Published in The Islander Magazine December 2014
John and Rebecca Stoll are Grifters & Shills
Fans and friends of Houston songwriters, John and Rebecca Stoll a.k.a. “Grifters & Shills” know they were once John Stoll and Rebecca Ferguson a.k.a. “Westbound”.
Names may have changed, musicians and instruments added here and there, but the sound on their latest release Watershed is still the familiar blend of old-world folk, blue grass and modern Americana listeners have come to expect from the recently married couple.
Working with 15 finely crafted original songs on Watershed (their 4th CD), G&S has applied high production value to traditional instrumentation like the banjo, mandolin and fiddle to create a timeless sound layered with tonal and lyrical journeys through darkness and light, across breezy meadows, and down six feet under.
In addition to most of the lead vocals, Rebecca has recently taken on bass playing duties, while John is once again playing drums, mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, resonator guitar and harmonica. G&S also enlisted the help of Houstonians, Kevin Hardin on fiddle and Max Dyer on Cello. With more instrumentation than their previous recording efforts, and the engineering skills of Brad Sayles (the Houston Symphony among other recording credits), Grifters & Shills have given their music a sonically richer sound that compliments the deep lyrical content.
At times thematically familiar to work they did as “Westbound”, Watershed is also reflective of personal changes the couple has endured over the last few years. “Each experience has lead us closer to finding our artistic voice,” says John Stoll. To the name ‘Watershed’, Rebecca adds, “There’s a lot of change in the course of writing the songs. Some we wrote recently, others as far back as 2010. They span a very intense time for us. It felt appropriate to stay within the theme of change.”
Listening to Grifters & Shills’ earthy, organic sound (Watershed was mostly recorded in a West Texas farm house) with rousing harmony vocals, banjos, fiddles, guitars and harmonicas ringing out, it’s hard to imagine John and Rebecca Stoll ever writing or playing any other kind of music. Like most musicians, however, they arrived at their current sound by traveling many musical roads. In 1992, while living in the Harlingen, Texas area, John was in a grunge/metal band called “Silk Igloo”. Rebecca, a Houston “lifer”, as she refers to herself, sang in a classic/southern rock band known as, “Blue Funk”. “I was never into country or folk. Eventually I stumbled across some Hank Williams and Patsy Cline stuff and I just fell in love with it,” says Rebecca. John adds, “I still listen to all my Pantera and Slayer albums but I’ve stopped playing guitar that way. The style is different but it’s the same intense emotion.”
When it comes to live performance, despite being just two, John and Rebecca manage to bring a big sound. Literally playing as many instruments at the same time as he can, John gives the “band” a heart pounding rhythm with a kick drum and high-hat while energetically pounding away on any one of his 5 or 6 stringed instruments. Rebecca’s recent move to playing an acoustic bass creates yet another layer of depth to support beautifully harmonized vocals.
With several cross-country U.S. tours under their belt, Grifters and Shills are gaining more and more fans each year. From farmer’s markets and sidewalks to bars and breweries, they travel from town to town soaking up the pavement and the personalities that help shape the stories in their songs. Grifters and Shills are modern day troubadours keeping traditional folk music storytelling alive, tastefully carrying the past into the future.
Watershed was released in July of 2014 on CD, beautifully packaged with hand-drawn cover art and lyric booklet by Christoph Mueller, and has received airplay on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston (89.5 in Galveston) and on other radio, satellite and internet music stations that feature programming catering to the Americana genre of music.
Upcoming shows include December 6th at the Galveston Island Brewing Company and December 13th at the Chelsea Wine Bar in EL Lago, Texas. For complete show dates, and to buy Grifters & Shills music visit: www.GriftersandShills.com
Zach Tate is writer, photographer and musician.
More Texas Music Profiles at www.ZachTate.com
