The Carolina Chocolate Drops Interview

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are doing a lot more than simply preserving the tradition of string band music. Sure, they're doing that. But the band's also taking it in new and exciting directions and expanding the music's audience. CCD have won a Grammy, they've played the Newport Folk Festival (and you can stream their 2011 set here.), and been the first black string band to play the Grand Ole Opry. But the four members of the band--Dom Flemons on 4-string banjo, guitar, jug, harmonica, kazoo, snare drum, bones, quills; Rhiannon Giddens on 5-string banjo, fiddle, kazoo; Adam Matta who Beatboxes and plays tambourine; and Hubby Jenkins on guitar, 5-string banjo, guitar, bones--are not sitting still. They continue to tour and make exciting music, with a new record in the works. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to ask them some questions.

Stay Lucky: The band formed follow meeting at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC in 2005. Was there an instant chemistry between the original three members?

Dom Flemons: There was definitely a chemistry that brought Rhiannon and myself together.  After the Gathering, she and I created a group with Sule Greg Wilson that was called Sakofa Strings before I moved out to North Carolina and we formed the Carolina Chocolate Drops. For the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Joe Thompson was definitely the major catalyst that brought us together. Our visits to his house were the greatest part of our creating a group sound.

SL: There has been a personnel change in the band this year. How has this influenced the band's approach to it's music and sound?

DF: In many ways, the personnel change has freed the group up to approach our music in a variety of different ways. Before this change, most songs were piece either pieces that Justin or Rhiannon brought to the table and I (Dom) added a special flavor to it or it was a tune that I brought to the table and taught them how to back me up. Now with Adam and Hubby we have the ability to create new arrangements, etc. with all four members. Also Adam and Hubby are very talented multi-instrumentalists and their talents are put to use for more diverse arrangements. Also with the two of them being able to play a rhythm instrument in some capacity, it frees Rhiannon and myself to other instruments in our repertoire (for example Hubby can play guitar and banjo so Rhiannon can play more fiddle and I can play quills or harmonica).

SL: How has your music been received outside of time/traditional music scene?

DF: There has been a definite resurgence in the interest in old-time music across the board so we have had nothing but positive response to our music so far. Most folks who don't know a lot about traditional music seem to really enjoy the music and the stories that go with them which open their mind to new facets of music that they might not have taken interest in before.

SL: Your best known song is actually the cover of an R&B tune, Blu Cantrell's, "Hit 'Em Up Style." How did this come about?

DF: Rhiannon had put the melody and the tune together on the fiddle one day a few years back and let me know that it was something she was wanting to try out. She told me she had heard it when it first came out and revisited it seeing if it would work in the group. I added the banjo part which worked well in the piece and Justin tried beatboxing, and from there we had an arrangement.

SL: You were the first black string band to play the Grand Ole Opry. What was that like for you?

DF: It was a great honor to be able to play that stage. Just being a fan of country music, I knew that we had made some definite progress when we were asked to play there. We then found out that we had been the first black string band to play on the Opry and that made it a double honor. A lot of people ask what that means. We were the first full-string band to play on the Opry as it is known now. It is said that a few black string bands played on the Nashville Barn Dance show that preceded the Opry and there have been several solo black performers who have played the Opry but we were the first black old-time string band to be on there. Strangely enough, for all of the racial overtones in the write-up, the folks at the Opry really didn't really bring all that up while we were there. The folks were mostly glad to hear some old-time string band music up on the stage, which nowadays is a rare treat there.

SL: How do you feel your career is going? "Genuine Negro Gig" won the Best Traditional Folk Grammy in 2010.

 

DF: So far things have been going well. The Grammy was great.  We have a new album in the works and a vaudeville show in Chicago titled "Keep A Song In Your Soul" that will be premiering in November, so things are looking good. We're just hoping to keep on playing and making good music.

SL: How was it working with Joe Henry, who produced the album?

DF: Joe was really great. He had us over to his house in Pasadena and we recorded our record in about 9 days. Joe was particularly fast and talented in his production and we couldn't have gotten the Grammy without him.

SL: You put out an EP with NYC-based Gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii this year. How did working with them come together?

DF: That was a set of recordings that have been in the vaults for a few years now. It was at the Folk Alliance in Memphis a few years back that sparked that collaboration. Rhiannon and the Luminescent's mad thinker Sxip Shirey had the idea to record "Hit 'Em Up Style" and the Luminescent's "Knockin'" when we were jamming in the hallways. We recorded that and then we cut "Escoutas" and "Short Dressed Gal" in Winston-Salem. We were waiting for a time when we would be able to get some leverage in putting it out and Nonesuch Records were so kind in doing so after we had recorded "Genuine Negro Jig."