by Whitney Youngs 

In some respects, covering a definitive and beloved album can prove more taxing and daunting than crafting original songs. While there’s no shortage of covered tunes (countless musicians and bands revel in this sort experimentation and interpretation), cover albums, on the other hand, appear to be rarities.

With several tribute albums in its repertoire, the San Francisco-based group Poor Man’s Whiskey seems to possess a knack this sort of thing, particularly with its latest undertaking: an ode to Paul Simon’s pop-rock gem, “Graceland.”

“We saw Paul Simon in London among 100,000 people, where he played ‘Graceland’ in its entirely with the original band,” recalls Jason Beard, guitarist and mandolinist of Poor Man’s Whiskey. “It was such an amazing experience to see thousands of people singing along, and we realized that [‘Graceland’] is one of those classic, iconic albums that people know even if they don’t think they know it. It’s an album that resonates with a lot people in different ways.”

Poor Man’s Whiskey embarked on its mandolin- and banjo-infused tribute to “Graceland” about a year and a half ago—relentlessly listening to the album, wearing out the grooves on the record.

“We eventually put the album away and started approaching the songs organically on the instruments we play,” explains Beard.

The group wrote new arrangements for the remarkable collection of songs that underscore Simon’s brilliant lyricisms sung over rhythms and harmonies inspired by the sounds of South Africa’s mbaqanga music.

“We tried to capture the essence of what’s being done on the album,” adds Beard. “The idea is that you want to capture enough to get the feel of the album, but you don’t want create duplicates of the songs.”

Poor Man’s Whiskey originated in Northern California in 2001. Josh Brough (banjo, keyboards, harmonica, and vocals) and Beard first met on the campus of UCSB in the mid-1990s, where they formed a jam-cover band. They reconnected after Brough relocated to the Bay Area following a stint in the Peace Corps. The duo then morphed into a quintet with the addition of Aspen Stevenson (bass), George Smeltz (drums), and David Noble (guitar and vocals).

“We started the band without much knowledge about bluegrass,” recalls Beard. “[Josh and I] just knew we wanted to play the banjo and mandolin.”

In early 2015, Poor Man’s Whiskey unveiled its interpretation of “Graceland” in front of a sold-out show at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

“We made it our own,” adds Beard “We call it whiskey-fying it.”

The whiskeyfied version of Simon’s title song, “Graceland,” is essentially a mid-tempo ballad—a stylistic and musical departure for Poor Man’s Whiskey.

“We usually speed things up, but we wanted to capture the somber spirit of the lyrics,” says Beard.

Since its formation, Poor Man’s Whiskey has recorded Pink Floyd and Allman Brothers tribute albums.

“Even though our music is loosely based on bluegrass, we’ve thrown all those constraints out window with the use of electric instruments,” says Beard. “We are a very eclectic band, and over the course of a show, all of our songs sound very different.”
POOR MAN’S WHISKEY WILL PERFORM AT SAINTE ROCK IN HERMOSA BEACH ON THURSDAY, DEC. 3.