Even as a fan of country music, I must admit that the genre rarely offers diversity. Outside of the pop elements and heavier electric instruments sneaking in every once in a while, country music typically consists of the same twangs, beats and lyrics depicting drunken adventures with girls in blue jeans in trucks.
But one local band will be shooting far past what is considered unique in the country genre. Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold will be bringing punk rock to Country Thunder in Florence on April 10.
“(Expect) rock and punching them in the face, mixed with some slower stuff too,” banjoist Jesse Gray joked, encapsulating the rare, gritty rock star identity of the multi-genre duo.
Though the band utilizes country and folk music’s classic banjo, they plan on introducing the audience to new techniques for playing it. In addition, Gray and Tyler Matock, vocalist and guitarist, will bring their signature suitcase drum and a makeshift tambourine apparatus to the four-day country music festival.
“We want to give a little shock to the system, and maybe show them a little bit different side of things and see how they react,” Gray said.
The rock inspiration behind Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold’s music can be expected to bring an entirely new performance atmosphere to Country Thunder, as well. The musicians define interaction as a step further than mere sing-alongs with the audience.
“We both like crowds that really come to us, and want to jump on the stage with us,” Matock said. “We really like the rowdy atmosphere, and getting in their face and communicating with each other that way.”
The band’s interactions with fans are not confined to performances, according to Matock.
“We’re definitely not that band where it’s us, and we have fans,” the vocalist said. “I feel like, more than anything, we try to make friends with people, and we’re both into talking to different people and meeting new people, and if they like what we do, it’s a bonus. Ultimately, that’s why you should do music — you just want people to hear what you do and then hopefully like it.”
Though new to Country Thunder, the duo will still be drawing from experience with atypical performances — ranging from gigs in backyards, to shows for the Under the Bridge folk fest series — to bring an engaging, urban flavor to the country audience, and one of the biggest stages they’ve played.
“What I think the crowd will see is something unique that they won’t see anywhere else at Country Thunder,” Gray said. “I think that’s what they can expect and look forward to: to get a different taste than they’re getting with other things here.”
While the musicians would love their performance to expose them to new fans and opportunities, Gray said their ultimate goal for the show would be to add to the enjoyable experience of Country Thunder as a whole.
“We’d like to get more people turned on to what we do — we absolutely want that,” he said. “If whoever we meet through that can lead us to other avenues, then that’s definitely great, but we just really want to rock the crowd and get a great interaction going with the crowd.”
Despite their size, the duo is confident that they can create an enormous sound, comparable to that of classically sized country bands.
“Visually, aesthetically, we probably look like this little band, which in numbers we are, but I don’t think that really stops us from playing as loud as we can and keeping up with big, full bands,” Matock said.
Along with American Longspurs, a band that also performed at Country Thunder in 2014, Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold will be one of only two downtown Phoenix-active bands to gain a spot on the music festival lineup. This reflects the minority position that any form of country music holds in the area, even in the midst of an extremely diverse culture of musicians.
“I don’t think we have any idea what to expect out of Country Thunder,” Gray said. “All you can really do is hope that people get into it, and I definitely think that they will… If it brings more country fans out here, that would be awesome. We would love that.”
The headliners for Country Thunder from April 9 to 12 will be Brett Eldredge, Big & Rich, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold can be seen on the Jack Daniel’s Courtyard stage from 1 to 2 p.m and from 7 to 8 p.m. on Friday.
The duo is definitely the act to see, especially for fans of novel mixed-genre acts — the acts that are constantly shaping music culture for the future.
Contact the columnist at Emily.Liu@asu.edu
