Introducing Twisted Pine, a lively grab bag of star players. Laying it down with his backbone chop, nimble fingers, and jolly demeanor, Dan Bui and his mighty mandolin build a solid foundation that traditionalists crave and progressives covet.
Raised in Houston, Texas, on pho and funk, Bui’s U-eys keep this crew on time and on track with driving melodies and chops for days. Alongside Bui towers his trusty rhythmic comrade Chris Sartori, keeping it funky fresh and solid as a rock like a moose on a walk. This Concord, Massachusetts big boy has a big appetite for keeping that upright bass grounded and grooving (OR sizzling and saucy?), not to mention for a big ol’ burrito.
Sitting atop this dynamic duo perches Kathleen Parks, ready to pounce. Newberg, New York’s own ferocious feline fiddles her way through virtuosic snaps and experimental quips as her audacious yet sultry vocals leave ears perked and tails raised. With a knack for writing booty-shaking songs and some sass to boot, Parks is a triple threat to this juncture … but that’s not all, folks. In barges new kid on the block Anh Phung, toting slick licks and stuttered flutters. Growing up in the ‘burbs of Chilliwack, BC, this little flute-wielding scamp weaves through the nooks and crannies of Twisted Pine’s musical terrain and rounds out its ever-evolving sound.
People always ask us: “So... what genre are you?” It's a reasonable question and honestly there’s no short answer. You could call it, “neo-folk indie soul avant jazz jam grass-icana” but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. We’re definitely rooted in bluegrass. We grew out of that community, and are continually inspired by its explorers like Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, and Billy Strings, to name a couple. They’ve helped grow bluegrass into a mighty big tree, and we’ve got our little pine branch somewhere on there. There may be no banjo and relatively few boom-chicks, but there’s an acoustic intensity and life to our grooves that I think would make the founding fathers smile. Right Now takes this heritage into a new dimension.
We’re still waiting on Spotify to invent the right word to categorize us. It’s a little fruity, a little spicy, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Our bluegrass is jazzy, our indiefolk is poppy, our grooves are FUNKY, and Anh Phung is playing flute! We’re influenced by bands like Lake Street Dive and Crooked Still, the Flecktones, and the Wood Brothers. Like them, the music is easier to feel than it is to describe. Genre is a construct anyways, right? Twisted Pine is a vibe! Call it what you want.