Rural Delivery

Fairbanks, AK USA

December 31, 2007

1,302 plays
13,592 views

Fairbanks, Alaska bluegrass band that veers into alternative country and hillbilly jazz.tracks

Alaska’s Rural Delivery bluegrass band has just released its first CD on Tank Farm Records. The CD features 12 songs recorded in the studio, followed by 6 bonus tracks recorded live on February 27, 2007 at the College Coffeehouse in Fairbanks.

Rural Delivery is Ben Bragonier on mandolin and vocals, Suzanne Graves on guitar and vocals, Tye Menser on banjo and vocals, Jeff Siniscalchi on mandolin, harmonica, and vocals, and Ken Brown on bass, dobro, and vocals. Bragonier, Graves, and Brown are all primary teachers with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District in Fairbanks. Until recently, Menser was a public defender in Fairbanks (now living in Olympia, Washington), and Siniscalchi keeps the new hospital on Fort Wainwright physically running.

Recorded on a Boss 1600-CD recorder, “Hardly a Town at All” is not a perfect album, nor was it intended to be. Rather than focus on studio perfection, the band tried to capture the “live” feel and emotion that comes across on stage when the band performs publicly. The CD takes its title from a line in one of two original songs written by Brown that are featured on the CD. The cover photo was taken by Bragonier’s wife Carrie, and Bragonier, a talented graphic artist, designed the CD cover and booklet.

Rural Delivery plans to tour the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia/Yukon festivals during 2008.

Band/artist history

Rural Delivery started as a duo with just Brown and Bragonier back at the end of 2004, then gradually added members and went through a few personnel changes before the current line-up featured on the CD.

Have you performed in front of an audience?

We have played dozens of public and private gigs, including the Fairbanks Winter and Summer Folk Fests, the Anchorage Folk Fest, the Anderson Bluegrass Festival, the Hunter Creek Bluegrass Festival, and many more. Special moments: playing every Tuesday at Big Daddy's BBQ in Fairbanks was fun during the 2006 summer tourist season. Playing once a month at the College Coffeehouse in Fairbanks was fun, too.

Your musical influences

Rural Delivery’s blend of traditional bluegrass, alternative country, and hillbilly jazz has proved to be a winning mixture for the band, which seeks to be a bluegrass band that is not limited to a strict bluegrass repertoire. Siniscalchi’s bluesy harmonica, not a traditional bluegrass instrument, helps give Rural Delivery a distinctive sound that sets the band apart. Menser’s Scruggs-style banjo keeps the band firmly rooted in traditional bluegrass. Graves’ plaintive harmony vocals blend well with the other band members. Bragonier’s Grisman-esque mandolin solos push the band to the jazzier edges of bluegrass. Brown’s two original songs bring a fresh sound to the band as well. All five members sing both lead and harmony, providing lots of vocal variety.

What equipment do you use?

Shure SM-58s for vocals, Shure SM-57s for instruments, a Fender Passport sound system connected to a Boss 1600-CD recorder as a control board (great for recording live, too)

Anything else?

Three of the singer/songwriters from Rural Delivery (Brown, Graves, & Siniscalchi) have formed the Porch Dogs to perform their original songs, which also fall into the bluegrassy, folky, country genre. A reknowned Fairbanks drummer, Jim Vogt, joined them recently as bass player.