For the Carolina Chocolate Drops there’s a fine line between offering a history lesson and a foot-stomping good time. The Durham, N.C., trio has spent the last five years unearthing the largely unsung traditions of black string band music, and along the way become one of the most dynamic live acts on the continuously exploding youth-charged old-time revival scene. The formula mixes a throwback of past generations—plucking banjos and sawing fiddles—with an underlying progressive edge.
“We’re depicted as a very traditional group, but the way that we approach the music is not very strict,” says band member Dom Flemons, who plays guitar, banjo, and a variety of old-fashioned percussion, including jugs and bones. “We add things to bring it forward.”
The group, which also includes versatile instrumentalists Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, met in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering. The event was held at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., by scholars as a one-time symposium and festival to discuss the African roots of the banjo. After realizing a shared love of old-time sounds, the trio was collectively mentored by Joe Thompson, a 91-year-old elder statesman of traditional Carolina Piedmont music, who’s regarded as one of the last original black string band players. With Thompson’s tutoring, the Chocolate Drops soon started bringing pre-Civil War sounds of the rural South to stages across the country.
While the group is committed to mining material from the past, they also can’t help but incorporate the influences that come from being in their ‘20s. The band’s latest album, last year’s Genuine Negro Jig, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album, strikes a proper balance between the generation gaps. In addition to longstanding traditional tunes like “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Cindy Gal,” the effort also features front porch-style takes on Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose” and R&B singer Blu Cantrell’s dance club anthem “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” It’s all part of a dual mission to be ambassadors of forgotten sounds and to encourage crowds to get up and move.
“We’re presenting a particular form of music, but interpreting it in a way that’s true to our generation,” says Flemons. “All of the history is important, but what’s most important is that the music needs to be hot and swinging. We want people to get up and shake it.”
The versatility has started to attract a wide range of audiences. The band is now finding itself embraced at rowdy rock clubs and bashes like Bonnaroo, as well as mellow folk festivals and ornate theatres. The members aren’t shy in admitting they specifically want to expose young, African-American audiences to the sounds of their past.
“In the past five years the interest in folk and old-time music has grown tremendously,” says Flemons. “We came in wanting to create awareness about the music and perform it. When we first started playing together, the old guard was still firmly placed, but now it feels like a lot more young people are getting involved in the music. This year we’ve been trying to reach out to a broader audience, especially as the idea of mainstream music continues to change. As black musicians, we also always try to reach out to the black community. We want to show them that they historically have a claim on string band music.”
This year the band will continue to tour rigorously with a notable regional appearance set for FloydFest in July. In addition to cutting a new album, they’re also working on a show with Chicago’s venerable Old Town School of Folk on the roots of black vaudeville.
“There’s plenty of territory that we haven’t even tapped into yet,” Flemons says. “We’ve barely scratched the surface, and there are so many places we can still go. The possibilities are really endless.”
Hear a track from the latest album in this month’s Trail Mix.
Hear the Drops Since forming in 2005, the Carolina Chocolate Drops have released three albums and a limited-release live album, and contributed music to the soundtrack of the film The Great Debaters.
Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind (2006)
The band’s independently released, critically hailed debut features the young group finding their collective voice on a series of raw rural country and blues traditionals like the title track and “Ol’ Corn Likker.” One of the best parts is Rhiannon Giddens’ acapella reading of “Little Margaret.”
Heritage (2008)
The Chocolate Drops get into more familiar string band and jug band tunes with takes on old staples like “Sittin’ On Top of the World” and “Real Old Mountain Dew.”
Carolina Chocolate Drops & Joe Thompson (2009)
This live album captures the band performing with Piedmont string band mentor Joe Thompson at Merlefest. It’s available on the band’s website carolinachocolatedrops.com.
Genuine Negro Jig (2010)
The group’s Nonesuch records debut featured production help from songwriter Joe Henry (Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke). The band embraces a modern edge by mixing traditionals like “Snowden’s Jig” and “Cindy Gal” with string band-style interpretations of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style.”
