The title of the third Punch Brothers disc for Nonesuch, borrowed from one of their new songs, is more an exhortation than a taunt. Who’s Feeling Young Now?, produced and engineered by Jacquire King, contains some of the most exhilaratingly direct, sonically daring performances the group has ever recorded. As the five members, ranging in age from their mid-20s to early 30s, have matured together on the road and in the studio, their approach to writing and performing has, conversely, become looser, simpler, and, in a sense, more unaffectedly youthful. In fact, the title song—featuring rumbling bass, skittering violin, and wailing multi-tracked vocals—sounds like hard-charging string-band punk rock. Opening track “Movement and Location” feels like Steve Reich–inspired indie rock, with rhythmically pulsing guitar, bass, and banjo lines and the same flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants spirit. It came together over a matter of minutes in mandolinist/singer Chris Thile’s living room. At this point, virtuosity is a given among these already prodigious players; the operative word for Who’s Feeling Young Now? is camaraderie.

“I think we’re a lot more comfortable now playing to our strengths and our bluegrass roots,” says guitarist Chris Eldridge. “We kind of came around to a place where that was something we were just as willing to present to the world—it’s obviously part of who we are, always has been—but I feel we’ve been a little reticent, as if playing a simple bluegrass song wasn’t enough. We’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in our skin.”

The Ragbirds are ready for the road — and they’re doing it the right way. When we caught up with singer and multi-instrumentalist Erin Zindle, the Ann Arbor-based band had just left town for a showcase gig at Austin, Texas’ famous South by Southwest festival. Zindle apologized for not calling back — “It’s hard trying to get six people out of the house,” she says. This is nothing too shocking — bands from all over the country converged on Austin simultaneously, hoping for a breakthrough moment in the sun. Every musician wants to make an impact. But one of the things that makes the Ragbirds unique is their desire to make less of an impact — on the Earth. The band tours relentlessly, but for some three years now they’ve been committed to a greener, better way — criss-crossing the country in their beloved eco-friendly touring van — 
which they know on a first-name basis.

“Her name’s Cecilia,” Zindle says of the van, a modified Ford Econoline 350. Like many a ship, she’s been given a woman’s name, a name with a symbolic resonance that Zindle enjoys. “The funny thing,” she says, “is that it’s not really about a woman — it’s a reference to the patron saint of music. Kind of a muse that comes and goes.” (She also acknowledges, as a musician, the obvious connection with the irritatingly catchy late 1960’s Simon & Garfunkel tune, but believes the writer Simon was also nodding toward the Catholic martyr.)

Faith in the small things
“We’ve had Cecilia since the fall of 2008,” Zindle explains. It’s been a rewarding relationship, but it began with the band’s own passionate commitment. They already believed in touring with environmental responsibility. The band used whiteboards for their setlists instead of paper, and brought their own water bottles and coffee mugs along to save on disposables. “It’s a little extra effort,” Zindle says, “but these are the things that everybody should be thinking about.” But the group knew that it was the unavoidable driving that would make a mark on the earth.

“We travel a lot,” Zindle says. “We do, like, 200 shows a year, and we’ve been to 45 states. We just knew that it was having a large negative impact on the environment — and it’s also very expensive.” The group put their heads together and decided to do something about it. “We had pretty good motives to do some research into alternative fuels,” she says, and the Ragbirds did their homework.
What’s the secret? What lets Cecilia travel 90 percent of her miles without benefit of gasoline? Solar power? 
A nuclear reactor? The answer is a bit more prosaic, but a lot more practical — oil. Not the kind from the ground that caused all this trouble to begin with, but plain old vegetable oil. Cecilia has a modified diesel engine that allows it to run on fuel that would otherwise end up being discarded. It was a technology that other bands had already turned to. “Our friends in My Dear Disco were running on vegetable oil while we were looking at it,” Zindle remembers.

The technology of virtue
The project came together when the Ragbirds found Full Circle Fuels, of Oberlin, Ohio, a company which has been modifying diesel vehicles to burn vegetable oil since 2005. (They’ve worked on everything from cars, to big rigs to off-road vehicles, having done some 300 conversions.) “They installed this really high-tech system,” Zindle says. “It’s pretty complex, but it’s really cool.”

Full Circle does what’s called SVO conversion, fitting heat-exchange and filtration systems to diesel vehicles so that they can run on waste oil. In fact, the diesel engine, originally invented by Rudolf Diesel, was meant to run on peanut oil. “There’s a lot of conspiracy theories,” says Zindle, about what led to the switch to petroleum-based diesel fuel. “Can you imagine,” she asks, “if every diesel engine from the beginning had run on vegetable oil? It produces 90 percent less emissions, and is carbon neutral — it’s food!”

Quite literally, it is. The Ragbirds fill up Cecilia while on tour in the easiest way imaginable — they ask for it. They roll into town and find a restaurant with the omnipresent bin of waste grease out back. A quick chat with a manager will usually get them what they need. “My husband Randall is our percussionist,” Zindle says, 
“and he has a whole little spiel about how we’re touring green and that we’re trying to do everything we can.” 
It gets a little more difficult in some towns — as the SVO conversion process gets more popular, particularly in 
the West, demand for used oil goes up. But it’s worth it — fuel economy is just as good as with petroleum-based diesel fuel, and it’s a lot cleaner. “It smells like cooking food,” Zindle says. “A bit odd, but it’s a ton better than 
the diesel smell.”

