For local performer, there's no place like home By KATHARINE COLDIRON For the Blade-News
Stop by the Old Bowie Town Grille Saturday night for some toe-tapping fun to the music of Dead Men's Hollow. The six-person band made up of "30- and 40-somethings" plays music that is a blend of original old-time, bluegrass and gospel-flavored material mixed with new spins on old traditionals.
Even though the band plays over 40 performances each year in the greater Washington area, there's no place like home for upright bass player Bob Peirce, who was born and raised in Bowie and now lives in Crofton.
"I love playing for family and friends," said Peirce of local performances. It's not the first time the band has played nearby, but it is the first gig that Dead Men's Hollow has landed in Bowie. The show came about when a musical contact of Peirce's said she thought the band's style would play well at the grill, and Peirce agreed: "We anticipate a packed house," he said.
Peirce has played the upright bass since he was a teenager, and he also plays guitar and mandolin. He was in a band called Riverside while he was at Bowie High School, he said. Three years ago, when he answered an online ad for a bass player - the ad that would lead him to play with Dead Men's Hollow, which promised music that was "a bit more quiet" than the band he was with - he laughed. That was what he was looking for.
Dead Men's Hollow began in the summer of 2001 as an impromptu backyard pick 'n' sing of honky-tonk and old-time country music. Performances began in 2003, and with each concert, the good news has just kept coming.
Dead Men's Hollow plays both original material, written by the band members, and traditional material, sometimes many decades old, as well as covers of more recent songs. Vocalist Amy Nazarov said that the music of Dead Men's Hollow has a lot of variety, and is often chosen to suit the venue. If it's a church gig, for example, a lot more gospel will be played instead of "drinkin' and shootin' songs."
Their aspirations were modest when they first got together, said Nazarov. But because the Washington, D.C., area is so rich in musical talent and opportunity, Dead Men's Hollow has continued to rise above the expectations of its members. This year, the band was nominated for three Wammies (Washington-area music awards, similar to Grammies), including Song of the Year "Grandma Was a Crop Duster," written by Peirce, and Best Bluegrass Duo/Group of 2006. The band even played at the Kennedy Center twice last year. "We didn't really anticipate playing at the Kennedy Center," said Nazarov.
The band's Web site explains the name: After the Civil War, saloons, pawnshops and houses of ill repute dominated the Arlington, Va., end of the old aqueduct bridge leading into Washington, D.C. Law-abiding citizens had to travel in well-armed groups if they wished to pass unharmed. They called this place "Dead Men's Hollow."
Other band members include Caryn Fox, vocalist; Belinda Hardesty, vocalist; Marcy Cochran on fiddle, and Mike Clayberg on guitar. Even though members are geographically scattered among the D.C. area, their unique way of working together means that they can always communicate musically. Nazarov explained that over and above the weekly rehearsal, the band uses Internet and digital recording technology to post fragments of songs sung or played by members. This way, another member can take his or her piece of the melody and learn it before their rehearsal, or work with it to make changes, if necessary. "It's taken some time to get it down to a science," said Nazarov.
But playing together all across the area, from Baltimore to Richmond, even to Kansas, hasn't gotten old for Dead Men's Hollow. "We have a commitment to each other as friends and as musical comrades," said Nazarov. This comradeship will mean that the band will continue making sweet music for a long time to come, and Saturday, anyone lucky enough to squeeze into Old Bowie Town Grille will hear it for themselves.
For information, visit www.deadmenshollow.com. They will perform at Old Bowie Town Grille Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.
