The Freight Hoppers
by Craig Harris

The old timey string band sounds of the southern Appalachian region are a springboard for The Freight Hoppers. Although their repertoire includes pre-World War II songs by Uncle Dave Macon, The Carter Family, and Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, the Bryson City, North Carolina, based quartet captures the true spirit of their material. Instead of relying on note for note imitation, the band restores the excitement and wild passion of the past.

"The old guys who recorded for the Library of Congress weren't so regimented," said banjo player and vocalist Frank Lee. "They were people who sang and played whatever music there was in their heads. Their process of recording was to do the song twice and use the best take. It's so fresh and new sounding. It's so wild and out of control. That was the way they played then, and it's the way that we try to play now."

The Freight Hoppers are much more than mere revivalists. According to Lee, the group's musical approach is natural. "It's not a conscious effort of how rooted we are to this music," Lee explained. "The only things we listen to were recorded by people who have passed on. We don't listen to any other kind of music. There's no question that we would do anything else."

The Freight Hoppers' unorthodox approach, however, has led to artistic differences with their record label, Rounder, and Rounder owner Ken Irwin, who produced their third album, Waitin' On The Gravy Train. "Ken wanted (the album) to be radio ready," Lee said. "He and the band butted heads and differed on some things. The Freight Hoppers attempted to capture the looseness of their concerts by recording Waitin' On The Gravy Train live in the recording studio. "We pretty much did everything live," Lee said, "although, there were a couple of vocals that I had to overdub. Things needed to be synchronized. All the phrasing and harmonies had to be perfect. Every note was where it needed to be.

"It's like any other ethnic music. It's hard to produce something that's ready for the masses and faithful to where it's coming from. Commercial music has standardized everything. Standards have been set, and people have to meet them. It's become a dilemma of having to decide whether you want your music to be radio ready or not. That's why commercial music and the things that get jammed down the masses' throats don't represent anything culturally traditional. There's nothing country about anything that you hear on commercial radio. It's all just rock." The problems that face The Freight Hoppers in their quest for commercial success are nothing new. Early country acts in the 1920s and 30s were forced to adapt a populist approach to their music. "They were trying to put music out that appealed to the most people," Lee explained. "It's whatever was in their heads and the way that they heard the music. As soon as Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers incorporated the screaming falsetto, this wild, crazed, scream that went on behind the lyrics or the melodies of the fiddle tunes, the other string bands who were recording in the South were asked to do the same thing. It got away from 'We've got this tune and we're going to do it the best we can.' "