Welcome to 
the machine 
The van is more than a way to travel — it’s a way to communicate, and to help spread the band’s positive message. “It starts a lot of conversations,” Zindle says. “Whether it’s with the manager of Taco Bell or whoever. It’s spreading the word that there’s an alternative. It’s interesting because it gets people thinking”

The Ragbirds’ new album, released in February, has the evocative title Traveling Machine. Zindle sees the meaning as threefold. It can refer to the band itself, with its relentless touring — friends have called them a “traveling machine.” Then there’s Cecilia, the faithful van, the machine that makes the travel possible. And finally, there’s the music itself, the reason for it all, and which takes fans and listeners on another kind of journey. The Ragbird’s eclectic folk incorporates a vast array of influences, from celtic to African to Caribbean. “We’re using these styles from all over the world,” Zindle says, so it’s like we’re musically traveling to places we couldn’t otherwise reach.”

And Zindle’s songs speak of different kinds of journeys. “I think the biggest message in my lyrics is hope,” she says. “It’s usually hard-earned hope — the songs take you through something that’s hard to get through, but hope is there at the end.” It’s not too much of a stretch to say that this could mirror our culture’s journey away from our slavery to fossil fuels. This humble step taken by a group of working musicians points the way to a cleaner future. Let’s hit the road.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Brian Carroll (born May 13, 1969), better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 35 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists. His music spans such diverse areas as progressive metal, funk, blues, jazz, bluegrass, ambient, and avant-garde music.

Buckethead is famously known for wearing a KFC bucket on his head, emblazoned with an orange bumper sticker that read FUNERAL in capital black block letters, and an expressionless plain white costume mask. More recently, he switched to a plain white bucket that no longer bore the KFC logo, but has since switched back to his trademark KFC bucket. He also incorporates nunchucks and robot dancing into his stage performances.

An instrumentalist, Buckethead is best known for his electric guitar playing. He has been voted number 8 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the “Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time” as well as being included in Guitar World’s lists of the “25 all-time weirdest guitarists” and is also known for being in the “50 fastest guitarists of all time list”.
Mike Silverman, better known as That 1 Guy, is an American musician based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He frequently performs and records as a one-man band, singing and using a variety of homemade musical instruments.

Silverman is a classically trained double bass player who attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and developed a career in the progressive jazz scene in the 1990s, performing live and as a studio musician. He developed his own style of playing and gained a reputation as a one-man rhythm section, incorporating traditional and slap-bass playing with percussive elements using the body of the instrument. When he began to feel limited by his instrument and a heavy schedule of playing and recording for other people, he started to devise a new instrument that would allow him the range to create his own music. At first he sought out professional help in building his instrument, but decided to make it himself because of the projected cost. The end result was the Magic Pipe, a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) collection of steel plumbing pipes and joints, orchestral bass strings, and electronics.

Yes, Michigan! The great mitten state is set to invade Austin, TX with the inaugural Michigan Tastes & Tunes powered by Showclix at South By Southwest on Thursday March 15th at the Palm Door. A partnership between Grand Circus Media and Spencer Management Group presents a diverse and collaborative showcase highlighting Michigan’s dynamic collective of artists, flavors, and specialties. All Michigan bands, all Michigan brands are highlighted at one of the largest music festivals and conferences in the world.

Michigan Tastes & Tunes powered by Showclix is made possible by the generous support of Showclix, Fishbone’s, Metro 37 Recording Studio, The Magic Bag, The Majestic Theatre Center, GHS Strings, Metro Times, American Coney Island, McClure’s Pickles, Better Made Potato Chips, Boxed Water, and Ticketsavers.

Michigan Tastes & Tunes powered by Showclix features a dynamic lineup of bands. The initial lineup includes:

Greensky Bluegrass (Kalamazoo, MI)
http://www.greenskybluegrass.com

Stepdad (Grand Rapids, MI)
http://www.stepdad.us

The Ragbirds (Ann Arbor, MI)
http://www.theragbirds.com

Flashclash (Detroit, MI)
http://www.flashclash.com

Garrett Borns (Grand Rapids, MI)
http://www.garrettborns.com

Guests will enjoy complimentary food and drink with Michigan favorites American Coney Island coney bar, Better Made Potato Chips, McClure’s Bloody Mary Bar, and complimentary beer (while supplies last).

For the past 5 years, Papadosio has been creating conscious, mind expanding dance music that purposely defies classification. In an attempt to create an inspirational environment for progressive and positive thinking, this year of 2012 will see the addition of some very exciting and integral means of expressing their artistic message. Papadosio asks that everyone reevaluate the role of music and take a less nostalgic view of what has been and a more enthusiastic view of what is and what could be. As the year unfolds Papadosio encourages fans to come with open ears, minds, and hearts, and help them wake the world.