Oneside

Having a banjo on stage, surrounded by what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward rock set up, has always spurred audiences to ask the members of ONESIDE what kind of music they are trying to play. ?I always say ROCK. Rock with a banjo?, declares lead singer Ned deBary. Of course his stock answer is overly simplistic, but one can't really fault him - after all, his job is to play the music, not define it. It is accurate to say that ONESIDE is successfully carving out its own niche though.

?Progressive rock-grass? and ?Americana fusion? are among the more satisfying terms being thrown around. As deBary explains, ?I think our sound comes from our diverse musical backgrounds, combined with our respect for one another, and of course our love of playing music together.? This respect leads to a musical open mindedness that is the breeding ground for ONESIDE's unique, organic sound.

The individual members of ONESIDE combine to form a band steeped in classic rock, traditional bluegrass, folk, pop, funk, and jazz. Before ONESIDE'S Chris Hersh ever picked up a banjo and fell in love with the instrument, he was a star jazz guitar student at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. DeBary is a deft, prolific songwriter who can draw song structures from traditional folk and blues, as well as from more modern and abstract influences such as Radiohead. Whatever the structure, the melodies always benefit from deBary's tasteful pop sensibility, and are full of catchy lines and hooks. Bass player Grafton Pease is a disciple of melodic bass players like Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones. Much like his idols, he can lay down a deceivingly simple, rock solid groove when the song calls for it, but also has the chops to amaze audiences when more overtly adventurous playing is appropriate. As drummers often are, Jake Brooks is ONESIDE's secret weapon. He can change the feel from laid back country shuffles to head-nodding funk, and then over to an odd meter, while always propelling the music forward and making sure the underlying theme remains rooted in ?Rock?. Where others have tried and failed, ONESIDE somehow manages to make all this ambitious diversity coherent. Debary adds, ?Another unifying aspect to our band is that we all love the banjo, and think it deserves a prominent place in modern American music?. Hence Oneside works, and the band has been simultaneously mystifying and delighting audiences all over the country.