Whether conveying the abstract grandeur of the mountains, relaying the joy of a skiing trip, or meditating on the simplest details of trees, Colorado’s Rapidgrass is heavily influenced by Mother Nature.
At first, these musicians wanted to impress. They’ve always blended styles, including “classical, gypsy, bluegrass, pop, swing and other world rhythms.” It was very cool, but it wasn’t the main feature that shaped the band’s personality. The crux of Rapidgrass was a desire to “wow” audiences with technical ability and manual dexterity. It’s a good and often very impressive goal. Fifteen years later, however, the time had come to move to a more meaningful place. A deeper place.
“I feel like in the past, we started as a band that showcased how fast we could pick,” explained Rapidgrass guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Morris. He said it would manifest with a specific energy while onstage. “It resonated in our playing; it was almost like a competitive vibe. We’ve kind of matured as musicians to realize musical proficiency on a song is something to behold, but the message of the music is more important,” he said.
The band’s most recent music appears to be more about things of the spirit than speed. A new album – which Morris said is “almost folk” – will be released during autumn 2024. Several singles from the record have already been released, and Morris thinks the new approach is already detectable. The unreleased tracks promise to showcase Rapidgrass songwriting even more.
Morris, who does most of the songwriting, seems inspired by profound things. He came to a big realization that now guides him and the rest of Rapidgrass.
“All of the songs already existed in the universe. They just needed to come out,” he explained. As a songwriter, he aims to be “the lightning rod that can let the message come through somehow.”
He added that when the messages do come out, “it transcends anything an artist can come up with on their own. It comes from the universe…I am basically a vessel.”
For Morris, that “universe” included an intimate and lifelong relationship with the beauty of his home landscape. “I grew up in Colorado, up Highway 103 by Mount Blue Sky,” he said. Despite having many siblings, he said he was “alone most of the time, by myself in nature.”
He said he would start writing songs about the trees and the rivers. “I feel this connection when I am in nature…I can feel the breeze talking to me and the intricacies of leaves and flowers.”
In addition to recording and gigging, Rapidgrass just held its very own annual event for the 15th year.
“I basically started a festival on my [childhood] little league baseball field,” Morris laughed. The Rapidgrass Bluegrass Festival is held each August in Idaho Springs, Colo., and despite it being a smaller fest, it has attracted performers such as David Grisman and Sam Bush over the years.
“The town was so stoked that they built me a stage,” Morris said, adding that his family members are very much involved in putting on the festival.
He and the rest of the band now strive to help people focus on the present moment, similar to how nature encourages such contemplation. When nature and music are combined, Morris seems to see an even stronger double lift to the human spirit. Both things in synergy, he believes, help people stay right where they can be most content: present in the here and now.
“Being present in the moment…that’s the most magical thing. Art and music, they make time stand still…I’m dedicating my life to it because it’s so powerful. I get all the inspiration to do that,” he said, “when I grab ahold of an Aspen leaf. Just one leaf.”
Comments