On a stormy Friday night the Kansas bluegrass trio Split Lip Rayfield played host to a whiskey soaked sold out show at Jovita’s. Margaritas may be the normal drink of choice at Jovita’s, but the theme of Friday’s bluegrass showcase was unquestionably whiskey.
Local bluegrass outfits Whiskey Shivers and Clyde and Clem’s Whiskey Business supported Split Lip Rayfield and got the crowd hootin’ and hollarin’ with their own brand of rowdy boozy tunes. Rug boards may not seem like an instrument suited to bluegrass, yet both bands prominently feature rug board players and make it work in a way that can only be described as awesome.
It may seem easy to just call Split Lip Rayfield a bluegrass band but their style of music is far more unique and diverse than traditional bluegrass. Combine metal, punk, bluegrass, and absurdly fast picking and you can sort of grasp what Split Lip is all about. Watching Wayne Gottstine on mandolin (and guitar at times) and Eric Mardis on banjo (and also the occasional guitar) is like watching a musical race with each musician seemingly doing his best to play faster than the other. To add to the craziness on stage Jeff Eaton makes himself the centerpiece of the band and the music with his single string standup bass handily crafted from the gas tank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis. With just one string Jeff has no problem keeping up with the other musicians and laying down a rich thumping bass line as the perfect rhythmic support for what seems like bluegrass on crystal meth (I mean that in a good way!). Did I mention Jeff also wows the crowd with the occasional kazoo jam? When was the last time you saw a grown man playing a kazoo and a standup bass made out of a gas tank at the same time?
Split Lip played a roughly ninety minute set featuring a variety of songs off their five albums, including songs off their most recent album, I’ll Be Around. Light hearted songs like “All The Same” and “Aces High” kept the crowd cheerful, while the band showed off their inner metal heads with fast dark rockers like “Redneck Tailgate Dream,” “Kiss of Death,” and the eerie outlaw tale of “Hounds.”
The band closed out one hell of a show with a multi-song encore that included the audience pleasing yet sad-toned “Used To Call Me Baby.” Despite the heartbreaking lyrical content of the song it’s somehow always a crowd favorite and a Split Lip classic. Let’s hope the guys in Split Lip Rayfield hurry back to Austin for another sold out show as soon as they can.
Photography by Brian Goodman