Feature
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Bluegrass
By Ken Graham
Top: Austin Beasley, Zach Beasley, Mariah Barthlow and John Hockersmith, of the Blue Mountain Troublemakers, pretend that they hop freight trains.
The movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”, tells the story of three men on the run after their escape from a Mississippi chain gang. While on the lam, among other things, they form a bluegrass band called “The Soggy Bottom Boys” and record a hit version of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow”.
John Hockersmith works on his senior project.
When John Hockersmith was in the fourth grade, he and his friends Chris and Nick Carpenter saw “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” and loved it. They decided right then and there to start a bluegrass band of their own. “We weren’t even musicians,” says John. “We had to get some instruments and start taking lessons.”
Now a senior at Waitsburg High School, John is an accomplished guitarist and seven-year member of the Blue Mountain Troublemakers bluegrass band. The band has rehearsed and performed regularly over that time. In 2007, the Troublemakers traveled to Japan and spent two weeks traveling and performing in and around the city of Sasayama. “We played mostly at schools,” says John. “It was a great experience.” The trip was part of a cultural exchange program between Walla Walla and its Japanese Sister City.
When it came time to choose his senior project, John knew that he wanted to do something relating to bluegrass and the Troublemakers. So he decided to put on a bluegrass show.
“When I told one of my friends about the show I was planning at the Liberty Theater, he said he had a good name for it,” says John. “’Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Bluegrass’. I thought it was perfect, and that’s what we’re calling it.”
John and the Troublemakers have attended bluegrass shows and workshops regularly for the past few years, and they have met and played with many area musicians. So he knew who to contact when he wanted to invite other bands to perform in his show in Dayton.
Heading up the show will be Wanigan, a veteran acoustic band from the Lewiston/Clarkston area that plays what they call “bluegrass, etc.” Their performance will feature original songs as well as bluegrass and folk classics.
Above: Members of Wanigan, from Clarkston. Members of the Ryegrass String Band, from Walla Walla. (Photos courtesy of the musicians)
Walla Walla’s Ryegrass String Band will also be part of the Bluegrass show. This band has been performing regularly for more than 20 years. They play a wide range of acoustic folk and bluegrass.
The Blue Mountain Troublemakers will start off the show. The band’s four current members are:
Austin Beasley – Fiddle
Zach Beasley – Guitar, Bass Guitar
Mariah Barthlow – Fiddle, Cello, Mandolin
John Hockersmith – Guitar, Fiddle, Banjo
(The Carpenter brothers left the band in 2008.)
When the show is over, John will refocus his attention on finishing his senior year in Waitsburg and beginning his college career at WSU in the fall. John wants to be a winemaker, and will enter that school’s enology program. “I’ll take my guitar and keep playing though,” he says. As for the future of the Troublemakers, they are unsure what it will bring, as two of the four will be attending college next year. But there is sure to be plenty of music ahead for all of them.
The Blue Mountain Troublemakers have just completed a new CD called “Troubled Times”. It will be available for sale during the show in Dayton. CDs by the other bands will also be for sale at the show.
The Sunday afternoon show will be a great opportunity to see some of the best bluegrass musicians in the Northwest, in the wonderful intimate setting of the Liberty Theater. Don’t miss it!