MUSIC :: MAY 19, 2004

Roots music done right: Lansing’s own Steppin’ In It

By CARRA BARRATT

Local roots band Steppin’ In It has been steadily scaling the rough and rocky heights of the American folk music scene with relaxed determination and confident ease. The band has been together for over five years, played in over 25 states and released two highly acclaimed albums, including “Last Winter in the Copper Country” which Performing Songwriter magazine called “some of the liveliest and most rocking acoustic roots music around.” The members have stayed true to their Michigan roots by supporting the local music scene in Lansing with weekly shows at the Green Door, where young and old dance the night away every Monday from 10 ’til 2.

Photo by Jeff Broddle/Cadillac News

Steppin’ In It: (l to r) Andy Wilson, Dominic Suchyta, Josh Davis and Joe Wilson.

Steppin’ In It CD Release 8 p.m. Friday, May 21, at the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St., in Lansing’s Old Town. Tickets are $13 general admission and $10 for students, and are available at Elderly Instruments, Archives Book Shop or by calling (517)487-9549.

Now that they’ve climbed above the tree tops, they’d like to share some gems that they’ve gathered along the way. The band is releasing its third album, “Hidden In the Lowlands,” on Hippo Coop Records, and it’s chock full of timeless ballads and toe tapping instrumentals.

The album is a blend of carefully selected originals and traditionals like “Candy Man,” a classic from Mississippi blues master John Hurt, and “Nobody’s Sweetheart,” a swing tune previously done by Louis Armstrong and Chet Atkins, among many others.

Originals like “Downsville,” a haunting critique of a town that has run out of hope, and “Giuliani’s Blues,” a jazzy blues tune that jumps and jives right along to Dominic Suchyta’s slap bass, show off singer Josh Davis’s writing talents and the band’s expertise at bringing songs to ecstatic life. Songs like “Bound for Glory,” a tribute to folk hero Woody Guthrie, will put a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye. The song reveals Steppin’ In It’s heartfelt devotion to folk music and adds another classic to the modern folk tradition.

This album marks a progression for the band in artistic selectivity. According to Suchyta, “We decided to make it a point to not put everything we do on this album. We just wanted to focus on making a good album and not focus on what people are going to see in the show. For example there is no Cajun accordion on it because none of the songs lent themselves to Cajun accordion.”

When I asked Suchyta what the most challenging part of the creative process is for the band he pointed to their new dedication to collaborative song writing: “We’re just now starting to write collectively all the time. We have done it before but now we’re really conscious of it. Creating collectively opens up a situation in which people can get hurt. Sometimes it’s hard to agree on what material is best for the band to use.”

He had a quick response on what is most fun about the creative process: “I like relating to the songs. You grow up and listen to music and you wonder where the inspiration is coming from. It’s cool to have a group of songs that you know what they are about and you can relate to them easier.”

After recording “Hidden in the Lowlands” last fall in Colorado with producer Sally Van Meter, the band got right back to work developing new material and expanding their repertoire of traditional folk, jazz, blues, country and Cajun tunes. The show Friday, May 21, at the Creole Gallery celebrates the new release, but the band will focus on its new material for the performance.

Suchyta pointed to performing as the most enjoyable part of being in Steppin’ In It: “Once you’ve worked with the same group of people for this long, you become confident and you know what you can do, so you’re on the stage and you’re playing for 20,000 people and you’re not nervous, you’re just having fun playing music together.”

The band will have a lot of opportunities to showcase its talents to large audiences this summer with a full roster of concerts and festivals. Invitations to play with performers like Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett at the Tullride Bluegrass Festival, Colo., and Steve Earle and Arlo Guthrie at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (a free festival held every year in Okemah, Okla.) marks another step up the folk music mountain. But the boys in Steppin’ In It don’t seem as concerned with success and recognition as they do with making some great music and having a good time.

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