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The Yonder Mountain String Band may be touring through St. Louis, but for fiddle player Allie Kral, it’s now home. “I was born and raised in the Midwest, in the Chicago area, and when I got my first house I really wanted it to be somewhere in the Midwest,” says Kral, who moved to Webster Groves last year, and “kind of fell in love” with the quaint town. “I’m a huge fan of the Andy Griffith Show, and I feel like I’ve moved to the set.” The band itself has existed for nearly two decades, but Kral, along with mandolin player Jacob Jolliff, are the newest members of the band, which also includes guitarist Adam Aijala, banjo player Dave Johnston, and bass player Ben Kaufmann. As they prepare to play The Pageant this weekend, Kral talked about the process of internalizing the rhythms of the group, connecting with the audience, and her passion for being crafty.
You’ve been with Yonder Mountain for three years, but prior to this spent a decade playing with the band Cornmeal. What has the transition from one band to another been like?
It’s funny, ‘cause both bands are considered bluegrass bands, but they’re incredibly different. Cornmeal was more of a rock 'n' roll band sprinkled with bluegrass, and I think Yonder’s more of a bluegrass band sprinkled with jam-band rock 'n' roll. It took a long time to learn the songs. For a band that’s been around for 18 years, they have the song list to prove it. I think have a generally poor memory, but maybe it’s because of the catalog of music that I have up there. Songs that I’m not using anymore I’ll completely let go. I’m sure that if I were to sit in with Cornmeal right now I would have a hard time remembering specific songs, just because I’m trying so hard to keep those Yonder tunes at the top of my brain.
And that includes the song on the band’s upcoming album that’s named “Alison.” Is there a hidden meaning there we should know about?
Everybody’s always like "Is it about you?" He just liked the name and it worked for the storyline that he was doing. It’s kind of funny, because it is about a guy stalking a girl.
Your Instagram page has become a haven for your crafting projects. You have quite the talent for baking and knitting, and your fans love it, too.
Anything baking, cake decorating, pie making, that kind of thing—it’s really fun. When I’m home off the road, I’m your typical Suzy Homemaker where you love to bake and cook and knit. I was embarrassed by those traits at first, and then I started showing those pictures on my social media. People actually took to them [and said] “I like to knit too! It’s cool! Knitting’s cool!” and all these traits that I thought would make me a big nerd, but it turns out it’s just a fun thing to do and it’s fun to show that side of me off too.
At [bluegrass event] Strings and Sol l we had a little knitting class there where I got all the knitters together and taught them how to make an infinity scarf. And there were quite a few fans who already knew how to knit, so they brought their own projects and we just hung out by the pool and took an hour and got together and did a little craft. It was really fun, actually. It’s kind of fun to hang out with people and to have music be the reason why you’re there, but then to find other interests that you guys have and to hang out and talk about that instead of talking about music—that was kind of neat, kind of fun and different.
Do you ever have time to perform outside of Yonder Mountain?
I do like to add additional gigs every once in a while, just to keep my chops up and keep myself playing while I’m at home. It’s nice to keep that up. It can be just one gig, and I’m forcing myself to listen and learn a lot, and by doing that it actually keeps my chops up. It keeps my ear and my brain working for Yonder even better. It’s a good thing for everyone.
Do you prefer playing in big or small venues at concerts?
I like both for different reasons. It’s really exciting to play a big amphitheater like Red Rocks [in Denver], but I do feel like the further away you are from the crowd the harder you have to work to get connected. There is something refreshing about being so close to the audience, hanging out, seeing them right then and there—just the way The Pageant is laid out too, you really get to see a lot of the audience. It’s a more connected musical experience, and I like that a lot, actually.
In addition to a very connected concert, what can people expect at the show?
A lot of high energy, and a lot of bluegrass. We really like to keep a lot of the old staples that made people fall in love with Yonder in the first place, so we’ll sprinkle some of those oldie but goodie Yonder tunes that have been around for 15, 16, 18 years, and then there’s also two or three albums worth new material since Jacob and I have joined the band that we like to show off as well. And then if we throw in a cover or two, it’s usually to try and get everybody dancing and singing along...something that everybody would know but be kind of shocked that we’re playing. We like to extend our jams a little bit out so that we can explore the instrumentation and explore where the music can go just based on what we’re feeling in the moment and what the crowd’s feeling.
Yonder Mountain String Band plays The Pageant (6161 Delmar) on Friday, January 20; The Railsplitters open. For more info, go to thepageant.com.
