 http://www.sanluisobispo.com
By Patrick S. Pemberton
It’s too bad Hot Buttered Rum couldn’t come to town just a couple of weeks later.
That’s when Willie Nelson will be in San Luis Obispo. And the guys from HBR love Willie Nelson.
“Our No. 1 desire in terms of opening for somebody would be Willie Nelson,†said Aaron Redner, fiddle and mandolin player for HBR. “We’re definitely brothers with him in terms of supporting biodiesel and ethanol. And his music is very American, and so is ours.â€
If nothing else, they could buy some fuel from him. Both Nelson and HBR use biodiesel fuel in their buses, and Nelson sells his own brand of it—Bio Willie. Proponents say biodiesel, made from vegetable oil and animal fats, lessens dependence on foreign oil and is better for the environment.
“We like to say there’s not a lot of wars fought over vegetable oil,†Redner said.
Hot Buttered Rum, which calls itself a “progressive Americana†band, will drive its veggie bus — nicknamed “Seana†— to San Luis Obispo on Wednesday, when the five-piece band performs at Downtown Brew.
Being environmentalists, it’s no surprise that the Bay Area band formed while mountain hiking in 1999. During the hike, they brought their instruments and jammed for other hikers during breaks.
“All of us are definitely huge fans of the outdoors and nature and hiking and backpacking,†said Redner, who joined the band three years later.
But it wasn’t just their love of the outdoors that made it seem like a natural fit. They had all studied music, played multiple instruments and had similar tastes in music. And they agreed politically.
(“I think what we agree on at this point is whoever comes out of the Democratic primary we’ll probably be able to support,†Redner said.)
The band plays traditional bluegrass instruments—banjo, floor bass, fiddle and guitar, to name a few. But it isn’t solely a bluegrass band. At times the group sounds like a jam band, a la the Grateful Dead. Other times it shows a Dixeland jazz influence, as is the case with the song “Well-Oiled Machine,†inspired by the band’s first veggie bus.
While the band writes original music, it also performs several covers live. Some recent ones include Leo Sayer’s disco-tinged “You Make Me Feel Like Dancin’,†The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek,†and the Dead’s “Cumberland Blues.†At a recent gig in Denver, they dedicated an entire set to Beatles covers.
Playing covers, Redman said, actually helps trigger ideas for original songs.
“Healthy plagiarism,†he said. “Nothing wrong with that.â€
When playing a cover, though, the band “butters it up,†lending the band’s own touch to it.
The variety of musical styles the band plays, Redman says, helps bring together a variety of fans.
“The bluegrass world itself is where, especially at festivals, you often see full-on Dead hippies dancing with full-on conservative rednecks,†he said. “And everybody’s enjoying the music and everybody’s dancing together and appreciating everybody’s good energy.â€
Like the Dead and The String Cheese Incident, HBR has loyal fans that follow the group on the road. HBR plays about 170 shows a year, often taking photos of the crowds, which are then posted on the band’s Web site.
“Seeing people that we love in each place is a big part of what we do,†Redman said.
The band’s positive approach and political ideology is probably best relayed in its song “Be Kind Boys,†which advocates for a kinder, gentler kind of man.
“I really like to think of us as the ‘Be Kind Boys,’ †Redner said. “Especially these days, a lot of the problems you hear in the world are generated by men and poorly raised males. These days it’s important to have positive role models.â€
That kind of talk—and the band’s anti-war stance — would likely appeal to Willie Nelson. But most of all, Redner said, Nelson would appreciate the music.
If only Willie could lend them an ear. “Willie Nelson will love Hot Buttered Rum,†he said. “He’ll want to sit in with us. He’ll get it.â€
Reach Patrick S. Pemberton at 781-7903.