The Holstein United Bluegrass Boys

The Holstein United Bluegrass Boys(THUBB) is Audun Haugeplass(vocals/Rickenbacker-bass), Kjetil Steensnæs(dobro/vocals), Kristian Kvalvåg(guitar/vocals), Tarjei Nysted(fiddle/mandolin/vocals) and Tor Egil Kreken(banjo/vocals), and if you're into some good ol' bluegrass pickin' and singin', I advice you to read on! They come from rural parts of Norway; the «dancing» fiddler from the woods of Trysil. He might have scared away a bear or two in his formative years, but they're bound to come back if they could hear him now. The dobro-player from the coast of Haugesund, with the force and the beauty of the sea at his fingertips. And from the valley of Hallingdal comes a pair of them. Singing together ever since the Family Choir at age 3, their harmonies are as tight as their friendship, and they drive the band playing bass and banjo like they drive their trucks, hard and fast. Here's the surprise, though, the band found their guitarplayer where they least expect it; in the Hollywood Hills of Oslo. He's a citybilly, allright, and he can blow you away like a wind from the west with those licks of his. Lead singer Audun Haugeplass has a voice that proves that the woods of Rotneim can't be too different from those of the Appalachian mountains. And the harmony-singing of the group, which has become its trademark, is the kind that sets you back to the rocking chair on the porch of your old home place, with a cup of coffee in your hand and the sun rising on the horizon. Even though the rest of THUBB might not have the same credible background for playing bluegrass as farmer Haugeplass, they sure do sound like it! The band has a special interest in old time bluegrass, and strive to do justice to songs by the likes of Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin and The Stanley Brothers. Lately, though, they have also started writing some songs on their own, to soothe heartaches and to add their own little something to this great tradition.