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Matt Slocum & Mike Robinson Discuss Life with Railroad Earth March 3, 2020 08:53

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Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen
Photos by Craig Baird: Home Team Photography
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Sometimes life's next opportunity doesn't always surface through the most ideal circumstances. That would certainly be the case for the lives of Matt Slocum and Mike Robinson, who were called on to join Railroad Earth following the death of the late Andy Goessling. Goessling was one of the band's founding members, who was known for his incredible talent on guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, saxophone, clarinet, saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. He passed away on October 12th, 2018 after a hard fought battle with cancer. An artist of this caliber simply cannot be replaced, but the show must go on. 
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Last week, we had a chance to sit down with Slocum and Robinson on the band's tour bus, just a few hours before their performance at Birmingham's Iron City. In this interview, we learned all about each musician's musical background, as well as their unique, individual paths to this band. Robinson, who had previously been a member of The Jeff Austin Band, shared his emotional story of tragically losing his mentor and friend, while being called on to fill in for the loss of another. Austin passed away unexpectedly on June 24th, 2019, just eight months after Goessling's death. If one thing is clear, the Railroad Earth family is as strong as any, and the music continues to expand with the addition of Slocum and Robinson. 
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Thanks so much for taking a few minutes to speak with me. I'd love to start off with each of you speaking about your individual journeys which led to your new roles with Railroad Earth. 
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Matt: Well, I knew some guys based out of Atlanta: Kevin Scott and Mark Radabaugh...Mark plays drums for Donna The Buffalo, and Kevin plays bass with a whole bunch of people. I think you know Kevin, right?
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We've met a time or two. (laughs)
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Matt: So I did this session...well actually, I met Andrew (Altman) first. This was in 2009 or 2010. I did some session work with him here in Birmingham. We didn't really know each other yet. He was just another guy on the session. That's how we met. Then later on, Mark and Kevin had me come over to meet with Andrew to do a record. That's when we really got to know each other. 
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So fast forward several years, Andrew calls and asks if I would want to come fill in with Railroad Earth. That was how this all got started. If I hadn't met him through doing those sessions with Kevin and Mark, I would never have gotten the call. So it was ultimately through Andrew that I got this gig. 
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At what point in time was this?
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Matt: That was in 2017. 
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Previously to Railroad Earth, you've toured with a number of notable acts. Tell me a little more about your prior history.
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MattI started out with Oteil Burbridge, playing with The Peacemakers back in 2003...as far as national touring acts. I've played music my whole life. Oteil got me a gig with Susan Tedeschi, who I actually grew up with in Norwell, Massachusetts. When he called me and asked, "Do you know Susan Tedeschi," I was like, "Do I know her? She used to babysit me!" Anyways, I toured with Susan, then came Col. Bruce Hampton, Jeff Sipe, Jimmy Herring with Aquarium Rescue Unit. Then through Susan and Derek Trucks, they recommended me to Rich Robinson for Magpie Salute. Most recently, I've toured with Jimmy Herring's latest projects, The Invisible Whip and The 5 of 7.
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I've played with a bunch of different bands. Then Andrew called me to fill in with them. Unfortunately, one of their band members, Andy Goessling, was sick and undergoing treatment. They didn't want to try and replace him, so they decided to add keys. Then Andy got better, and I left. 
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You mentioned they weren't trying to replace him. He played at least a dozen various instruments, right? 
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Matt: Correct. Obviously, one person couldn't fill that role, which is why they ultimately called on Mike (Robinson) as well.
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I'd love to hear a little more about your background and journey to the band as well, Mike.
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Mike: Totally. If you want me to go all the way back, I grew up in Colorado. My dad is a fiddle player. I grew up playing traditional acoustic, bluegrass music, but I went to New York City to study jazz. While I was in school, I started touring with a band called Taarka. I replaced their former guitarist, Ross Martin. Then when Ross left The Jeff Austin Band, I joined up with Jeff. I played with Jeff for two years, and during those years we did three shows opening for Railroad Earth in Portland (ME), Boston (MA), and Port Chester (NY). 
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So I got to meet Andy and about as close to the original Railroad Earth lineup as you could get that year. This was early 2017 or early 2018. That next year, I left The Jeff Austin Band right around the time that Railroad Earth was touring with special guests after Andy's passing. Slocum was involved. Holly Bowling was involved. Tony Trischka was involved. Andy Falco was involved. Erik Yates was involved. It was kind of star studded, really. They were being extremely flexible, and I did three shows as one of the special guests. Ironically, it was pretty much the same run that we did with Jeff's band previously. So I got on the phone, and when they offered me the gig, I couldn't do the first few. I started in Texas, and I've done every show ever since. 
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I know you're playing a fair amount of pedal steel guitar, but you're also bringing a variety of instruments to the stage as well, right?
