Alt-country act Driveway Thriftdwellers follow father's way
Growing up in Medford, the Knudson brothers Jon and Ryan remember many a Sunday afternoon when their dad Phill locked himself in his bedroom to record country songs. They remember long drives to Nashville in his pick-up truck, where he had a few songs published.
But these weren't fond memories.
"I grew up listening to punk rock, and when my dad played country radio, we hated it," Ryan Knudson said. "Now I hear that stuff and I love it."
The old man's influence found its way in the Milwaukee-based Knudsons' band, Driveway Thriftdwellers, featuring three other members from Madison. Its debut album, last year's "Cutover Country," is full of emotionally-ripe, old school country originals like "Montana" and "Long Long Winter," with Jon singing vivid lyrics over Ryan's pedal steel twang. The album was on the Journal Sentinel's best Milwaukee albums list of 2016.
The band's already working on the follow-up, and the Knudson patriarch may end up playing a more direct role.
"When we were on family vacations, I would navigate from the shotgun seat, and he had a notepad and would have me write lines for songs," Ryan said. "There was a line he forgot about, but I remembered it. It's catchy, and we're working it into a song."
Who's who: Aaron Collins (drums, vocals); Jon Knudson (lead vocals, guitar); Ryan Knudson (pedal steel, vocals); Kyle Rightley (lead guitar, vocals); Jon Storey (drums, vocals). Jon Knudson spoke for the band.
When started: Our band started five years ago. I had more of a rock background and before my previous band broke up in 2009, I was talking to the guys about moving the band in an alt-country direction, but it didn't work for everyone stylistically. I hated country as a kid, but I was around 26, 27 when Ryan Adams legitimized it a little for me and made me think it was cool. Then I started liking Merle Haggard and Randy Travis.
Band name back story: It came to me in a dream in high school. There was an elderly lady who would have perpetual garage sales all summer long I would go to with my friend Luke. Something about it hit my subconscious because in this dream, Luke and I were at her garage sale in her driveway, and the little old lady came out and said, "Can I help you driveway thriftdwellers find anything?" I woke up and wrote down the name. I wish she had said something cooler and more memorable.
Describe your sound: We call it North Country. We're proud of that theme. When I was a kid, I didn't connect with the themes of every country song being about the South, so I always thought it would be cool to write country songs about the rural areas we grew up.
Making "Cutover Country": I already had some songs, and a couple songs on the album Kyle brought to the table. For the first time in my life, a couple songs were full-on collaborations, where we took out a few guitars and went down to Jon Storey's basement. "Northern Accent" and "Needles and Leaves" we wrote together start to finish. The next album will almost be all collaborations.
Next gig:8 p.m. Friday, Anodyne Roasting Coffee Company, 224 W. Bruce St. $10.
More On Music
Watch two exclusive performances from Driveway Thriftdwellers at jsonline.com/music. Sound Check appears every first and third Thursday each month online and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.