‘Tapawingo’, the new single from roots string band Grain Thief, is simply beautiful music to lose yourself in. Displaying excellent musicianship and songcraft, Grain Thief perform with grace and elegance, creating timeless, immersive music. The Boston-based quintet is comprised of Patrick Mulroy (guitar, vocals), Zach Meyer (mandolin, vocals), Michael Harmon (bass, vocals), Tom Farrell (resonator guitar) and Alex Barstow (fiddle); together, they put together warm layers, the music ebbing and flowing, moving through tuneful currents.
Michael Harmon says of the song: “The melody of this tune came to me while vacationing at a vacant summer camp in 2020. My wife’s family would go to Sweden, Maine every year to a place called Camp Tapawingo, and we were the only two people staying there at the time. Something about having the place to ourselves, and the disconnection from the outside world helped conceptualize the melody. We decided to record this track in a large open space, unlike the other songs on the album. The performance from the video is the same as the track on the album, which was filmed and recorded live in a barn in New Hampshire.”
The band’s new record, “House of the Dog”, was tracked at Harmon’s studio, Wachusett Recording in Princeton. Mulroy says: “We have made records there throughout the years, so it feels like a good home base in which to hunker down and focus. Mike was working at a nonprofit called Avaloch Farm in Boscawen, NH last year, and we thought it could be cool to record an instrumental track live in their big barn: ‘Tapawingo’. We opened the barn to the outside while recording to get a cooler vibe going, and there was a tractor cutting hay across the field while we recorded. Listen hard and you might be able to hear it.”
The album explores universal human truths through everyday, lived experiences, following the tradition of roots music being emotionally authentic and direct. Michael Harmon says: “We tell stories that are authentic to who we are, and while uniquely our own, will probably strike a chord in those who listen though it’s not really intentional. Work grinds, life experiences, family stuff, moral values, and sometimes even just crazy rants find themselves turned into song.”
Through multiple full-length and EP releases, Grain Thief have continued to push the boundaries of bluegrass and country, blurring those genre-lines and engaging audiences through their highly-regarded live shows. Harmon says: “It’s been really cool to watch a few more years of growth of the band. To us at the end of the
day, we’re just a couple normal dudes tryin’ to get together and play tunes. That other folks seem to enjoy what we’re doing is an absolute cherry on top.” Indeed, other folks do enjoy it – check it out for yourself.
Awe, love this tune! Coincidentally, Camp Tapawingo was the name of my childhood summer camp was well but up in Saskatchewan, Canada. Happy memories!