Little Gray House

Bio:

One can only assume that for the first time in history what started as impromptu jam session with friends singing Beatles songs around a piano has turned into a new band. Duluth, MN Americana outfit Little Gray House is a ‘new’ band in more ways than one. They were all friends first with similar tastes in music so playing songs seemed like an interesting and progressive thing to do. The rich, warm tone of Sophie Karakatsoulis’ violin, Stephanie Tresidder’s unique bass stomp, the sparse autoharp strum of Crystal Glowacki were joined up with Marc Gartman (Two Many Banjos, Coyote) and his Irish 8 string Bouzouki for a unique northern Minnesota sound.

The History: Sophie had mentioned to Marc that she wanted to be in a band around the time of the initial piano jam session. Steph wanted to learn the bass and he thought he could give her a hand with that. Instead of just teaching her the rudiments of the bass though he thought perhaps he could write some songs that they would be able to play together. Crystal wanted in as well and she was interested in learning the Autoharp. It’s relevant to note that neither Steph or Crystal had any experience playing music – this is the first time they are recording, writing and performing. For Gartman this is one of the most exciting parts of the project. Little Gray House celebrates not just the birth of a new band but new musicians.

As for the songs themselves Gartman had ideas for a bluegrass meets Celtic band but he needed help. His 8-string bouzouki had hung on the wall for a while but lack of inspiration had kept it up there too long. For such a small town Duluth has a wealth of talent and Sarah and Ben Johnson 2/3 of the forward thinking Irish band Sassanach came highly recommended as powerful players in their own right. They filled out the initial trio with some well-needed musical prowess with Bodhran, Piccolo and Concertina. Close harmony singing from Sarah worked with Gartman’s voice as well. The songs were coming fast and before anyone knew exactly what was going on their debut CD was done.

The songs on ‘Howlin’ Moon’ range from upbeat Celtic dance offs to more moody and introspective numbers Gartman has compared to the music Low – if they had come from Ireland. It was recorded live by Jake Larson (Charlie Parr, Black Eyed Snakes) in the actual little gray house where the ladies of the band live in together up the North Shore. Mic’s were setup around couches, a dog slept on the floor, whiskey somehow disappeared.

Some special guest help from Dave Carroll on banjo (Two Many Banjos, Trampled By Turtles) and Kevin Oftedahl on hammered dulcimer (Georgeanne Hunter) add to the mix. ‘Howlin’ Moon’ will be available in August 2009.

Member Since:

February 18, 2009

Members:

Marc Gartman - bouzouki

Stephanie Tresidder - bass

Crystal Glowacki - autoharp

Sophie Karakatsoulis - fiddle

Sarah Johnson – piccolo, vocals

Ben Johnson - Bodhran, English concertina, vocals

Influences:

Each other

Record Label:

Universal Music Group