Hotpoint Stringband, Hotpoint Special

Casually throwing Hotpoint Special into my CD player, I chose a track at random. My ears were greeted by an infectious groove of drums and shaker. This is stood in great contrast to what they had expected. The album’s cover features a middle-aged gentleman clad in suspenders running while he clutch a fiddle in one hand and a bow in the other. What was this? The song, “Bridewater Boys Breakdown,” sounded like Bela Fleck had been listening to too many Tito Puente records.

The insert revealed all. The husband and wife team of Hilarie and Mark Burhans were on banjo and fiddle, respectively. Marlene Shostak plays piano while Nick Weiland wielded the upright bass. But the credits of percussionist Mark Hellenberg read like War and Peace by contrast. In addition to the trap kit, he plays the Irish bodhran, the djembe from Africa, the Middle Eastern doumbek as well as an array of other drums and percussion instruments.

This band from Athens, Ohio has taken a new approach to playing contradance music, namely, throwing in everything including the kitchen sink. Traditional reels and waltzes are fused with original compositions and the result is a heady mix ready for the dance floor. The album kicks off with “Bus Stop Reel” which illustrates well the Hotpoint’s specialty. Start off with a rump-shaking rhythm. Add banjo and then remaining instruments. For a dash of something extra, throw in a bit of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.”

Burnhans (Mark, that is) wrote “Juneteenth” and paired it with the traditional “Opera Reel” for a fun, rollicking bit of music. Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” is temporarily crafted into a reel while a medley of originals, “Monticello/Owen Sound/River Falls,” celebrates a few places and the people for whom the band has played.

What makes Hotpoint Special great listening away from the dance floor is the accomplished ensemble playing. On “Bridgewater Boys Breakdown,” flourishes of banjo and almost minimalist piano from Shostak bubble underneath the trance-like rhythm and the wailing fiddle. It’s these little things which make this album much more than just a collection of straight ahead dance pieces.

For more information on this great band including upcoming live appearances, check out their web site.

(This was originally published at The Green Man Review back in 2003-08.) 

(I see that is has been reposted at the new A Green Man Review over here.)