The Wood Brothers
Restoring Musical Genuiness, One Song at a Time
It’s a tale of two cities, literally.
Brothers Chris and Oliver Wood grew up side-by-side in Colorado, yet when it came time to tie up the oxen, head down the Oregon Trail, and begin a life of their own, their paths began to look like a bad split-end. Oliver’s voyage ended in Georgia, while Chris settled in New York City.
After years of playing in their own respective bands—Oliver played with King Johnson and Chris with Medeski Martin and Wood—and soaking up the flavors of each musically rich region, what started as a jam session between two brothers has turned into the new voice of the folk-rock movement.
“I went into it with no expectations other than to have fun playing with my brother and to make good music with him,” says Oliver Wood. “We just have been living so far apart and yet on the same musical path.”
Their debut album, Ways Not To Lose, which came out March of last year, still maintains enough of a following to convince the Wood Brothers to record another album this spring.
Ways Not To Lose features the brothers on acoustic guitar and bass topped off with one hell of a soulful and mesmerizing voice. Though the next album will incorporate more percussion and varied instruments, Oliver explains that the acoustic album serves as a core for their music, something that they can stray from in different musically experimental ways.
“We feel like it’s the purest thing. The way we started was just all acoustic and that’s the essence of what we do ... We don’t want to make the same record,” says Oliver. “I think that’s my favorite thing about the Wood Brothers right now, how much you can do with just two guys.”
Something that the Wood Brothers have been able to famously accomplish in their music is the obliteration of all things cheesy. Whether it’s the punk-rock-star-gone-soft image that we associate with acoustic albums or the image of a bunch of old people gettin’ down with their line-dancing selves that we associate with folk music, Oliver and Chris have made a name for themselves that no one feels culturally wary of.
“One More Day” and “Chocolate On My Tongue,” two tracks from the album, really capture what the Wood Brothers do—combine Oliver’s comforting Southern feel and Chris’ jazzy experimentalism to create what only the Wood Brothers can do.
“Our father was a big influence when we lived at home,” remembers Oliver. “He was an excellent singer and guitar player. Our music scene when we were growing up was listening to records or listening to Dad.”
Other than Papa Wood, Chris and Oliver both listen to artists such as Ray Charles, James Brown, and Miles Davis, which helps bridge the gap between the music that they are surrounded by on a daily basis.
Though their new eclectic fusion of north and south has been labeled as the tip of the folk-rock spear that is now slicing through music worldwide, Oliver would rather have the Wood Brothers stand alone, separate from all labels, packaging, and postage.
“I think the movement is just for good music—something with depth and good musicianship,” says Oliver. “Maybe that’s what’s folk-y about it and I’m all for that. I think there’s a movement of good music and there are a lot of good songwriters and players out there. I definitely want to be a part of that, whatever it is.”
Though it may have been fate that separated the Wood brothers, it is the music industry’s desperate cry for something genuine and culturally rich that brought these two back together.
Be sure to catch the Wood Brothers at Joe’s Pub on February 7.