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| INTERVIEWS ARCHIVES RESCHEDULED |
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Name: Fred Keller
Group: Whistlepigs String Band
Date: Tuesday September 23rd, 2008
Time: 7:00pm EST
Website: homepage.mac.com/willits/whistlepigs/
Interviewer: Uncle Billy Dunbar
Description:
The Whistlepigs String Band has been playing its own brand of bluegrass crossed with old-time, blues, and original music since 2003. We have played across the Upper Midwest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota and even Saskatchewan, Canada.
The band got its start when Fred Keller, Joel Olson & Ross Willits were playing in another Minnesota bluegrass band and were dissatisfied with the direction that band was moving. At the Butterfield Threshing Bee in the summer of 2003, the three of them started putting together what soon became "The Whistlepigs."
They stepped out on their own and were in need of a guitar player. Enter Chris Jones, a bandmate of Fred's from another earlier band. One of the first tunes the new unnamed group started jamming on was an oldie but goodie--"Groundhog." The song is all about hunting small game--the greasy, but tasty groundhog. One of the verses calls the 'hog a whistlepig. Soon thereafter, Fred found a song called "Picked Up A Hammer (and knocked him in the head)", which also talks about whistlepigs. After that, the name was destiny.
The Whistlepigs String Band.
Not The Whistling Pigs. Not The Pig Whistles. Not The Pisslewigs. Not even The Pig Whistle Dirt Band as we were called at one show (we haven't gone back there).
We're a semi-traditional 4-piece bluegrass band featuring Banjo, Mandolin, Guitar, Bass and 4 voices. High, lonesome harmonies, and as one reviewer said Fred Keller & Chris Jones are terrible solozangers. That, of course, was a bad translation from Dutch. What she really said was that they are "superb lead singers." |
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