	Santa Cruz Guitar Company James Nash of The Waybacks James Nash photo credit: Barry Toranto The Waybacks were launched in 1999, when James Nash, a guitar phenomenon raised in Nashville, was making a living in San Francisco playing solid-body electric guitar. His involvement in an acoustic side project was not supposed to change his life, but it did. "It was kind of a novelty to me," he says. "It was a liberating, exciting thing where I kind of rediscovered that I love playing acoustic instruments." As they began touring, Nash was quickly recognized as a top-flight picker even in the rarified company that circulated at the world's best folk, roots and bluegrass festivals. The Waybacks' show was built around blazing instrumental skills and large doses of hilarity. They'd play traditional fiddle tunes with their own twist, original songs that fell into no category, and insanely difficult jazz tunes like Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From The Apple." Fans loved it, and so did the critics. The Chicago Tribune's David Royko praised their "near-ideal balance of irreverence, chops, discipline, and originality." Bay Area writer Michael Miller admired their "exotic settings" and "mind blowing picking." It led to major festival bookings and eventually a recording arrangement with Nashville's roots label Compass Records, for whom they've recorded two albums - 2006's From The Pasture To The Future and recently released Loaded. One of the most recent validations that The Waybacks had tapped into something profound was their collaboration on a series of shows with Bob Weir. The Grateful Dead co-founder has remained incredibly prolific over the years, and in The Waybacks he saw something he recognized. He and the band joined forces on several memorable performances in 2006, including much buzzed-about sets at Merlefest in North Carolina and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco. They translated some of the Dead's electric repertoire into a newgrass format, while working up covers together from the likes of Johnny Cash and Led Zeppelin. So it should come as no surprise if you hear overtones of the Dead's freedom and eclecticism in songs like "Good Enough" and "The River" on Loaded. "A lot of what we do is kind of what the Dead was doing--the whole concept of jamming on songs that are more song-based than jam-based. You can take out the whole 15 minutes in the middle, and it would still be a great song if you just sang it and didn't play a note over it. The Waybacks like to pick songs like that and then stretch them out," says Warren Hood, the band's fiddler and newest member. Fueled by original material written by Hood and Nash, Loaded finds the band in fine form, as Dirty Linen writer Michael Parrish attests. "The group sounds great instrumentally, with the rhythm section of bassist Joe Kyle Jr. and percussionist Chuck Hamilton clicking whether they are called on to lay back or rock out. Hood's versatile fiddling is a great complement to Nash's instantly recognizable and tasty guitar and mandolin work, and the group sound is enhanced by a roster of guests, including multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplan, organist Reese Wynans, mandolin player Sam Bush, and producer Byron House. Loaded may be somewhat of a bold step forward for The Waybacks, but it is also far and away its best work to date." According to Nash, "If there is anything we are trying to do this year, it's for the band to try to have more purpose in what we're doing. I think one way that being on the road can feel meaningful is if you're like the Blues Brothers: 'We're on a mission from God.' [Laughs] We've got this music that we love, we really want to get it out to people, and sometimes that means playing a tiny little place in the middle of nowhere where nobody's heard you before. Or maybe it means playing a tiny little place in New York City where nobody's heard you before, but either way, you're struggling uphill to get something done." With an album moving up the top ten of the AMA and Billboard charts, and with 2008 festival appearances at Merlefest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 10,000 Lakes, Rhythm & Roots, and a host of others, it may get harder and harder for The Waybacks to find a crowd that's never heard them before... About James' Guitar James' trusty OM model Santa Cruz has been with him on every stage and studio appearance The Waybacks have made in their eight years of touring. "I've put over 100,000 road miles on this guitar. I'll play in the desert of Arizona one night, then in a South Carolina swamp the next. The life of a touring musician is pretty much a 'Don't Do It' list for how to treat a fine musical instrument, and I'm sure the airlines are throwing my guitar around when I'm not looking..." "Amazingly, no matter how much I punish it with temperature swings and pound on it with rock riffs, my OM has never let me down. I know musicians who wouldn't take such a nice instrument out on the road, but ya know, wherever I am in the world, when I pull it out of the case, I'm happy I've got it. There's just no substitute for being happy with your tone. And I don't think my guitar is the worse for wear at all -- if anything, I think it sounds better than when it was new. Somehow all those miles, all those notes, all that beautiful... life... creeps into the guitar, and you can just feel it when you play the thing." Listen to The Wayback's Music Check out The Wayback's newest release Loaded in stores now and available on their website http://waybacks.com Santa Cruz Guitar Company Featured Artists Nokie Edwards James Nash Vicki Randle SONiA Rutstein More SCGC Players top^
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Santa Cruz Guitar Company

