The Mudflapjacks

The Mudflapjacks spring from the Athens, Ga. house party tradition, where folks with little or no money often have no choice but to make their own fun, often while sitting around a bonfire in somebody’s backyard drinking beer that would make PBR taste like Dom Perignon by comparison.Who met whom first is shrouded in antiquity and considerable consumption of intoxicants. Eventually, through a succession of the aforementioned parties, a bass player named Wren Wright met a fiddle player named Jim Richardson. One or both of them met guitar player Dave Dowless, and then somebody else met banjo player Kirby Amick, and then they met harmonica player Jim Kvicala.They found they had in common both a shared enthusiasm for acoustic music in its various forms and an inability to recognize when they had worn out their welcome at various social functions, playing until the beer was all gone or the sun rose, whichever came first. Realizing that increased proficiency might result in additional invitations to sing, play, drink and/or smoke all night, the Mudflapjacks were born in 2001.

Kirby Amick brought his five-string banjo and a firm grounding in Flatt & Scruggs, but also with an understanding of the Cure, Lou Reed, the Go-Gos and Ween. He is also the songwriter of the band’s acclaimed ballad, “Gender-Confused Cowboy.”Dave Dowless contributed his warm, rugged baritone evoking the folk musicians of the early sixties, while his flatpicking guitar style was more reminiscent of the old WSB Barn Dance radio program of the forties.Jim Kvicala added harmony and lead vocals plus harmonica, displaying a preternatural gift for knowing how a little bluesharp goes a long way.The right Rev. Jim Richardson contributed his plaintive country fiddle, frenetic mandolin, some cello, guitar, melodica, some sitar and occasionally a little interpretive dance.Wren Wright brought to the group his upright bass, his reedy tenor and his love of old-time country acts like the Louvin Brothers and the Carter Family.The lineup has evolved somewhat since 2001, with Amick, Kvicala and Richardson now serving as the core of the group.What music the Mudflapjacks have recorded was almost all laid down during recording sessions engineered by Wren Wright, utilizing his beloved Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder.Neither “alt-country” nor “bluegrass” nor “new-grass,” the Mudflapjacks might best be described as “beergrass” or "brewgrass." Their repertoire includes songs by Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakum, Flatt & Scruggs, Lou Reed, the Stanley Brothers, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Ween and the Rolling Stones.