By Jay Scott Kanes

SUMMERSIDE, PEI, Canada – A peculiar thing happened to a swinging country-bluegrass band called Saddle River, winners of the 2008 East Coast Music Award for Atlantic Canada’s top bluegrass recording.

Singer-songwriter Catherine MacLellan, one of the region’s most promising musicians, left the group when she moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to pursue a music career there. Yet Saddle River grew stronger.

Bass player Tom DesRoches stepped in, joining James Phillips (guitar, mandolin), Mike Dixon (guitar) and Troy McArthur (banjo). Singing duties are shared.

The rejigged Saddle River String Band released a self-titled debut CD, performed at every opportunity and won 2007 PEI Music Awards for the top bluegrass/country album and for the best new-artist recording. Just days ago, the group triumphed at the ECMAs in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

“When we parted ways with Catherine and then Tom joined the band, it seemed like we needed to decide if we’d step up to the next level,” James said. “We’d gotten a little tired of playing at the same old bars to the same half-crowds, and we decided that to make progress and see some new audiences, we’d need a CD.”

With an infusion of original music written by James, Mike and Troy, Saddle River turned undeniably fresh, yet still sounded traditional.

Swagger and sway,
Swagger and sway,
Jaywalking sideways,
Two feet of clay,
Hand around the bottleneck,
Eyes in a mess,
Hang on till Sunday….
But it won’t do no good anyway.
Our daddy has taught us
To swagger and sway.
From “Swagger and Sway”, Written by James Phillips, Recorded by the Saddle River String Band, 2007

“The song ‘Swagger and Sway’ has gotten a lot of compliments, which surprised me,” James said. “When I wrote it, I liked it, but didn’t think it had commercial potential.

“We started out planning to make a folk album of other people’s songs. We’d written one of our own tunes three years ago, and played it ever since. As we geared up to make the CD, I suddenly wrote two songs that seemed to fit. Then Troy dusted off an old one of his and happened to write another. Mike fashioned two, an old one he had and another that’d been unfinished. The next thing you knew, we had seven originals on our 13-track CD.”

Last night I heard you talking
To a man out in the hallway.
I don’t believe I heard his voice before.
I thought it was your brother.
But no, it was another,
And I don’t think you love me anymore.
From “I Don’t Think You Love Me”, Written by Mike Dixon, Recorded by the Saddle River String Band, 2007

“For me, it’s hard to be objective about the CD,” James said. “But I think the original songs turned out really nice. Wanting to capture our lively feel, we did the CD with the one-mike setup that we use live.

“We’ve had an excellent response from the public. When people comment that they like certain songs, it’s usually the original music.”

Popular at festivals and nightclubs, Saddle River takes the music seriously, but still has fun. “When we enjoy ourselves, the audiences do too,” said Troy.

I’m living like some junky down in Nashville.
I should be living right and fancy free.
But I’m standing here, Lord, a’pickin’ down in Nashville,
Wondering why I ever came to Tennessee.
For everyone I see, they pick’er just like me.
I guess it really didn’t turn out like I thought it would.
I’m standing on some sidewalk down in Nashville,
Just wondering when I thought I got so good.
From “Nashville Junky”, Written by Troy McArthur, Recorded by the Saddle River String Band, 2007

“By the summer of 2008, we should expand our range and play at festivals beyond PEI,” James said. “We’ve had offers to appear at some festivals and talk about others.

“There’s been a big resurgence in ‘old-timey’ music,” James said. “We never intended to jump onto a bandwagon. In fact, we started the band just for fun. But we’ve come to like it a lot more than we expected.

“We’ve all played in different groups. We’ve written other types of songs. But those on the CD seemed to fit into the older style of traditional music. Once we put them into that setting, they came to life, and we knew they’d work.”

The original Saddle River, with MacLellan as the lead singer, began four years ago. “Our attitude’s always very unassuming,” James said. “Things just turned out better than we anticipated.

“I used to enjoy the experimental and exploratory nature of songwriting and recording more than performing,” James said. “But with this band we have so much fun that I really enjoy performing.

“By playing with these guys, I’ve become a stronger performer. I’ve learned to entertain crowds and project myself much more.”

Will Saddle River issue another CD? “I hope so,” James said. “Whatever else people in the band may do, I hope we’ll keep coming back to this group.”

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