Railroad Earth

Railroad Earth is an Americana and roots oriented band based in Stillwater, New Jersey. Their music is known to incorporate elements of celtic, jazz, rock and roll, rock and bluegrass among other genres. The group took their name from a short story by Jack Kerouac called October in the Railroad Earth, in response to which the group also made a song of the same name. Railroad Earth currently comprises of band members Andrew Altman on bass and vocals; Carey Harmon on hand percussion, vocals and drums; Andy Goessling on acoustic guitars, vocals, saxophones, pennywhistle, flute, mandolin, dobro, and banjo; John Skehan on bouzouki, mandolin and vocals; Tim Carbone on electric guitar, accordion, violin and vocals; and Todd Sheaffer on vocals and guitar. The band has established quite a reputation for its signature lyrical songwriting combined with an acoustic base, as well as for its live performances that make use of extensive improvisations. It is no surprise to see Railroad Earth tickets being in such popular demand among concertgoers.
 
Railroad Earth’s earliest lineup first came together in the beginning of 2001, when it originally comprised of Dave Von Dollen, Carey Harmon, Andy Goessling, John Skehan, Tim Carbone and Todd Sheaffer. The band kick-started with rehearsals of several original songs most of which were written by Todd, who had some songwriting experience with the band called From Good Homes. The members basically just wanted to get together and have fun playing music, but only after three weeks of doing so they decided to enter a local recording studio and make a five song demo tape. They recorded it live without any use of overdubs with the exception of backing vocals. The untitled demo is credited for setting the band’s career on the rails of success; after only a week, the group had found its manager, Brian Ross who sent their demo to many festival promoters and soon brought them a spot in the renowned Telluride Bluegrass Festival.  The appearance at the festival marked the band’s tenth live performance, with their preceding nine shows being only warm-ups of sorts at small lodges like Elks and at bars in North Jersey.
 
In April 2001, Railroad Earth came back to the same studio and recorded five more songs that would complete their first album titled The Black Bar Sessions, which was released in June of the same year, and only a week before their performance at Telluride. This album is known to contain some of the most favorite tracks in the band’s repertoire, such as Railroad Earth, Head and Seven Story Mountain. Soon after performing at the Telluride festival, the band was approached by Sugar Hill records and was offered a recording contract. In 2002, the band released the album In A House which featured incredible songs like Mighty River and Like A Buddha as well as the title track. All year round, the band’s touring schedule kept increasing while their expanding fanbase attracted radio stations, promoters and other media sources. The band was quickly winning praise for their rather unique sound along with their thrilling live shows, becoming a must-show at any well-known jam-band, Roots or Folk festival. Their growing following started calling itself Hobos and the band’s venues kept getting bigger and bigger.
 
In 2003, Railroad Earth’s member Dave Von Dallen left the group and his place was taken by bassist Johnny Grubb. The next year, the group released their third studio offering called The Good Life, which produced hits such as Goat, Storms and Mourning Flies. The band continued touring all over the country and released its first live album titled Elko in late 2006. In 2008, they issued their fourth studio album called Amen Corner which contained songs like Lovin’ You, Waggin’ The Dog, Hard Livin’ and Been Down This Road. In 2010, the group released a self-titled studio offering in which marks the first time  Goessling has played the electric guitar for the first time. Railroad Earth tickets are up for grabs, so book some and be there to hear some of the most delicious bluegrass and Americana flavors.