Like those individuals in the Appalachians who honed the sound of bluegrass early on, the members of Czechia’s Lusatian Grass found inspiration in the Lusatian Mountains in the North Bohemian regions of Central Europe.
“Our hills are not very high, only about 800m (2,600ft), but they are picturesque and foresty, and have a famous history of hand-blown glass-making,” explains the band’s leader, Tomas Kejklicek. “Our home lies adjacent to bigger mountain ranges of North Bohemia, all of them 1,000-1,600m (3,300-5,300ft) high. And it’s interesting that they were formed in the same geological period as the Appalachian Mountains.”
The band currently finds its home on the border of three countries — Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. “Historically, we have a lot in common,” Kejklicek continues. “We were allies, sometimes foes. These days, we are living through the most friendly and optimistic period of our history.”
Nevertheless, despite the disparate cultures that contribute to that region, Kejklicek insists that his musical focus has always been centered on one particular style. “For me personally, I am not interested in a lot of the other national groups’ traditional music,” he says. “Since my teenage years, I have always been submerged in country, bluegrass, old-time music and other related genres. We feel free, independent, and out of the mainstream a bit, but that’s all good.”
Although a number of players have circulated in and out of their ranks over the course of the band’s 25 year history, Kejklicek and his wife Karolina have always been the mainstays. Their experience includes an ample amount of academics as well.
“We met in the late ’90s, formed the band, and a little later, established a family,” Kejklicek explains. “Our son Jonas is also in the band… it’s obviously expected! I obtained a University degree in Pedagogical Consultancy, Didactics, and English, and as a young boy I took classical piano lessons. I play the banjo — three-finger and clawhammer — flat-picking and fingerpicking guitar, and upright bass. Karolina has a university degree in Pedagogical Consultancy, Art History, and English. She’s a teacher at the secondary School of Glass Art in Kamenický Šenov, which is located in our area. She has played the mandolin and mandola a little, but these days she is deeply engaged in playing old-time fiddle music, which she enjoys a lot. Our son is studying in grammar school, and he started playing with us on ukulele when he was seven, and now he plays the guitar. “
Even now, Lusatian Grass continues to evolve. “Last year, our former upright bass player finished performing with us due to some health problems,” Kejklicek said. “We announced that we were looking for someone else, and 18 year-old Vojta contacted us saying he was looking for some new musical challenges and experiences. He is finishing senior high and he has already been accepted to study Mathematics at University. He is an extremely skilled musician who played the cello in the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague, and now he is also playing the piano in a local jazz band and singing in a temple choir. Last year, we together started performing vocal gospel music together and at festivals and other events.”
Nevertheless, Lusatian Grass has always maintained a diehard devotion to bluegrass.
“When our band was formed, we really tried to produce a hard-driving bluegrass sound, mostly with a quick pace and sharp harmony vocals as duets and trios. We wanted to follow the examples of our favorite bluegrass celebrities. But as time went forward and we were bringing more and more of our own original stuff into the mix, we realized that each song needs a different arrangement and atmosphere so that the content can be emphasized exclusively. We started thinking about the sound of our songs in more detail. And I must admit that now we’ve come to the conclusion that some songs need hard-driving covers, some others need a softer and slower feeling, and some should be really simple (mainly the old-timey numbers) and some should be played in a folky way.”
Nevertheless, Kejklicek says the band has found a way to consolidate their efforts. “The most important part of our sound is encompassed by harmony vocal singing, including quartets,” he adds. “I’d reckon it takes up at least 50 percent of our musical effort and we enjoy it most of all. We combine sharp bluegrass singing with acoustic country music accompaniment and an old-timey and hillbilly-free approach. We also try to make each song slightly different, but applying an emphasis on the idea and the topic of each song. That’s because they bring our life experience, opinions, and feelings to the listeners. We believe that’s the essential thing about making music.”
At the same time, they take a slightly different approach than many of the groups in their area, even those that pursue a similar sound. “We sing in English, which is unusual in our country, because 80% of the bluegrass music is sung in Czech,” Kejklicek noted. “We do not support that particular approach. We believe that in bluegrass songs, even bad English is much better than any other language. We consider English as another instrument, the same as banjo or mandolin, and that’s what contributes to its rhythm and melody, and the specific sound of this music. Therefore, it never can be replaced by another language.”
Kejklicek is also very specific about his own influences. “I can vividly remember about 45 years ago when I, as a 14 or 15-year old teenager, listening to the Voice of America, a radio station broadcasting from West Germany to Czechoslovakia when it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army. It was bringing a certain promise of freedom behind the Iron Curtain. I was eagerly waiting for the one hour of country and bluegrass music that was played once a week, and I recorded it on tape cassettes. In those days, bluegrass was known in our land because Pete Seeger played some concerts in the mid ’60s and introduced it here. A lot of people also started playing the music from the World of Freedom sessions. I did too. I still own the cassette with Jim & Jesse with Vic Jordan playing banjo, the Stanley Brothers singing their version of Blue Moon of Kentucky, Bill Monroe sharing his songs You Won’t Be Satisfied That Way and Phonograph Record, and Seldom Scene and John Duffey singing Doin’ My Time.
