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Photos courtesy of Jesse Dawson

Hollyfelds’ half notes harmony stacks up

By Jeremy Johnson
jjohn308@mscd.edu

Denver’s The Hollyfelds got their name from a character in ’80s Val Kilmer flick Real Genius. And, with a sound they call “neo-traditional country … tempered with a hefty dose of folk and Americana and just a touch of bluegrass,” The Hollyfelds are true genius.

But The Hollyfelds’ genius comes not just from their alt-country, foot stomping rhythms blended with pure “pop hooks,” but perhaps more so from their superb harmony, coming from frontwomen Kate Grigsby and Eryn Hoerig, and their collective sense of silly, and almost certainly contrived, country satire, which is prevalent in their new, debut, full length album release Saratoga.

What started off as a husband and- wife musician combo (Eryn and bassist Keith Hoerig) gradually gained speed with the help of a few musician friends (Grigsby, guitarist Tim Mallot and drummer Magic Sam Spitzer) and culminated with Grammy- nominated producer Ric Hordinski. Hordinski, who has worked with such acts as Over The Rhine, Victoria Williams, Robbie Fulks and David Wilcox, invited The Hollyfelds to his Cincinnati studio The Monastery in October 2007, where they recorded their debut album in four days.

The resulting Saratoga is a collection of amped-up hillbilly hitches full of big bass lines and mincing mandolins, tied together with hell bent harmonies and bluesy booze soaked ballads such as “What It Feels Like” (“That’s what it feels like when you’re lonely/ And wishin’ you were with the one you’re dreamin’ of”) and “I’m Gonna Feel Tonight Tomorrow” (“I’m gonna feel tonight tomorrow/ I’m gonna pay for this I know/ But if drinkin’ much more, means thinkin’ much less/ I’m happy to pay for sure”).

Playing some of Denver’s seedier venues (from Bender’s to the Bluebird, and the Hi-Dive to the Skylark), The Hollyfelds have paid their drunken dues, indeed. But in the end, their combination of genuine lyrical and melodic gestures, backed by their organic bluegrass-roots regularity, is just the genius Denver’s saturated “rockabilly” scene has been so desperately dreamin’ of.

3.21
The Hollyfelds
w/ Hoots and Hellmouth
9 p.m. @ The Soiled Dove

3.29
The Railbenders
9 p.m. @ The Bluebird Theater

4.11
Human Rights
Torch Run Benefit
1:45 p.m. @ City Park

4.11
w/ The Texas Sapphires
9 p.m. @ The Skylark Lounge

5.10
w/ Whiskey Throttle
9:30 p.m. @ 3 Kings Tavern

For more info go to www.myspace.com/thehollyfelds