-lost aunt on Facebook who just got my record, and
W
hat is it about old-time music that gets you? “I like the time- lessness of it,” says Anna. “And I like how portable and
simple it can be. You can do a lot with just a few voices and a few instruments. I love that part of it; that you can take it anywhere.”
“What I really like about it is it gives you a lot of freedom,” thinks Heather, “because it’s not necessarily polished. You can play however you play and it’s totally acceptable to… not be very good at your instrument!”
“She’s actually really good at her instru-
ment so she’s not supposed to be saying that!”
I’ve got a sense from some of your social media posts that dogs are a big part of your life.
“Yes!” enthuses Heather. “We both love our dogs very much. I actually have three dogs in my house because I have two roommates who also each have a dog.”
“They are the first creatures that we thank on our record. They never let you down.”
Is there a chance The Other Years might play in the UK soon?
“Well, I hope so,” gasps Heather. “I’d like to get out of this country. Get me out of here!”
The grass isn’t that much greener here,
you know. “Let’s all meet in Ireland!”
theotheryears.bandcamp.com
F
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
