Artist: Golden Shoals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Old Buffalo”
Album: Golden Shoals
Release Date: August 7, 2020
Label: Self-released, distributed by Free Dirt
In Their Words: “This one fits in a genre I like to call Cowboy Existentialism. You’ve got imagery like buffalo, coyotes, hobos, and trains. The cheerful mood of the song belies themes of economic inequality, and the burden of worldly possessions, summed up in lines like ‘it’s mighty hard to catch your meal when you ain’t had enough to eat.’ The melodies and cadences of this song are derived, intentionally or not, from old American fiddle tunes like ‘Roll Boys Roll’ and ‘Booth Shot Lincoln.’
“I originally wrote it with clawhammer banjo as the accompaniment, but I had really been searching for a song to do with two guitars as a faster breakdown to showcase the style of flatpicking I love to do. We’re really emulating the two-guitar style of Norman and Nancy Blake here. They have always been a major influence on us. Norman is one of my favorite guitar players, along with Doc Watson and Michael Daves. I’m not a big fan of the more modern bluegrass guitar players; I gravitate toward those whose playing is more rooted in the old-time square dance fiddle style — very rhythmic, very driving, a little dirty.
“Playing a ’33 Gibson L-00 helps me get the sound I want too. Nothing like the growl a well-loved Gibson has to it. This guitar also fits my body better. I’m not a large person, and although I love dreadnaughts, a 00 body size is way more comfortable for me.” — Mark Kilianski, Golden Shoals
Photo credit: Kyle Wolff
