Beau Stapleton

A pop band comprised of a fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, and acoustic guitar?  That may seem strange, but somehow Blue Merle is making it work for them.  After scoring opening slots for the likes of Marc Broussard, Counting Crows, and Glen Phillips, as well as getting airplay in many major cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and their hometown of Nashville, Blue Merle is on the verge of major success.  Before a recent show, Beau Stapleton, the band’s mandolin player, took time to sit down with Way Cool Music to discuss the band, their unique instrumentation, and the best way to become a rock star. 

Way Cool: 

I grew up in the Reno/Tahoe area, went to high school out in California, and went to college in Colorado at Colorado College where I majored in geology.  While I was in school, I started to play the mandolin and dedicate myself to gigging out and studying music.  By the end of college, I was pretty much playing full-time.  After school, I just followed that path and it led me here.

WC:

What other instruments do you play other than mandolin and guitar? 

BS:

WC:

So you and Luke met through his mom?

BS:

First off, Vermont is a really small music community and his mom is a music nut!  I was playing mandolin in a more traditional bluegrass band at this bluegrass festival.  Luke, as well as myself, both share a love of Americana and more traditional roots music and his mom knew that.  So, his mom sees this young guy playing mandolin at a bluegrass festival up in Vermont.  She runs up to me after the set, she’s very high energy, and says, “Oh my God!  You gotta meet my son, you gotta meet my son.  He just moved down to Nashville and he’s really doing well down there.  He’s trying to put a band together.  You’re gonna love him.  You totally gotta meet him.  Can I give him one of your CDs?  I need one of your CDs for my son.”  I was like, “OK.”  I gave her one of the CDs and she sent it down to Luke in Nashville.  It wasn’t until about six months later when a different friend introduced us again that we put it all together.

WC:

How would you describe Blue Merle’s music to someone how has never heard the band?

BS:

We’ve been describing the music as simply as possible, which is acoustic rock.  We don’t want to get too much more into labeling it.  It feels like the more generic the label, the more it allows us to explore whatever we want to explore with the music.  We always feel that we’re growing and exploring things musically, whether that’s jazz rhythms or bluegrass rhythms or straight ahead rock.  We kinda think a good blanket term for it all is acoustic rock.

WC:

How does Blue Merle’s music fit into the mainstream music scene given its unique instrumentation?

BS:

WC:

I’m sure you get this a lot, but we’re going to say it anyway.  You guys kinda sound like Coldplay.  You kinda have the Counting Crows and Dave Matthews vibe.  How do you respond to those comparisons?

BS:

I think it’s really cool.  A lot of people use comparisons as a way to get into a new band.  How they put their head around the sound is to say, “Oh, it kinda sounds like band A meets band B.”  We get a lot of that.  We also hear a lot of people saying that we have a very refreshing sound.  Those are great comparisons ultimately to get.  I grew up listening to Counting Crows and really like their stuff.  Coldplay is a really amazing band, I think.  And Dave Matthews, we share a lot of the same instrumentation with the violin.  On one level (those comparisons) are really flattering.  Occasionally you get the person who says, “They’re just ripping off (insert band name here)!”  But, for the most part, people are pretty excited about that.  At the same time, they say, “You sound like (insert band name here), but you’re also refreshing.”  I think that’s where popular music is right now.  As a musician, you have smaller contributions to the music as a whole because there are so many artists out there, so much great music, so many great songs, and so many great instrumentalists.  You just take small steps and do what you want to do.  You write the songs you want to write, put out the sounds you hear in your head, and wherever it lands, it lands.

WC:

There is a lot of buzz around the band right now.  How has the buzz affected you and your life? 

BS:

The buzz about the band has affected us most in the demands on our schedule.  Media outlets, whether it be radio, in-stores, TV, or interviews, there are a lot of people who want to interview us when we’re coming through town.  That adds a lot to our touring schedule.  We feel really fortunate to have that, but we really have to stay on top of it.  You really have to be into the lifestyle and get your sleep and stay healthy so that, when you get the opportunity to interact with someone and put the band forward, you’re 100%. 

WC:

How long were you a band before you were signed to Island?

BS:

For about two and half to three years.

WC:

Were you touring at that point?

WC:

Now that you’ve completed the Glen Phillips tour and have a headlining tour coming up, and who knows what else this summer, how do you have a personal life with the demands of touring?