The music had a profound effect on him in other ways as well. “I was influenced by sacred songs such as Preachin’, Prayin’, Singin’ and It Won’t Be Long,” Kejklicek continues. “As a result of that influence, I also became a Christian and got baptized. That was the beginning of my initiation to gospel singing. There were a lot of other important figures having a strong impact on me as well — Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Jimmy Martin, Osborne Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Lilly Brothers with Don Stover (my favourite banjo player), and later the New South with JD Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, and The Johnson Mountain Boys. But the most important influence on me were both Monroes — Charlie Monroe — my first real LP from US was his Tally Ho which I listen to even now — and Bill Monroe. I have all of his recordings. And I can’t forget Doc Watson of course. He’s one of the most important people to me. And then there’s A.P. Carter and his family …. and hundreds of others naturally. I can’t even name them all.”
He adds that Karolina´s influences are very similar to his own. “She might also mention Ola Belle Reed, Hazel Dickens, and John Denver,” he notes. “And because we are mostly interested in and focused on songwriting, we try to follow the example of Bill Monroe, Tim O’Brien, Hank Williams, Carter Stanley, A.P. Carter, Charlie Poole, John Denver, Bob Dylan, and such. These days, I listen mostly to historical old-time music like Old Crow Medicine Show, Appalachian Road Show, and, as far as gospel music, the Chuck Wagon Gang and Kingdom Heirs.”
Since their formation, the band has mostly performed at home in the Czech Republic, at small events, at festivals, municipal events and churches, and for charities. “The most important event is always an annual festival organized by the Czech Bluegrass Association (BACR – Bluegrass Association of the Czech Republic) called Banjo Jamboree,” Kejklicek explains, adding that Lusatian Grass has been invited to perform there more than ten times. “Besides that, we must mention a special event, EWOB (European World of Bluegrass), which is held in the Netherlands. We have performed there about seven times, and it is always an honor to be invited. Another EWOB festival is also held annually in France, and we have attended three times. We have appeared in Norway, Germany, France, Netherlands, Slovakia, and Hungary, and I personally performed with some friends in Ireland, England, and the US as well. But we have never toured.”
Although the band has yet to collaborate with any well-known musicians, Kejklicek mentioned that they did appear on the same stage with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum during a concert in Dresden. “At the same festival a year or two later, we shared the stage with The Wilders,” he recalls. “Plus, when I was young, under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, there was a rare opportunity to stand and play with my band on the same stage with Tony Trischka, who had been invited to play some performances and visit his ancestors’ hometown of Liberec, which lies in our region. Thanks to the effort and generous donor efforts of Rosťa Čapek, a well-known instrument maker, and his wife Iva, the Czech bluegrass community has had a great opportunity to meet, chat and jam with some well-known U.S. artists.”
That connection has paid off in other ways as well.
“A few weeks ago, I was invited to visit with The Jaybirds and Southern Legacy when those bands performed in Prague. It was great. The event was held in collaboration with Czech Bluegrass Association (BACR) and the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA). We attended with our son Jonas and we enjoyed getting together with American musicians at their workshops, which was very important as far as Jonas’ musical future. And last year, it was a similar situation with Tim O’Brien and his wife, Jan. On our website you can see the pictures of Jonas with Tim O’Brien, Mike Bub, Don Rigsby, Ron Block, Josh Williams, Patrick Sauber, Mike Anglin, and Trisha Gagnon.”
Happily then, Kejklicek also says that they have garnered their own following in their home environs. “We have a bunch of fans who enjoy our music and share similar feelings, sentiments, enthusiasm, ideas, thoughts, and reasons for doing it,” he maintains. “They bring us feedback, provide us with support, and are a source of energy for us to go on and to create. That’s how it goes in our home place, when we are in a jam session. When we perform at festivals and events, there’s always somebody coming to us after our concert, chatting, and saying how much they enjoyed our music. That’s very rewarding.”
There are still obstacles, however. “Because we perform only in English and not in Czech, it’s sometimes harder to address a wider range of listeners in our country,” Kejklicek says. “Most of them don’t understand English, and a lot of them accept only Czech to be sung in the songs. So when you bring your own authentic, original songs, it’s more difficult to get the attention of the audience because it’s naturally easier to listen to more familiar songs broadcast by radio and the networks. I reckon that’s the typical trouble which one faces when presenting original stuff in all genres. But as I said before, most of the people in the bluegrass community here are very open and supportive, and the Bluegrass Association is doing the best they can. We have the largest bluegrass community in Europe, which is great.”
To date, Lusatian Bluegrass has recorded eleven CDs and two demos discs over the course of the last 25 years. Kejklicek says the vast majority of the music on the CDs are original songs and instrumentals. “Of course, we have recorded some well-covered standards, but always with our own arrangements or as a cappella versions.”
They have other goals in mind as well. “Our intention is to only record something fresh and new — no copies or covers of other people’s stuff, even if we like it a lot. Of course, we play other people’s songs, but we usually introduce them by giving information who wrote them and why. It should be clear. The songs have a personal value to us. When we are playing on the stage, about 60-70 percent of the repertoire includes our stuff, and the rest are covers, but always with that appropriate introduction and our arrangements.”
Kejklicek also mentioned that the band is preparing to go into the studio again soon. “We’ve completed about 15 new songs in the last five years, and it’s high time to put them on a disc. We’ve waited for our son to be technically developed enough on the guitar, and, of course, there was the pandemic a few years ago, both which delayed a lot of plans.”
Nevertheless, the joy Kejklicek finds in making music is obvious.
“It’s great to get together with friends and jam on songs and instrumentals everybody knows,” he maintains. “And when you have a chance to meet with musicians from other countries, it’s even more exciting. The opportunity to spend some time together picking music and chatting establishes a very friendly and cooperative atmosphere. Bluegrass music is the sort of music which gathers people together.”
For more information on Lusatian Grass, visit their web site, their Facebook page, or on YouTube.
