Devil in a Woodpile is a band from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Although they routinely give a fresh sound to 80-year-old songs, their repertoire and instrumentation categorizes them as a

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

History

Rick Sherry and

Tom V. Ray Tom V. Ray is an American bassist living in Chicago. He was born in 1965, and grew up on a farm in Vincennes, Indiana. Ray’s professional musical career began in 1983, when he began performing with local bluegrass, country and classic rock co ...

first began playing together in the early 1990s as part of the Jake LaBotz Trio. After this unit broke up, the group began backing

David "Honeyboy" Edwards David "Honeyboy" Edwards (June 28, 1915 – August 29, 2011) was a Delta blues guitarist and singer from Mississippi. Biography Edwards was born in Shaw, Mississippi.

, and performed as Devil in a Woodpile in between sets. The band first won acclaim locally in Chicago by playing frequent gigs at The Hideout. Signing with local folk/country label

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs i ...

, the group released its first album in 1998 and a second in 2000. Soon after this they toured with

Son Volt Son Volt is an American rock band formed in 1994 by Jay Farrar after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. The band's current line-up consists of Farrar (vocals, guitar), Andrew DuPlantis (bass guitar), John Horton (guitar), Mark Patterson (drums), and Ma ...

in the USA. Adding

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

native Joel Paterson to the lineup in 2003, the group released its third record for Bloodshot in 2005. Gary Schepers (tuba) or Beau Sample (bass) often play with the band when Tom Ray is not available. In the summer of 2007, the group opened for the folk legend

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. After more than ten years playing their weekly Tuesday slot at the Hideout, the group disbanded in 2009. That year, Rick Sherry joined with guitarist Eric Noden and bassist Beau Sample to form a new group, the Sanctified Grumblers. This group plays in the same style, and eventually took over the old Hideout residency. Sherry has since re-reformed Devil in a Woodpile with Joel Paterson on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, banjo and

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...

, and Beau Sample on

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

and

jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold liquids. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and often a pouring lip. Jugs throughout history have been made of metal, and ceramic, or glass, and ...

. In 2015, Devil in a Woodpile/Sanctified Grumblers was inducted into the Jug Band Hall of Fame.Jug Band Hall of Fame website
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Music

For the most part, Devil in a Woodpile perform cover tunes, playing and recording their own interpretation of an eclectic range of old songs. Their repertoire stretches from blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

, to traditional

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and some country influences. Their own compositions follow the same pattern. While performing with blues legend,

David Honeyboy Edwards David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

has a more laid back sound. On their most recent album, ''In Your Lonesome Town'', they cover a

Charlie Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American musi ...

song "Shake It and Break It" as well as

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's "

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a song recorded by English rock band Led Zeppelin for their third album, ''Led Zeppelin III'', released in 1970. Background The song is named after Bron-Yr-Aur, a house in Montgomeryshire, Wales, where the members of Led ...

Members

;Current members *Rick "Cookin" Sherry - vocals, harmonica, clarinet, washboard, other percussion *Beau Sample -

*Joel Paterson - guitar, vocals (Joel also plays with The Western Elstons and under his own name with the Joel Paterson Trio) ;Former members *Paul Kaye - steel guitar *

*Gary Schepers - tuba *Mike Grenz - upright bass

Discography

*''Devil in a Woodpile'' ( Bloodshot, 1998) *''Division Street'' (Bloodshot, 2000) *''In Your Lonesome Town'' (Bloodshot, 2005)

Compilation contributions

* "Got Just What I Want" (Trad.) - ''For A Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records'' (Bloodshot, 2005)

References

* Devil in a Woodpileat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

External links

Devil in a Woodpile
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil In A Woodpile Musical groups from Chicago American alternative country groups Musical groups established in 1998 Bloodshot Records artists