By Tom Weber
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

The first Americana Showcase concert of 2010 will feature Brandon Sampson on stage with two of his heroes.

Sampson, who organizes the showcase series, has enlisted Martin Zellar and G.B. Leighton to join him for a Songwriters in the Round performance Tuesday at Rochester Civic Theatre.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if the three of us, who have never played together, got together and played,’” Sampson said.

Zellar and Leighton readily agreed, and will swap songs and stories in a relaxed setting.

Songwriter circles are common in Nashville and Austin, Texas, where there are more songwriters than snowflakes. Minnesota is producing a fair number of songwriters, too, and Sampson is intent on showcasing them.

Zellar, an Austin native, was a founding member and chief songwriter for the Gear Daddies. Zellar’s songs about life in a small town found a positive critical and popular reception. The Gear Daddies have reunited now and again, but Zellar primarily performs and records as a solo artist.

Leighton is one of the most popular acts in Minnesota music and regularly performs throughout the Midwest.

So how did you get these two guys lined up for a concert?

I’ve been doing more and more shows with Zellar. He performed at one of our songwriter rounds a couple of years ago. That was the first time he had done a songwriter-in-the-round show. He was thrilled and said he wanted to do it again. So he was on the top of my mind when Iput this together.

What about Leighton?

I grew up going to G.B. Leighton shows. I’m a really big fan of his songwriting. Ithink it will be a nice chance for him to showcase all these songs he’s written, and he has written a lot of good ones.

Will Zellar be playing new songs?

I saw him at Thanksgiving and he was playing a couple of new songs. He has recorded a new record, so Iwouldn’t be surprised if he dropped some surprises on people.

Talk about the art of songwriting.

I’m constantly reminded when I play with Zellar how simple songwriting is. Some of these songs he wrote when he was in his teens still connect with people. Since I’ve been going to Nashville, I’ve seen that when professional songwriters get together, they try to get real clever. But it’s not about that.

Who do you have coming up in future showcase concerts?

We have Matthew Ryan from Nashville on April 15, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, from Austin, Texas, and Dana Cooper, from Nashville, on May 9. Cooper was really the inspiration for why we started this showcase to begin with.

You’re satisfied with the support for the series?

I can’t thank people enough for coming out and taking a chance.

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Post-Bulletin Company, L.L.C.
www.postbulletin.com

With a population hovering around 500, Lyle isn’t exactly bursting at the seams. But what the southern Minnesota city lacks in size, it more than makes up for in talent.
“I really enjoyed growing up there,” reminisces Six Mile Grove’s Brandon Sampson.

Though he fronts one of the most compelling outfits working the Americana circuit today, he’s not above talking up the finer points of his hometown: its close-knit nature, the close proximity to extended family and, true to the fertile land beneath his childhood feet, life on the farm.

The members of Rochester-based Americana outfit Six Mile Grove — from left: Dezi Wallace, Barry Nelson and brothers Brandon and Brian Sampson — recently celebrated 10 years of playing music together. Image courtesy of the band
Sampson’s interest in music began at the age of 8, unexpectedly enough, with a farming accident that smashed up his left hand.
“It really wrecked it pretty good,” he recalls, mentioning that a physical therapist said playing an instrument would help get his hand’s range of motion back. “That was my motivation to play guitar — to limber up my fingers — and it just kind of stuck.”

Soon after that simple twist of fate, Sampson’s younger brother, Brian, picked up the drums — and the two have been playing together ever since.

“When we were growing up,” Sampson said of his sibling and Six Mile Grove bandmate, “there was one common thing that kept us from fighting all the time: It was music.”

A great deal of credit must be given to the boys’ parents, who saw their sons’ potential and gave them their very own “band house.” (A neighboring farmhouse Sampson’s great-grandmother had left to the family when she died at the age of 101.)

“During the summer, it’d be all day long,” Sampson said, “eight hours a day just listening to these groups we heard on the radio and trying to figure out what they were doing, trying to copy that and make our own music.”

After putting in their time writing down chord progressions and trying to figure out how those musicians were making their music, the next step for the brothers — who were in eighth and fifth grade, respectively, when they landed their first paying gig — was tackling the small-town circuit.

“We played at all the county fairs and, you know, picnics and whatever festivals they’d let us play at,” Sampson said.

These early experiences would pay off tenfold in the years to come. Take, for example, Six Mile Grove’s last album (fourth overall), “Bumper Crop.” It was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by members of the band. (The group’s lineup is rounded out by bassist Dezi Wallace and lead guitarist/ keys man Barry Nelson.)

“It comes from years of running your own sound at all these different festivals and setting up your own gear and playing your own music,” Sampson says of his group’s DIY success, “and trying to figure out what sounds good.”

Also impressive is the fact that, earlier this month, Six Mile Grove celebrated 10 years of making music together by playing to a packed house at Bunker’s in Minneapolis.

