Don’t be fooled by Tullsen Brothers

August 21, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

BLIND faith, blind ambition

Author: Eric Schaffert

Price: $14.95

Available at: Barnes & Noble in Boardman; Amazon.com

Just so we get this straight, the appeal of old-timey Appalachian music should be relegated to bluegrass festival folk who yearn for a simpler time. You know, the late 19th century or early 20th century.

However, the recent stateside arrival of U.K. act Mumford & Sons has seemingly every musical journalist incessantly praising the sublime nature of the folkers. Hoping to take advantage of this retro trend’s zeitgeist is local act Tullsen Brothers — Nathanael Welch (banjo, mandolin, vocals), Chris Hartman (guitar, vocals), Justin Charles Hite (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Dustin Roberts (bass, vocals) — but don’t be fooled. These guys aren’t riding on anyone’s coattails, or at least anyone that is still alive.

“Mumford & Sons are really great,” said 2002 Badger High School graduate Hite, who currently lives in Kinsman. “I’m glad that they’re around and kind of making the type of music that we play a little bit more contemporary and giving some people something popular to grasp onto that isn’t close to 100 years old.

“I’ve been interested in Appalachian folk music before I ever heard Mumford & Sons. I think this is a good time for this kind of music, especially to bring it into the Youngstown area. There aren’t really any other acts here like us. It’s good to bring something different. There’s growing popularity around the world with this type of music. And to bring it to Youngstown, people have been pretty well responsive so far.”

The current outfit, which formed roughly a year ago, actually dates back to previous Northeast Ohio band The Devotees. Hite and Nathanael Welch (banjo, mandolin, vocals) spent a few years exploring the folk revival scene before deciding to hook up with Chris Hartman (guitar, vocals) and Dustin Roberts (bass, vocals) to form Tullsen Brothers.

While the quartet has an EP under its belt, up next is its debut full-length effort due out this winter. Amongst the tracks expected to be found on that release is old Irish song “I Wish My Baby Was Born.”

“It’s one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard and definitely the most depressing song I ever played,” Hite said. “It’s haunting. It’s a beautiful tune. The crowd really likes that one. We also have another song called ‘John Henry’ about the fabled railroad worker.”

Hmm, an Appalachian music act covering the latter folk standard feels a bit on the nose, like a polka band playing “Roll Out the Barrel.” Hite admits the clich but defends Tullsen Brothers’ approach.

“Part of the idea of the band is we want to have fun with the music that we’re playing and a lot of it for me is keeping up with the traditions of Appalachian folk music,” Hite said. “You get these songs and there are recurring themes. Everybody does a song about John Henry. And part of the thing, I took lyrics that were written in 1915 and rewrote half of them and gave it a little bit of an updated melody and feel. It’s got a more modern feel. The way that we play it, it almost has a honky-tonk, borderline rockabilly feel to it.”

Having fun is somewhat of a rally cry for the Tullsen Brothers. Not only will audiences attending the band’s Monday show at the Lemon Grove hear the aforementioned tracks, but another traditional song of sorts from overseas. This one not only comes out of left field, but it’s a head banger for sure.

“We do a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ from their ‘The Number of the Beast’ album,” Hite said. “The first time we did it was at Nouveau Rock Fest. We said we had a bit of a modern song to play. I tried to do falsetto vocals as best as I could. Eventually in the audience there was this moment of realization that we were doing this ‘80s metal song. Everybody loved it.”

Finally, another new song concertgoers should look out for is “Old No. 7,” which is all about Jack Daniels. Wait, shouldn’t an Appalachian music band sing about moonshine?

“I wrote a song about moonshine a long time ago, and I sort of lost the words and can’t remember it,” Hite said.

Does Hite promise he’ll remember the lyrics to his other songs at the Tullsen Brothers’ upcoming show?

“Yes,” he laughed, “yes, I will.”