This weekend sees a fantastic double bill of bluegrass music at Boulevard Music, as Tom Corbett’s trio, Corbett, Mullins & Knopf, joins forces with one of Southern California’s most highly rated bluegrass combo, Burning heart. It’s sure to be an evening of high-energy roots music, so we spoke to Burning Heart’s Jeffrey Fleck about what we can expect…
CULVER CITY NEWS: WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING AND WRITING, AND THEN WHEN DID THE BAND FORM?
Jeffrey Fleck: I’ve been playing music all of my life. Various styles and types of music, but I got involved specifically in bluegrass music about 15 years ago. I played folk music and various things on guitar before that. I think that’s probably the case for most of the guys in the band. We formed the band about three years ago, and I play mandolin since about six months ago. I played mandolin previously, then guitar, and now I’m back to mandolin.
WOULD YOU SAY THE STYLE OF THE BAND IS TRADITIONAL BLUEGRASS?
It’s traditional, hardcore, straight-ahead bluegrass music. The kind that Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin and those guys play.
WHERE ARE YOU BASED?
We’re based in Los Angeles, and the five of us are from all different parts of Southern California.
LOS ANGELES ISN’T THE FIRST PLACE YOU THINK OF WHEN CONSIDERING BLUEGRASS MUSIC. IS THERE A HEALTHY SCENE HERE?
There is. It’s not a major market for bluegrass but there are bluegrass organizations, and there are concerts and festivals that take place in Southern California. It’s not really something you hear on the radio and TV too much. It’s more a community thing. The kind of music that you don’t really listen to, you also usually play it. To play it at a certain level doesn’t require a lot of major musical skills. To play it at the highest level of course does. So yeah, there’s a good subculture of bluegrass in Southern California, and California as well.
WHAT IS THE BEST CONCERT THE BAND HAS PLAYED SO FAR?
We were selected by the California Bluegrass Association, which is the biggest association in California for bluegrass, as a 2017 California showcase band, which means that we were invited to play at their Father’s Day bluegrass festival at Grass Valley up north near Sacramento. We played on the same stage as Bobby Osborne and Doyle Lawson. Those are two big names in the bluegrass world, and it was exciting to play on the same stage as some of our bluegrass heroes.
DO YOU HAVE CDS OR SINGLES AVAILABLE?
We have one CD out and another one is being produced. It’s going to be a live album and will contain some of the music from Grass Valley and also from a previous concert we did at the Ford Amphitheater back in October 2016. That’s coming out shortly.
HAVE YOU PLAYED BOULEVARD MUSIC BEFORE?
This is our third time. We called and sent Gary Mandell a CD. He checked us out and we played, and the last time plus this time, he called us.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE SET?
We’re hooked up with a really good bunch of musicians. On the same bill with us is Tom Corbett and a trio with two other guys. They’re top musicians in Southern California. They’re really the cream of the crop. They’ll play a set and then we’ll play our set of high energy bluegrass that we like to play. People who want to hear bluegrass and hot musicians will have a great evening.
AFTER THIS SHOW, WHAT DOES THE BAND HAVE PLANNED GOING FORWARD?
We’re working on getting into more festivals. They’re all over the country, and we’ve played festivals in California, Arizona and Nevada so far. We’re reaching out to festivals in Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Colorado, trying to spread our wings a little bit. We hope to be doing more traveling over the course of next year.
Burning Heart plays with Corbett, Mullins & Knopf at 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 18 at Boulevard Music; 4316 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City; $17.50.