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Mike: Yeah...to the best of my abilities, I'm trying to cover some of what Andy was band. I play banjo, acoustic guitar, and Andy was a great dobro player. I don't really play dobro, so all of the tunes that he played dobo and lap steel on, I've been playing on pedal steel. There's a little electric guitar as well, but a lot of that is focusing on the new material. The new record was produced by Anders Osborne, who is a great electric guitar player. He plays all over the record.
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This is a new, unreleased album?
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Mike: Correct. "It's So Good" was released as a single a few months ago. "The Great Divide" was also released as a single. A few others have been introduced live. 
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Matt: The album should be out sometime this summer. 
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Was there much history with Anders Osborne prior to this album?
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Matt: I don't have any history with him. 
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Mike: No, and neither of us were involved in the initial recording. This was a while ago. Andy is actually on one of the takes. I think they started some of the demoing around the time that Andy died. They went down to New Orleans together. They hadn't done many records like this, where they went somewhere else, holed up, ate all their meals together, did all their arranging together. It was an extremely collaborative effort. I actually made it on the record after the fact with just a couple of punches. A little banjo here and there. But they really went to New Orleans and did a special thing together. I think that sonically, it really shows.
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And there isn't a set date for release, but you're thinking sometime this summer?
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Mike: Not a specific date that I know of, but yes, I would expect to see it this summer. 
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Excellent. I also wanted to ask you both about coming into your new roles with Railroad Earth. This band has such a deep catalog and a huge, passionate fan base. Fans that are very intuitive and pay such close attention to detail at each show. How was the experience of bringing in new instruments and introducing yourself as musicians to the band and their audience?
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Matt: I think for both of us, we love learning songs. Right?
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Mike: Oh yeah. 
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Matt: We love learning songs, and I'm guessing Mike did the same thing that I did. You know, "Here's the list of songs. Go find them on the internet and use your ear to learn them." 
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Mike: I think I learned 87 songs the first weekend, because they don't want to play repeats at each show. I think the grand catalog is around 300 songs, but I probably know about 150 of them at the moment. I think there were major differences between Matt and I though. The majority of the parts I had to learn already existed. I'm copying Andy's banjo parts. I'm learning Andy's dobro melody on pedal steel. I'm learning Andy's guitar intro, whereas there was never organ. There was never Clavinet. There were piano parts, but John (Skehan) plays them. Matt's coming from a place of adding himself to existing material. I'm stepping into parts that already existed. I'm learning note for note what Andy did. 
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Matt: That's so true, and it may even be harder for you, because you have to learn somebody else's stuff, and then try to be yourself. That can be a tough thing to do. You're trying to stay true to something, but also be yourself. For me, there's nothing me to "learn." I'm like, "Well, do I play organ? Do I play piano? I don't know. Just play something, and if it feels right, it feels right." You know what I mean? I don't have anything to learn really (laughs). 
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But on the other side, it was definitely challenging, because there was nothing to listen to. I don't know what to do, until I do it. Either they say, "That sounded good," or "Why don't you try it on piano instead of organ." I think it's been a challenge for both of us, because we want to be respectful to the music, and we want to be respectful to Andy, and the reason we are here in the first place. We're also trying to be ourselves. I'm not going to come here and be a robot musician. I'm going to be myself, while always trying to stay true to the music. 
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It's a challenge every day. I practice every day. I want to make sure I know what's going on, and that's the way I am with everything that I do. The way that it happens is that they give us a song, and we learn out parts by ear. There's not a lot of rehearsal in this band. Both of us learn the songs and show up on the gig. Time for the show. Hope you know your part. That's how it works.
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Mike: That being said, the thing I want to be the most clear about is that I don't think it's just showing up knowing what we're doing. The band has been incredible adjusting for a new sound. The entire thing is different, not just because of us, but they have made room for our skill set. Neither of us do what Andy did, so the gap isn't just what Andy left. It's what the band is forming around us. What we're able to do has the band to thank, because they are being extremely malleable in what they allow us to do. We get to show up and be ourselves. That's kind of the beauty of the new lineup.
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Matt: Which is really awesome of them, by the way.
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Mike: It's great for us. 
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Matt: It's unfortunately awesome. We're here because of a very unfortunate thing, which is just life. We've taken it, and they've taken it, and allowed us to be ourselves. To me, the band is really starting to gel and come up with this new thing that is Railroad Earth...
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Mike: 2.0.
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Matt: Railroad Earth 2.0. (laughs).
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So you mentioned you're about 150 songs into the catalog. I know most bands in this scene have their different rules with repeating songs and crafting each set list. Would you say "Railroad Earth 2.0" is tapping into about half of the band's catalog?
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Mike: Yeah, and more often than bringing back old stuff, they're adding new stuff. That's the fun part for me, because when it's something new, now we're making our own parts.
