Eventually, we’ll get back

Jeff Taylor fot. Sławomir Ostrowski

Eventually, we’ll get back to the history or BINGE, but for now let’s talk about the sound of BINGE. This tends to be difficult to describe; I use various terms to describe our music: hard-core country, roadhouse, country punk, country grunge, BLOODgrass (from bluegrass music) and the latest … rockin’country. In addition, a mix of members from different countries contributes to our unique sound : me from America a KISS fan; Trev from England loving Hank Williams and Irish/Scotish folk music; Wayne – a Canadian harmonica player who knows everything and loves Bob Dylan, CCR and hockey; Yoichi our guitarist from Japan; Benedykt – British and fiddler who has played in both Klezmer and reggae bands; Michał – guitarist and Kuba – bassist both from Olsztyn’s supreme metal band Monolit.

Why did we gather such a group of musicians into BINGE ? Why a bodhran (that weird Irish drum)? Why a heavy metal guitarist? Simple, in Olsztyn it was impossible to find people who wanted to play/could play country music. Most often somebody would play with us once and were lost. Additionally, country is viewed here as a type of kitchy music, almost like disco polo, so if soembody did know some country songs, they just didn’t get it, the mood, the feeling, etc.

When Wayne and I atempted to reform BINGE three years ago, we invited whomever we could. So Trev was first; even though the bodhran is not a common instrument for band, he liked the music we wanted to play. Michał and Kuba had come to our shows and enjoyed it. They could contribute more to BINGE than some country music fans.

Here is a list of groups and singers who I think have most influenced the BINGE sound/groove/philosophy:

1. The Jayhawks – a band from Minnesota with great vocal harmonies

2. The Violent Femmes – an acoustic alternative rock/punk band from the mid ‘80s, the same as R.E.M.

3. Jimmie Rodgers – the father of country music

4. Johnny Cash – the Man in Black

5. Hank Williams

6. Old Crow Medicine Show – a more recent bluegrass/country/Americana band

7. The MC5s – pre-punk Detroit rock band “Kick out the jams mother-fuckers!”

8. The Band

9. Bob Dylan

10. Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)

11. Hayseed Dixie – a great country/bluegrass band that plays AC/DC covers “AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and Hank Williams’s The Lost Highway are the same road!”

12. Townes Van Zandt

13. “O’ Brother Where art Thou” film soundtrack(2001), not a band but this music showed many people that country music was more than Kenny Rogers and a lot of crap from Nashville

So, at the end of this entry of the Strefa Jeffa blog, I encourage everybody to check out all the great performers who have influenced BINGE and then come see us at one of our shows.