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ARTS+LEISURE The Addison Independent
JULY 21, 2016
Snake Mountain Bluegrass features founding members Gregg Humphrey (left) and Mike Connor, on guitar and banjo, respectively, plus mandolin player Earle Provin and bassist Mike Boise. PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMIE FUCHS
Snake Mountain Bluegrass
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luegrass may have been invented in Appalachia, but Gregg Humphrey and Mike Connor of Addison County’s Snake Mountain Bluegrass know that it’s a mistake for a Vermont band to try to imitate that exact same sound. “A lot of bluegrass bands hear the southern songs and then they kind of put a little accent on what they sing,” said Humphrey. “It hurts your ears sometimes.”
BY SAM HARTLEY
Before Humphrey and Connor formed the band back in 1985, Humphrey, a guitarist, was heavily influenced by “newgrass,” which progressively incorporated some musical elements and instrumentation of rock ’n’ roll
try to copy his style a little bit,” said Humphrey. “Then I got together with a fiddler and some mandolin players and guitar players and we played what we called ‘Vermont Newgrass’ music, which means it wasn’t bound by any one tradition. If we liked the songs we would just put banjo and other things to it and just sing the song and, you know, have a good time.” That same spirit was carried on into Snake Mountain Bluegrass, socalled because both Humphrey and Connor, who plays banjo, used to have homes that touched Snake Mountain. Humphrey still lives in Weybridge, while Connor now lives in Shoreham.
into bluegrass music.
Humphrey plays his flat-top guitar and Connor plays his banjo, and they both sing because vocals and harmonies are really at the core of the genre.
“Doc Watson got me going slap-picking when I was in college and I’d
“Sometimes we’ll take songs that are out of the bluegrass genre — SEE BLUEGRASS ON PAGE 3