Strangefolk

Reid Genauer, who handled vocals and guitar, joined forces with Jon Trafton on guitar while both were students at the University of Vermont. During their initial year as a duo they performed under the name Strangefolk in pubs and coffee houses across the campus, relying solely on acoustic guitars and distortion pedals. They later added bassist Erik Glockler and drummer Luke Smith to complete a four-piece lineup whose sound fused bluegrass, folk, rock, and blues. The group captured that approach on tape, issuing its self-titled debut as a self-release in 1994 and following it with the album Lore the next year. Extensive touring throughout the United States behind those two records drew the attention of Flat Earth Records, which released Weightless in Water in 1998.