The familiar formations of the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges reach out like gargantuan geologic arms, cradling the Santa Ynez Valley and its townships. Around this time of year, much of the hillsides and distant peaks are green, even with the year’s meager rainfall.
One wide peak glares out at the valley from the North: Grass Mountain, the subject of many a plein air painting and Instagram post captured during wildflower season. It also inspired the name of a Buellton-based band.
Grass Mountain formed when longtime friends and musical collaborators David Heuer and Zachary Tullis-Thompson worked out a set of original songs and instrumentals. The duo started collaborating very much in the vein of a bluegrass/old-time string band, Heuer explained, exploring jam sessions and music festivals over the years.
“We’re kind of a bluegrassish sort of band,” Heuer said. “We kind of experiment with other styles, get kind of funky, that eclectic sort of folky stuff.”
“We kind of consider ourselves ‘coastal grass,’” he added.
Like the bluegrass bands inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, Grass Mountain lives in peaks and valleys of Santa Barbara County. The group’s next concert is at the historic Cold Spring Tavern, which is perched atop the Santa Ynez Mountains just off the San Marcos Pass above Lake Cachuma and the valley.
Cold Spring is a regular haunt for the group, Heuer explained, and one where it’s easy to find a receptive audience.
“It’s just a great atmosphere, Cold Spring is amazing,” he said. “There’s this really old bar in there, it’s got a great feel, great sound. People get up and dance and have a good time, you have the fire going in the back of the room, you have the whole scenery going on outside with the canyon and the trees; it’s just really cool.”
Heuer plays guitar and the mandolin and is the band’s songwriter and lead singer, holding down rhythm on his instruments. Tullis-Thompson is an expert on everything bass: upright, electric, and even didgeridoo.
The third half of Grass Mountain is multi-instrumentalist Jason “Ace” Gonzalez. He joined the band in 2012 to help record the group’s debut album, Grass Mountain. The album also included a percussionist named Scott Semple, who’s no longer in the band, Heuer said.
Gonzalez demonstrates a dynamic ability for lead on both guitar and mandolin. He’s comfortable with many other instruments too, Heuer explained, and everyone in the group hops around from instrument to instrument in perfect string band tradition.
“Some of the songs are instrumentals, and we get to flex our improv muscles,” he said. “I don’t think any of the instrumentals we do really sound bluegrassy, they’re more kind of jamish.”
Musical genres and folk idioms that span continents all blend together in the recordings, with colorful splashes here and there, like bright wildflowers on a green, grassy hillside. Blues, funk, rock, country, American folk, Celtic folk, and other world music elements swirl around pulsing rhythms and dynamic vocal lines.
Tullis-Thompson and Gonzalez sing harmonies as well, blending their voices along with Heuer’s lyrical melody.
“They’re both really schooled in music and definitely have their ideas,” he said. “It’s been super fun.”
The didgeridoo definitely comes out of left field, but Tullis-Thompson’s skill with the Australian aboriginal instrument is impressive. He uses percussive techniques while providing the buzzing bassline, and Heuer and Gonzalez weave tapestries around him with their melodies and chordwork.
Grass Mountain is just a fun band to listen to, which is a testament to Heuer’s dynamic songwriting as much as their collected musical skill. He moves well beyond the standard three (and sometimes four) chords of traditional bluegrass, giving his compatriots room to explore among the quick changes. His poetry elicits scenes of the Central Coast, from the coastline to the grassy mountainsides, the backdrop to universal stories of love and heartache.
“When you’re trying to do your own stuff and you’re not sure how people are going to receive it, that’s kind of a nerve-racking thing,” he said. “But we’ve gotten a lot of really good feedback, and people dance a lot. It’s been really rewarding, actually.”
That’s been the group’s experience at Cold Spring Tavern, where the audiences are hungry for tunes and reasons to move their feet. It’s a place where Grass Mountain’s particular style of music feels uniquely at home, Heuer said.
“We feel really honored because they don’t accept just anyone to play up there,” he said. “We have a blast playing up there.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne is a mountain man. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.