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The Americans: An ear for old American music
Back to their roots: The Americans entertain the crowd at the @america cultural center in Jakarta
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Back to their roots: The Americans entertain the crowd at the @america cultural center in Jakarta.
The American music industry is ever-changing and ever-evolving. Each musical generation, be it the 80s, 90s or the 2010s, has brought something new to the table with their own sets of rhythms, melodies and lyrics.
From the nostalgic days of the 60s with Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix to the funky 80s with Michael Jackson and Prince to the charismatic 2010s with Beyonce and Kanye West, the American music industry has seen it all. It is undoubtedly the biggest music industry in the world, influencing the musical tastes of billions across the globe.
However, few know of how the revered American popular music started. The American popular music that gave birth to pop, rock and dance genres came in the late 1800s to early 1900s, dating back to before World War I. Back then, the ability to record music had just been discovered, and thus recording studios were limited in number and capability.
As a result of a lack of recording means, music at that time was mostly improvised. Most of the musicians lacked formal musical training, and there were no means of feedback due to them not being able to play back their own songs. Most of the music composed back then was for accompanying dance parties instead of for dedicated listening sessions like they are now.
This type of old and traditional American music that eventually made up popular American music is called Americana music, also known as American roots music.
While there are not many Americans who remember this piece of history, one band from Los Angeles does and has made the traditional style its main musical inspiration. The band is called The Americans.
Formed in 2010, The Americans consist of Patrick Ferris as the lead singer, Zac Sokolow on guitar and Jake Faulkner playing the bass. While a decidedly common band name on the surface, the name was actually derived from a famous 1958 photographic book by Robert Frank titled The Americans.
As one of the few modern American bands dabbling in the American roots genre, The Americans are well-versed in the history behind American popular music and are well aware of the limitations that obstructed musicians of that time.
“They were working in music not long after the ability to record songs had been invented in the US,” said Ferris.
“Imagine if you were walking around, going about your day, and there was no sound recording. This is what the world was like during 1890 and before that.
“No jukeboxes, no DJs, no sounds, no music playing at the mall or restaurants
“All music that you hear was either performed live, or didn’t exist.”
All three band members have quite a lot in common. They have known each other since high school, they are fond of old American music and their favorite singer-songwriter is Bob Dylan.
The band’s love for old American music was clearly reflected in its appearance at the @america cultural center on Nov. 28.
The musical style that they played has a strong nostalgic vibe to it with vibrant guitar sounds coupled with instantly recognizable banjo strums. The slower songs were relaxing and tranquil while the faster songs were wild and lively, a perfect representation of old American music.
For The Americans, Americana isn’t much of a genre as much as it is a group of musical styles that eventually formed American popular music.
This doesn’t only include country or folk music, but also bluegrass, R&B and gospel. Each of the genres that goes under Americana music is diverse; however, they coalesce together to make up the American music ethos.
“Ever since the traditional genres of American music came together to create popular music, there’s usually a need for some kind of nail for these things,” recounted Faulkner.
“There has always been some way to define it and Americana is just the latest in the line.
“It basically means music that has some eye toward the past.”
On his fondness on old American music, Jake relates deeply to Americana music and its subgenres.
“I find that music from America speaks to me very directly,” he said.
“And Americana includes a lot of sub-genres of American music that I really enjoy.”
Faulkner’s profound liking for Americana music was shared by Sokolow, who also plays banjo for the band.
“I think the reason that I love old American music is because I grew up playing it,” Sokolow said.
“That’s why I’m most familiar with it.”
For Ferris, The Americans continue to embark on a mission of educating the public on traditional American music.
“What we hope to do is to familiarize the public with several of these different things that happened in the US musically,” he said.
“It happened at a time when it wasn’t necessarily popular, but came to be indispensable when they all came together to form what we all know as popular music.”
— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
— Photos courtesy of @america cultural center.
