AccuRadio Song Of the Day-Trampled by Turtles

Artist:Trampled by Turtles

Song:Walt Whitman

Album:Stars and Satellites

Trampled by Turtles are a modern bluegrass group who have been very successful in recent years. Walt Whitman is from the 2012 album Stars and Satellites and features a video produced by the guys behind the Adult Swim series Squidbillies. Trampled by Turtles are from Duluth, MN. Dave Simonett formed them in 2003. He had been in a rock band when his car was stolen and he lost all his gear. All he had left was an acoustic guitar. So he decided to form a folk or bluegrass band that didn't require amplification. I guess he thought it would be cheaper. He had never played bluegrass before and neither did any of the other band members. Fiddler Ryan Young was a drummer in a speed metal band. Bassist Tim Saxhaug was in a jam band. Along with Erik Berry on mandolin and Dave Carroll on banjo, Trampled by Turtles started playing the bluegrass circuit. They released their debut album in 2004 on their own BanjoDad label. By the time the 2012 album Stars and Satellites was released, Trampled by Turtles had appeared on all the major music festivals and Late Night with David Letterman. The album reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 200 which is pretty good for a bluegrass album. The video for Walt Whitman was produced by Squidbillies creators Jim Fortier and Dave Willis. Squidbillies is on Adult Swim. Several country and bluegrass acts have appeared on the show. Trampled by Turtles' latest album Life Is Good on the Open Road was released in 2018. And after the pandemic I expect them to return to touring the festival circuit. They will stream live performances weekly on Facebook in February. Here's the video for Walt Whitman by Trampled by Turtles featuring Squidbillies.