UI music students form folk band known as Jolly Swagmen
A jolly swagman is a rambling man who travels from place to place all over Austrailia. Casey Braastad heard the phrase in a song and thought it would be perfect for a new band.
Nathan Romans | Rawr
The Jolly Swagmen, from left: Byron Flood (guitar), Eric Woodard (bass), Casey Braadstad (fiddle), Dan Allen (dobro), and Jeremy Quinn (mandolin).
“The very first line of the song goes, ‘Once a jolly swagman…’ and we just thought, oh, that’s brilliant, that’s great,” Braastad said.
The members found positive connotations in this, and the decision was unanimous.
There is something to be said about challenging oneself for the sake of creating art. Five University of Idaho music students are using their passion for music to do just that, by forming a folk band known as Jolly Swagmen.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Byron Flood of the Jolly Swagmen sings and plays the guitar for the Moscow-area folk quintet.
The band is made up of Braastad, Byron Flood on guitar, Eric Woodard on bass, Dan Allen on Dobro and Jeremy Quinn, who plays mandolin and a variety of percussion instruments for the band. Although all five students are heavily involved in UI’s music school, Braastad is the only member to play his primary instrument in the band.
For Woodard, he enjoys the new experience that comes with learning an instrument.
“Playing bass is fun, because trumpet is my main instrument,” Woodard said. “It’s been a challenge, but it’s also been a lot of fun.”
Jolly Swagmen was created on a whim during the spring of 2014, but have since decided to continue collaborating, striving to make a real name for itself by practicing often and growing its repertoire of music, Allen said.
“We formed to play a wedding gig,” Allen said. “It turned out to be a good launching point.”
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Dan Allen of the Jolly Swagmen plays the dobro and the trumpet for the Moscow-area folk quintet.
Jolly Swagmen can be categorized as a folk band with a mix of traditional Celtic, Irish and Australian folk tunes. Flood has even written some original singer/songwriter-type songs for Jolly Swagmen.
“We would learn a song, and after learning it we would see where it naturally wanted to go,” Flood said. “By doing that, our sound has definitely grown.”
Jolly Swagmen, being a newly formed band, has done only a couple gigs and is currently focusing on becoming more public. In the meantime, the band will continue to collaborate and develop Jolly Swagmen’s image, Braastad said.
Jolly Swagmen’s raw talent and passion has planted a seed for what looks like a bright future. This band is a prime example displaying that trying new things can often lead to fulfilling and enriching endeavors.
“We’re just trying to get out there,” Woodard said. “We’re figuring out what music we like and still finding our sound.”
Lyndsie Kiebert can be reached at [email protected]