when you were growing up ?
Andrew : There are definitely some musicians in the fields of roots , acoustic roots and bluegrass music that deeply influenced us . Béla Fleck and Kristy Lee certainly fit that description . Some of our biggest influences were musicians and groups from Vermont . We were heavily influenced by a band called , “ Nightingale .” They were a trio of Vermont-based musicians : Jeremiah McLane , Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy . We would go to dances and folk festivals and listen to them . The way that they put together powerful and intricate arrangements with only three instruments was amazing ! I think we draw on that a lot in our music that we ’ re making with The Faux Paws today . We make roots dance music that has a lot of thought put into it .
Benjamin : Before the founding of The Faux Paws , you performed for years with your mother , Kim Yerton , and other talented musicians in a band called , “ Great Bear ”. At one point , Great Bear was the most popular contra dance band in the world in terms of performance bookings . What was it like to play in Great Bear , and for people who might not know , what is contra dance music ?
Andrew : There ’ s a wonderful tradition of folk dance that is deeply-rooted in New England folk dance traditions . It ’ s called “ contra dancing ,” and it has a lot in common with square dancing . You have people dancing together , you have a “ caller ” who is calling the dance , and you ’ ve got a band playing the music for it . Noah and I have really specialized in it for a number of years . The contra dance community is wonderful . We got our start on the contra dance circuit playing in Great Bear when I was 12 years old and Noah was 10 . It started out as a trio with just the three of us . We played a lot of festivals , such as the Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs – which happens to be the biggest contra dance festival in the world – Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale , New York , and the Brattleboro Dawn Dances , which are held in Brattleboro , Vermont . We ’ d have jam sessions with a lot of other musicians before and after the shows , and we met some fascinating people in the process .
Noah : One of the things about contra dancing that makes it really special is that the dancers become part of the band . Their steps become part of the percussion in a way , so you have to keep your phrasing tight . The dancers need to know where they are . The tempo can go up and
down as the dancers bring more or less energy to it , but you have to make sure that you are in line with their movements .
Andrew : Our time in Great Bear playing those festivals really had a big influence on our sound . You can hear a lot of it in our new Faux Paws record , as well . Over the years , Noah and I branched out as we met more and more people , and we decided that we wanted to focus on our songwriting and our projects separate from Great Bear . We built the band up into a seven-piece band . We had a bassist , a drummer , an accordionist , and Chris Miller also played in that band . We met Chris at the Ashokan Music and Dance Camp in upstate New York , and he became an important part of that group . Eventually , we retired the Andrew and Noah Band due to logistical reasons . When that happened , we pulled some of the same people into Great Bear , and started touring as a larger ensemble . For the latter half of Great Bear ’ s existence , it was a six-piece band . We really developed some great musical chemistry with Chris during that time , which is still very present on the tracks that we make together as The Faux Paws . Chris is an incredible musician . He also did some work with a really great Cajun Swamp-pop group called , The Revelers . Chris did some great work on their GRAMMY ® -nominated album Get Ready . It ’ s a fantastic listen .
Benjamin : After you two had been playing for years with Great Bear and the Andrew and Noah Band , what led to the formation of The Faux Paws ?
Noah : Great Bear had its last big tour in 2018 , but Andrew and Chris and I wanted to keep playing together , because we really enjoyed it . After Great Bear wrapped things up , we created this trio . We had been playing together as a three-piece band at little side shows between the weekends that we played as Great Bear , so it was a really natural transition .
Andrew : When Great Bear was wrapping up , we decided to make the Faux Paws more of an official project instead of just a side project . Noah , Chris and I have been playing together for ten years , but the past three years have been spent on making The Faux Paws a top priority .
Benjamin : How would you describe the sound of The Faux Paws ?
Andrew : I think that “ roots dance music ” is an all-encompassing and vague enough description to somewhat encompass our band . A lot of what we do has an edge of Americana . The band is primarily acoustic , as is this record . I ’ d say genres like acoustic roots , Americana and “ groove grass ” certainly influenced the album , as did Chris ’ s jam band background . It ’ s always hard to confine our music to a single genre . We would love to be confined to a singular genre , but it just hasn ’ t happened yet . We ’ ve worked hard to make
LOUISE BICHAN
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