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Matt: That's true.
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Mike: We're not building upon something that already existed. We are together, seven people, putting a new thing together. That's when I start to get excited. Not to say that the old stuff isn't exciting. I'm 27 years old. This is amazing job for me, but when I become a contributing arranger, I have the opportunity to put together a vocal harmony part, have a say in who solos where, or what the solo section is. That's really fun for me.
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Of course. Anything that allows you to tap into your own creative channel is going to be it's own unique experience. Have you had a chance to contribute much to the actual song-writing process?
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Mike: Not yet, but I'm starting to smell that already, especially with John. John's kind of a driving force in a lot of the fiddle tunes. He and I pick a lot of bluegrass tunes together, and he will be like, "Oh, check this out." So, that's just now starting to happen.
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Matt: But Todd (Sheaffer) is predominantly the song writer. Tim has written songs. Drew has written songs. John has written songs, and they have all collaboratively written songs. Todd seems to be the main driving force behind the song-writing and lyrics. I do want to write some songs though. I've talked to Mike about it. I think it would be cool for the new guys to help out there. At least bring a form to them to say, "What can we all do with this?" We're all talking about it. This record is coming out. There are other things on the burners. 
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Mike: I think once the record is released, and we have all the new songs in the live performing catalog, then there will be much more room for some new song writing. 
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So there are some tunes on the new album which have not been performed live?
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Matt: No...only a few.
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Mike: With a couple of exceptions, we've been sort of waiting to play them live until the track gets released. 
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Matt: There is some stuff we have rehearsed. We do get around to rehearsing a few times a year (laughs).
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I'm sure you're accustomed to that after your days with Col. Bruce and Aquarium Rescue Unit.
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Matt: That band didn't rehearse at all. We'd be on stage, and Bruce would say, "We're doing this song next," and I'm like, "Huh?" But anyway, we have rehearsed the songs that we haven't played live. It's just hard to get everyone available on the same day for rehearsal. 
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So Mike, I know you mentioned that you've kind of come up through the bluegrass scene. The main thing that has always stuck out about this grouping of bands (Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, and so on) is the sense of family and camaraderie. It's been especially noticeable through the loss of two incredibly vital members: Andy (Goessling) and Jeff (Austin). It's been remarkable to watch as a fan. I was hoping you could speak to the testament of the extended "jam grass" family.
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Mike: I had been in Railroad Earth for about three months when Jeff died. Jeff was my first real boss. We rode in the van together for two years straight. He died not during, but right around Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and everyone was together for it. It was super heavy, but extremely helpful. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to be, at the point, literally living with. The Railroad guys had literally just been through this with Andy. They really were the best people to talk to about it. They knew exactly what I was feeling at the time.
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I wasn't in Jeff's band for twenty years, but it still hit me in a way that they were able to support. That goes for the fans, too. With a couple of exceptions, I think everyone at Telluride this year played a Jeff song. We played a couple that are now in the catalog. And then coming together at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO was one of the more moving nights of my life. It was everybody. To see members of The String Cheese Incident, Hot Rize, Sam Bush, Yonder, Greensky, Billy Strings, Bela Fleck...to see this many people willing to show up and play for free. To watch 7000 tickets get sold in five minutes.
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It's just like, "Wow!" This scene has power that we can't really explain. For Devlyn and Jeff's family, it solved so many financial issues in a matter of hours. All it takes is a crew of people willing to do a day of work to help someone in need. It's super powerful. It's very moving.
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I can only imagine. I knew that you had been a member of Jeff's band, but I had not fully connected the dots on how this all fell into place. I'm sure it's been incredibly helpful to have that type of support from these guys who can relate.
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Just to conclude the conversation, I know you said the new album is on the horizon. What else are you guys fired up about, and what can the fans look forward to?
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Mike: Right now, we're in the middle of some pretty heavy touring. Six shows a week at times. In the spring, it's pretty much just going to become festivals. If you want to see Railroad Earth in an indoor venue, by themselves, now is the time to do it. 
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Matt: I would like to say that there is an excitement within the band. With us being new, there's a buzz going on with the music. There is some really cool shit happening. The music is on fire right now. The passion about it is on fire. It's different than it used to be. They have always been a great band. They've been around for nearly twenty years, but it's changing now. It's really starting to gel in this new way. It's been really fun for everyone to figure out how that is happening, and it's really working. 
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I'm sure that the chemistry continues to build with each show. Is this the first time you've played Birmingham with Railroad Earth?
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Matt: As a true member, yes. Last time they were here (at Avondale Brewery), they asked me to sit in on a few songs. Andy was there. I was fortunate enough to play with him a few times. He was doing better, and it was closer to home for him. Crazy to think that last time they were here, I was "sitting in" with them. 
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No kidding. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat this afternoon. Looking forward to the show!
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