BS:

It’s really hard.  On the road I always make a point every day to have some personal time.  I’m a morning person, which somewhat conflicts with this lifestyle, but even if it means losing a little bit of sleep, I’ll make a point of getting up early to be by myself, read, or do Yoga.  I also try to take advantage of one thing that the road offers us, which is seeing the entire country.  I get up early and walk around the town, or read something about the city we’re in.  I find that it helps me personally stay grounded and keep everything in perspective. 

Other than that, when we are on the road, the hardest thing is keeping close with family and friends.  You tend to idealize the situation of being in one town, having friends and hanging out with them for a few nights.  Out here I am constantly thinking about those that I love.  I make it a point to stay in contact with my community back in Nashville, whether it be writing a letter or an email or giving them a phone call.   You have to be more conscious of your relationships.

WC:

What other roles in the music industry would you like to explore?

WC:

You’ve done some writing and even got second place at the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest in 2004 with Abigail (Washburn).  Tell us a little bit that and working with Abby.

BS:

Well, Abby and I dated for seven years up until about a year ago.

WC:

Up until you lost the contest.

BS:

(Laughing) Damn!  If only we had won!  No, she’s great and was just signed to Nettwerk Records. She has a new album coming out in three or four months and I have a handful of co-writes on there.  Playing and writing music was a big part of our relationship.  We had good chemistry musically and she was new to being a writer/musician and playing.  Often times, she would come up with choruses and I would jump in and finish lyrics or put chords behind her ideas.  It was a collaborative effort.

I write on my own as well.  Another great aspect of this band is that it’s somewhat of a platform to write.  Even if it’s stuff that might not fit into Blue Merle, if it’s an instrumental mandolin piece or something like that, I’m starting to find avenues to get that stuff out there.

Getting back to the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest, it’s a great writer’s event.  Mindy Smith won it one year as did Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.  To have our song come in second was great.  We didn’t really think of it as a bluegrass song because it’s a really slow ballad.  So it felt really good that it placed so high in the bluegrass category.  The song is coming out on Abby’s new record.  You should check it out at www.abigailwashburn.com.

WC:

Have you been in contact with your old college band?  What do they think of your success?

BS:

WC:

Imagine a competition, a mando-off, between you and Chris Thile (Nickel Creek), who wins?

BS:

Chris would kick my ass!  Oh man, he’s so good.  The technical side of his playing is just incredible, even if you go back and listen to the early recordings of his from when he was eight.  I don’t think I had even played an instrument at eight and he was a national champion mandolin winner.  He’s great.  He’s phenomenal technically.  He’s a good guy too.

WC:

What’s been your biggest rock star moment so far?

BS:

I grew up listening to a lot of Neil Young.  We played Farm Aid recently and there were 25,000 people there.  For the encore, they called all the bands back on stage to do the sing-along and I kinda jockeyed for position to stand next to Neil Young.  I was out on stage with him and sang harmonies next to him.  It was awesome.

WC:

If you weren’t a musician, what do you think you’d be doing with your life?

BS:

I’ve always been following the musical path and it was never a conscious decision; one thing just led to another.  At one point, I thought that… I majored in geology so I thought that I would be doing something related to that.  If you want me to get more technical, my focus after school was going to be ground water resource management.  So, I would be doing something with that.

WC:

What’s the most surprising thing people don’t know about you?

BS:

I think that I’ve done a lot of other things in my life.  I’ve had a lot of different experiences.  When you’re a musician, people tend to think of you in that one-dimensional way.  But, there are a lot of other things that I’ve done, whether it’s geology or that I’ve been really fortunate and have traveled a lot. 

It’s funny, you always hear of musicians who do interesting things.  I’m trying to think of a good example.  Edgar Meyer loves calculus.  When he’s on the road and traveling, to pass the time he does calculus.  You hear about people who have other careers or interests on the side.  I’ve always found that intriguing about other artists.  Me, I’m looking at rocks. 

WC:

Has anyone brought you a rock to a show to study?

BS:

No, not yet. But I get the pun, “You studied geology to be a rock star.”  I get that quite a lot.

WC:

Now it’s time for seven questions.

To find out more information about Beau Stapleton. visit his band's website at www.bluemerle.com.