Washboard playing Wiyos come clean
NEW York may be home to many musical styles, but tends not to be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of American roots music.
Brooklyn band The Wiyos are changing perceptions, however, with a blend of jazz, rural folk, old-time blues and Appalachian music which easily matches the talent coming out of Americana’s traditional heartlands in the South, and even caught the ear of Bob Dylan, who invited the band to join him on tour.
Then again, that could be because only one member of the trio, Michael Farkas, is a native New Yorker.
Teddy Weber and "Sauerkraut" Seth Travins come from the Piedmont area of Virginia and are steeped in Appalachian music, punk music and hillbilly culture.
"Our approach to blues was, and still is, influenced by some of the more urban swing cats — Fats Waller or Slim and Slam — of the 1920’s and 1930’s," singer and banjo player Farkas explained.
"As far as the NY scene, there has always been a wide assortment of crazies and circus freaks. We tended to gravitate towards them."
The band also took their name from an earlier generation of Big Apple renegades, a 19th-century New York Irish street gang.
"It was either that or the Plug Uglies," Farkas added.
"The Wiyos won out in a coin toss. Their gang spirit entered our bodies at 5am some random Sunday morning somewhere around the Five Points."
The band are no strangers to Scotland, having previously played at both Celtic Connections and the Shetland Folk Festival, and promise new material on the guitar, banjo, harmonica, upright bass, and — of course — Farkas’ washboard, although even Farkas hesitates to call it an instrument.
"An instrument? Bless your heart! It is certainly a sharp and serrated beast of a different colour," he said.
"Folks should run away when they see one. Mine spits nails and soap and has the soul of a demented Harpo."
Having previously recorded an album, Twisted, loosely based around The Wizard of Oz, Farkas admits he likes to have a theme in mind when it comes to creating an album.
"It focuses my mind and enables me to go deep and not wide. It also allows one to explore a subject from different angles through the song-craft that I prefer," he said.
He is also more than happy enough to collaborate and a previous UK visit saw the Americans record with Gaelic singer Mary Ann Kennedy.
"We loved our collaboration," Farkas said.
"A fantastic musician who really has the feel for traditional music. She is also a risk taker. I love to collaborate with other artists. I get tired of the junk bashing up against my own skull."
The Wiyos are just the latest in a line of US roots bands whooping it up at Eden Court’s OneTouch, so does Farkas have tips for fresh talent to watch out for?
"I saw a band recently called Scarecrow that I thought were doing something quite interesting with Delta blues and hip hop," Farkas answered.
"But they are from France…"
• The Wiyos appear at The Tin Hut, Gartly, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday 1th November; An Lanntair Arts Centre Kenneth Street, Stornoway, on Wednesday 12th; and Eden Court Theatre, Inverness on Thursday 13th.
