Jeff Lewis (mandolin, banjo, guitar,vocals) is 15 years old, Bennett Konesni (guitar, fiddle, banjo, vocals) is 25, and David Lewis (bass, guitar, steel, vocals) is older but trying to be wiser.
Influences
John Hartford, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Crooked Still, Rushad, Tim O'Brien, Casey Driessen, Bob Dylan, Clifford Brown, Django, Hunger Mountain Boys, Miles Davis, Woody Guthrie, Sam Bush, Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez, New Grass Revival, Mark Knopfler, Jim & Jesse, Dawg, Seldom Scene, Peter Paul & Mary, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Andres Segovia, John Coltrane, The Beatles, Jimi, the Dead, Velvet Underground, Ella Fitzgerald, Pete Seeger, Lissa Schneckenburger, Del McCoury, Blue Highway, Blue Northern, Mike Marshall, and all of our amazing musician friends! (sorry Lissa)
Sounds Like
Blue-Dance Contra-Grass with a hint of lime...Feel good so good fiddle banjo rhyme...Old Time (it's about time!) lose yourself in song...mandolin guitar bass we push the groove along
Here's Jeff singing and picking banjo on "Mole in the Ground"!
Our CD, Uncommon Kinship, is now available on CD Baby - click here to check it out.
About Free Seedlings
This new acoustic band energizes crowds with a buoyant mix of bluegrass, old-time and original songs. As inspiration, they list mountain music and farmer's work chants right alongside bluegrass of all stripes and the genius of Hartford, Dylan, and Lennon. The Free Seedlings bring a wide range of experiences to the stage, creating a sound that is both rooted in tradition and open to innovation.
Mandolinist Jeff Lewis was born in Islesboro, Maine. He asked his father to show him a few guitar chords when he was 10, and soon the father/son duo was playing at bluegrass festivals and other venues across Maine. Jeff is an accomplished musician who early on made a point of meeting and playing with some of his strongest influences: Sam Bush, Chris Thile and Tim O’Brien. He is a freshman at Gould Academy in Maine, where he plays guitar and trumpet in the school band.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Bennett Konesni was raised by parents that placed high value on the old-time fiddle and banjo music of family friend J.P. Fraley. Active in music as a youngster, Bennett jumped into flatpick guitar during high school. During four years at Middlebury College, he fronted a bluegrass band that included fiddler Nick Reeb (now of King Wilkie). The Route 7 Ramblers toured the Northeast in an old bus as the musical foundation of highly acclaimed Circus Smirkus. After finishing college, Bennett collected farmer's work songs in rural Africa, Asia and Europe during a post-graduate year of field research as a T.J. Watson Fellow. The singers and workers he met inspired him to write the songs that form the core of Free Seedlings' repertoire.
Also born in North Carolina (Greensboro), David Lewis started playing guitar as a teenager, went to music school for a while, then played French horn in a US Navy Band. He enjoyed several years playing pedal steel and bass in rock, country, and jazz bands before coming home to acoustic music in the early ‘90s. David's house has been taken over by the band as their studio and global headquarters, which is just fine with him.
“We make music that sounds good and feels good - in a concert hall, a muddy field, or on a mountain top.”
Hope you are having a joyful summer. Just passing through to send you some love! Our CD is almost done! Can you send us a head shot of each of you to include in the CD photos? Your work on "Cheat Death" (Dave's bass) and "When We're Together" (Jeff's mandolin) is just priceless! BTW, wanted you to know I used "Murph's Mirth" and "Both/And" for a church service I led yesterday. You may get a request for a CD.... Drop us a line soon! Hugs to you both! UE&R
We thought it might interest you to hear that our debut CD is now available on CD Baby. Click on the little picture below and listen to some samples. Hope you like what you hear :-)
Cheers Jesper Big Hungry Joe Old-time band from Denmark
We just listened to your CD Uncommon Kinship and loved it. We want to buy one. (We have Helki's copy) You have a picture of Andy and Edie inside that we would love a digital copy of too. Can we do that? Love you all, Dave and Sonja
greetings fellas -
i also like banjos! you guys sound great! GOOD stuff!! i hope to be able to catch a show someday soon. all the best to all of you.
travis
Hi Guy's! Great Sound! Happy St. Patrick's Day.
If interested in viewing the 2006 Country Colgate Showdown where I sang with LeAnn Rimes, you can go to countryshowdown.com and get the times and dates to be aired in your area. Regards, Lindsey Earl
Hey Jeff, so what's your new cd called? We just finished our studio work last night (Track Factory in Bangor, w/ BT) and ours still doesn't have a name! We just signed w/ MasterShield Records (VA)...pretty excited about that. CD will be out in late May. M' me your mailing address and I'll send ya a postcard. We take off for GA/MS/NC in less than 2 weeks. And...Tom is joining our band this summer! We can't wait for that~~
