Making Music “With Friends”: An Interview with The Navasota String Band
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Even having a bandmate out of the country couldn’t stop The Navasota String Band from making music. During a brief hiatus, in which vocalist and guitarist Ryan O’Donnell spent a year living in France, fiddler Mateo Clarke and banjo player Zach McLean continued working on songs while their partner in crime did the same halfway round the world. Clarke and McLean even traveled to visit O’Donnell, and the three spent time gigging together on street corners and tube stations in several different countries, brandishing their impressive repertoire of original bluegrass, country, blues, and folk.
Thanks to a recent successful Kickstarter campaign, very supportive fans, the addition of stand-up bassist Joseph McGill, and a bunch of musician friends contributing new instrumentation (include spoons and penny whistle alongside the mandolin, tuba, sax, and…birthday cake?) and vocals, The Navasota String Band is proud to present their new full-length, the aptly-titled With Friends. O’Donnell, Clarke and McLean recently paid a visit to the KUT studios to chat about growing up together, making a killer video that…well, required acting, a big move coming up – again, and feeling grateful for getting things done with the help of their friends.
Don’t miss out on the fun tonight when The Navasota String Band has their CD release show tonight at the Cactus Cafe, at 24th St. and Guadalupe in the Texas Union on the UT campus. Joining the party is the wild and randy Whiskey Shivers, and none other than the wild man himself, folk/country/punk legend Wild Bill & The Lost Knobs. Doors open at 8 p.m.
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