Black Jake & the Carnies

The origins of Black Jake & the Carnies trace back to a Halloween night in 2002, yet several years of refinement were required before Jake Zettelmaier and his rotating cast settled on the group's signature "crabgrass" approach. Fronted by Zettelmaier himself on vocals and banjo, the current lineup features sole original member Gus Wallace on fiddle alongside "Jumpin'" Joe Cooter on bass, Zach Pollock on mandolin, J.C. Miller on accordion, and Billy "Kingpin" Lalonde handling drums and washboard, with Pollock, Miller, and Lalonde also contributing backing vocals, hoots, hollers, and shouts.

Rooted in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the ensemble fuses its unconventional array of instruments into a brisk, uptempo style that pulls from punk, Americana, ragtime, blues, and circus motifs, a mixture the band itself terms "crabgrass"—not precisely alternative bluegrass played at high velocity, yet close in spirit. In both instrumentation and the fusion of punk attitude with traditional elements, the Pogues at their peak offer the nearest parallel, matched by the relentless drive of the Carnies' live shows. Those performances incorporate audience-driven carnival games, spins of a wheel of fortune and misfortune, flamboyant costumes, and explosive vitality sufficient to restart a Volkswagen, while Zettelmaier's banjo itself sports multicolored blinking lights, underscoring the group's commitment to unbridled enjoyment.

Issued on April Fool's Day in 2008, the debut album Where the Heather Don't Grow pairs Jake's sharply written original songs—along with an occasional '80s pop cover—with dark portraits of eccentric figures set against buoyant, stomping arrangements. Zettelmaier delivers his lines at auctioneer speed while the Carnies drive forward like a steamroller, even including the uncommon Easter number "A Happy Easter to Ya." Lalonde's drum parts were overdubbed after the initial tracking, and Miller joined only after release, though Timothy Monger of Great Lakes Myth Society contributed accordion; several early participants—B.P. Weatherwax, Caleb Lee Johnson, Brother Joe, and Mathew B. Young—departed afterward, with Chris Westhoff later serving a stint on guitar. The follow-up Sundry Mayhems, appearing in mid-2011, adheres to a comparable blueprint yet benefits from the full band's participation, a clearer sense of audience, and markedly improved studio production and mixing. Surprises remain plentiful, among them the whirlwind country instrumental that supplies the title track.