James Nash of The Waybacks

James Nash

photo credit: Barry Toranto

The Waybacks were launched in 1999, when James Nash, a guitar phenomenon raised in Nashville, was making a living in San Francisco playing solid-body electric guitar. His involvement in an acoustic side project was not supposed to change his life, but it did. "It was kind of a novelty to me," he says. "It was a liberating, exciting thing where I kind of rediscovered that I love playing acoustic instruments." As they began touring, Nash was quickly recognized as a top-flight picker even in the rarified company that circulated at the world's best folk, roots and bluegrass festivals. The Waybacks' show was built around blazing instrumental skills and large doses of hilarity. They'd play traditional fiddle tunes with their own twist, original songs that fell into no category, and insanely difficult jazz tunes like Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From The Apple."

Fans loved it, and so did the critics. The Chicago Tribune's David Royko praised their "near-ideal balance of irreverence, chops, discipline, and originality." Bay Area writer Michael Miller admired their "exotic settings" and "mind blowing picking." It led to major festival bookings and eventually a recording arrangement with Nashville's roots label Compass Records, for whom they've recorded two albums - 2006's From The Pasture To The Future and recently released Loaded.

One of the most recent validations that The Waybacks had tapped into something profound was their collaboration on a series of shows with Bob Weir. The Grateful Dead co-founder has remained incredibly prolific over the years, and in The Waybacks he saw something he recognized. He and the band joined forces on several memorable performances in 2006, including much buzzed-about sets at Merlefest in North Carolina and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco. They translated some of the Dead's electric repertoire into a newgrass format, while working up covers together from the likes of Johnny Cash and Led Zeppelin. So it should come as no surprise if you hear overtones of the Dead's freedom and eclecticism in songs like "Good Enough" and "The River" on Loaded.

"A lot of what we do is kind of what the Dead was doing--the whole concept of jamming on songs that are more song-based than jam-based. You can take out the whole 15 minutes in the middle, and it would still be a great song if you just sang it and didn't play a note over it. The Waybacks like to pick songs like that and then stretch them out," says Warren Hood, the band's fiddler and newest member.

Fueled by original material written by Hood and Nash, Loaded finds the band in fine form, as Dirty Linen writer Michael Parrish attests. "The group sounds great instrumentally, with the rhythm section of bassist Joe Kyle Jr. and percussionist Chuck Hamilton clicking whether they are called on to lay back or rock out. Hood's versatile fiddling is a great complement to Nash's instantly recognizable and tasty guitar and mandolin work, and the group sound is enhanced by a roster of guests, including multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplan, organist Reese Wynans, mandolin player Sam Bush, and producer Byron House. Loaded may be somewhat of a bold step forward for The Waybacks, but it is also far and away its best work to date."

According to Nash, "If there is anything we are trying to do this year, it's for the band to try to have more purpose in what we're doing. I think one way that being on the road can feel meaningful is if you're like the Blues Brothers: 'We're on a mission from God.' [Laughs] We've got this music that we love, we really want to get it out to people, and sometimes that means playing a tiny little place in the middle of nowhere where nobody's heard you before. Or maybe it means playing a tiny little place in New York City where nobody's heard you before, but either way, you're struggling uphill to get something done."

With an album moving up the top ten of the AMA and Billboard charts, and with 2008 festival appearances at Merlefest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 10,000 Lakes, Rhythm & Roots, and a host of others, it may get harder and harder for The Waybacks to find a crowd that's never heard them before...

About James' Guitar

James' trusty OM model Santa Cruz has been with him on every stage and studio appearance The Waybacks have made in their eight years of touring. "I've put over 100,000 road miles on this guitar. I'll play in the desert of Arizona one night, then in a South Carolina swamp the next. The life of a touring musician is pretty much a 'Don't Do It' list for how to treat a fine musical instrument, and I'm sure the airlines are throwing my guitar around when I'm not looking..."

"Amazingly, no matter how much I punish it with temperature swings and pound on it with rock riffs, my OM has *never* let me down. I know musicians who wouldn't take such a nice instrument out on the road, but ya know, wherever I am in the world, when I pull it out of the case, I'm happy I've got it. There's just no substitute for being happy with your tone. And I don't think my guitar is the worse for wear at all -- if
anything, I think it sounds better than when it was new. Somehow all those miles, all those notes, all that beautiful... life... creeps into the guitar, and you can just feel it when you play the thing."