“It’s very simple: We haven’t recently had any big blowups or anything like that — we never really have,” Sampson said of his group’s longevity. “We’ve always been pretty open about our goals. We have regular meetings to make sure we’re all on the same page, and, once everybody says we’re on the same page, then we work toward that goal until another month later and we have another meeting. We just keep focusing on what it is we want to do, we communicate that and then nobody can complain because they were in, you know?”

He continued by sharing another “band secret”: If, during rehearsal, one Six Mile Grover doesn’t like what another is playing, he can say so — but he then must offer either an alternative or a suggestion for improvement.

“Once we came upon that rule, it completely solved all of the ill feelings,” Sampson said. “As long as you don’t feel like you’re being attacked in a group setting, then it’s cool.”

Recently Sampson has been playing a lot more shows sans bandmates. No, Six Mile Grove isn’t breaking up (they’re putting the finishing touches on album No. 5, in fact); he just really, really likes playing music.

“I love Americana,” he says matter-of-factly. “That’s what we sound like. That’s what we are. That’s what we stand for, really.”

The solo sets also serve another purpose: They are another outlet for the Six Mile Grove material, which he writes all the lyrics for.

“I used to get really nervous about [putting myself out there], but it’s really liberating,” Sampson said. “… I’m writing songs about my grampa — and things I felt bad about not saying to him — or just these really standout small-town folks that have a story to tell but are too afraid to tell it themselves.”

Matthew R. Perrine , Budgeteer News

The Dale Connelly Show on MPR’s Radio Heartland:

Click play below to stream!

This week, since most schools in Minnesota have started by now, we decided to take a look at the subject of education in music. We’ll feature songs about school, high school, elementary school and college from artists including Steve Martin, Chuck Berry, Van Morrison and more. In hour two we’ll meet Brandon Sampson from the band Six Mile Grove. The band is from Lyle, Minnesota originally and Brandon talks about growing up in a tiny town, learning to play music and eventually touring with Johnny Cash’s guitar player.

Hour 1
Van Morrison – “Graduate of the School of Hard Knocks”
Crosby, Stills and Nash – “Teach Your Children”
Asylum Street Spankers – “When I Grow Up”
Dan Schwartz – “All These Things”
Steve Martin – “Late For School”
Chuck Berry – “School Days”
Pat Donohue – “High School”
The Red Clay Ramblers – “School House on the Hill”
Josh Rouse – “Middle School Frown”
John McCutcheon – “Kindergarten Wall”
Ann Reed – “Marching Back To School”
Austin Lounge Lizards – “Didn’t Go To College”
Bright Morning Star – “Their Way”
Preston Reed – “Driving School”

Hour 2
Greg Brown – “Early”
Iris DeMent – “Our Town”
Six Mile Grove – “Hollywood”
John Denver – “Rhymes and Reasons”
Dion – “Kickin’ Child”
Luther College Nordic Choir – “Sicut Cervus”
Hank Williams – “I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You”
Six Mile Grove and Bob Wootton – “Big River”
Sally Barris – “My Love Loves the Ocean”
Wilco – “What Light?”
Brandon Sampson – “This Old Guitar”

Visit Radio Heartland on MPR.org for more information.

Finishing off the weekend with another show in Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center. Doors at 7pm. Show at 7:30pm. $5 Cover. More details at http://www.thecedar.org/416_club_hosted_radio_heartland_david_stoddard_and_six_mile_grove

Hope to see you there!

On Thursday morning, Brandon was invited to the Minnesota Public Radio studios in St. Paul to be interviewed by Dale Connelly, host of the Saturday night “Radio Heartland” program. Brandon also acted as “guest DJ,” sharing songs that span the lifetime of his musical influences and inspiration, ranging from John Denver to Wilco.
In the interview, Brandon shares about the experience that started his musical journey– a severe hand injury from a farming accident when he was 9 years old– that led him to playing guitar for rehabilitation. As his hand healed, his love for music grew, and soon he convinced his brother to join him on drums, and their longtime friend Barry to join in with a keyboard. Years later, the three boys found their bass player, Dezi and Six Mile Grove was born.
The interview will air this Saturday Night – September 12th at 9PM on Minnesota Public Radio News stations: “Radio Heartland” with Dale Connelly
the MPR story

To hear the story of Six Mile Grove in detail, please tune into Minnesota Public Radio THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at 9PM! Listen online or on your way to watch the boys play at Bunker’s in downtown Minneapolis.
You can also show your support of Six Mile Grove and MPR’s Radio Heartland on Sunday night when the boys play the MPR sponsored show at the Cedar Cultural Center with David Stoddard. Show at 7:30PM.
AND don’t forget to let MPR know how THRILLED you are to be hearing about Six Mile Grove on their programs! www.mpr.org

Concert Review

Jack Hennes

Arts & Entertainment Editor