Over the past 20 years, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms have emerged as the first couple of old-time string band and traditional country music in the Pacific Northwest. They’ve made themselves staples through their duo act, Klauder’s self-named band, and the origin of their renown, the almost 25-year-old Foghorn Stringband.
From its origins in Portland, OR, Foghorn integrated Appalachian, Southeastern, and Cajun traditions, stirring up propulsive energy whether in a tavern, a dance hall, or a performing arts center. Reeb plays guitar, Caleb the mandolin. Fiddling comes from Sammy Lind, while Nadine Landry, a French Canadian, brings driving bass and keening vocals. They are festival favorites and an ideal example of pre-bluegrass folk music done right.
On a recent swing through Nashville however, Klauder and Willms were touring under their own names, carrying a small group and picking up guest musicians they know in many cities. And they were focused on songs from their new album Gold In Your Pocket, their third as a duo. It’s a bold and charming collection built on a larger-than-ever share of original songs by Caleb and the first songs written by Reeb to appear on an album. At a time when the deep roots sounds of the 1930s to the 60s are relatively rare in Americana music, Caleb and Reeb are filling the bill.
On tour in November, they stopped by my studio between shows at the Station Inn and the Laurel Theater in Knoxville, where I was (finally) able to hear them out on their respective journeys. Neither was born into American roots traditions beyond some folk singing in the family, but in this audio conversation, they describe their trajectories as natives of Washington state toward a life-changing passion for hillbilly songs and fiery acoustic dance music.
“Traditional music was calling me deep, and I don’t really know why,” says Caleb, remembering his years in and after college when he was chasing his long-held desire to play music - but still finding what he was meant to do. He grew up in the remote but naturally beautiful Orcas Island in Puget Sound north of Seattle (where he and Reeb live now). He wrote some songs in his teens, but as he reached college, he tells us that “There was something that I was missing. I couldn't name it yet. And at my school, you had to take an elective. And one of the things on the list was fiddle. And it just clicked. I was like, I've always wanted to play the fiddle!”
Reeb was raised on a farm in central Washington and always loved to sing, and she also had her old time awakening during college when she met a circle of friends who were learning fiddle tunes off old recordings. It all sounded foreign to her at first, but she warmed to the repertoire and found this particular school of music wrapped up in an affectionate and accessible social scene. And she had a guitar.
“After a time, it dawned on me that the music that we were playing had this community around it that was really special,” she says. “We'd all get together and cook some food and play these tunes, which, if you know old time music, is all structured in a way that is very accessible. It's folk music that you can play just by listening to it and learning it on the fly. And so it became this really fun community that I was part of. That's what drew me in initially, and then I kind of did a deep dive into listening to tons of old time music and bluegrass and roots country.”
Klauder started the Foghorn Stringband around 2000 and helped build a scene. Through festivals and instrument conventions, he connected with older figures of the PNW scene and younger artists in the old-time space, like the Wilders from Kansas City. And at some point Willms became a fan, driving hours sometimes to see Foghorn shows, and starting a relationship with Caleb. She joined the band and moved to Portland in 2011.
In the audio interview presented here (click the 'listen' button), we go deeper into how their trajectories intersected and how they divide their time these days. I ask them what they’ve learned about taking quality old-time music on the road in the 21st century, and Reeb gave a cautionary answer.
“There is an underlying network of old time music community and bluegrass community out there that knows the history and the roots. And wherever we go, we find people that are connected to that network,” she says. “But also, I'd say mostly people don't know that we have traditional music in America. They're unconnected to it. And I think that's so unfortunate. I wish schools taught folk music. I know that would be amazing, because it's music that you can play with other people.”
