News/Thoughts

Infectious Folk

Boston, MA is home base for the Americana band, Los Goutos. Five multi-instrumentalists made up the original core of the band, three of them being singer-songwriters. Over the years the group has morphed and expanded to now include a fourth singer-songwriter (Emily Grogan), a two-piece horn section, and sometimes a fiddle.

They’ve described themselves as an off-kilter and infectious concoction of folk, roots, rock, country, blues, Cajun, New Orleans jazz, Latin grooves, and more. “Every song tells a story,” one band member said. “Sometimes it’s a tragedy, sometimes a comedy, and sometimes hard to tell the difference.”

In 2006, Chris Gleason and Mike Eigen became friends through a mutual acquaintance. “We used to hang out at all hours of the morning,” Chris said, “Covering songs, and writing songs for a number of years.” Eventually another friend, Paul Stewart, joined in. Then Chris’s brother-in-law, Shamus Feeney, and Paul’s co-worker, Bruce Bartone, all joined in the basement jam sessions. “Eventually we decided to take it out into the public, so-to-speak,” Chris recalled.

“I think the main thing for us, even back in the early days, is that the real fire was writing original music,” Mike added. “It’s really what propelled the band forward.” Chris added, “There’s a lot of story telling going on that’s for sure.”

“Music Connection magazine said one time, that we’re a veritable Grand Ole Opry with a sense of humor. We like that description because we are a bit if a circus on stage at times – we switch singers every couple songs and we even switch around instruments too. We have a lot of shared influences, but I would also say that each of us also has some unique influences too that adds to the eclecticness of the band.”

When the band went in to record their latest album, Mighty, they actually tracked over thirty songs before deciding on the final 13. “There’s no shortage of material, which is a good thing.”

To find out more, visit
www.losgoutos.com