Band interview: The Wobbly Toms

By Ant Perrucci

The Wobbly Toms are performing at the British Pub on Anastasia Island.

If you’ve never been under this local group’s spell, you might think that an octet performing Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” augmented with flute, banjo and mandolin would be out of the ordinary.

But the crowd knows what they’re in for.

“This next song is a true story,” says the man with the banjo. The band launches into a song about dancing with the devil. A woman yelps.

It’s on.

—–

A few days later, back at the British Pub, five of the Wobbly Toms are huddled around a table.

There are pint glasses of Guinness and cigarettes being lit and the self-described “wise-asses” are telling the story of how they came into being.

“Rich [Steinmeyer, vocals and banjo], Andy [Calvert, bass] and I have known each other 19 years,” said Zach Lively, who plays guitar and harmonica. “We started in [Calvert’s] living room because we were poor and had nothing to do at night but play music and make beer.”

In addition to Steinmeyer, Calvert and Lively, the Wobbly Toms include flutist Barb Adams, drummer Tony Kistka, keyboarder Travis Hembree, guitarist/bagpiper Tim Preston and Dave Haynes on the mandolin.

The band’s sound is difficult to pin down.

Think of Flogging Molly with a lesser Clash influence, and you might have a decent starting point.

“That’s [a description] we’ve heard before,” Adams said.

“I think it’s more folk,” said Hembree, “but that’s because Richard’s the lead singer and plays the banjo.”

“Appalachian Gypsy Punk,” Lively suggested.

“We’re not an Irish band,” Steinmeyer said. “We’ve got those influences, but we don’t fit into one [genre].”

In the five years since the band started, it’s grown and shrank as members joined, left, re-joined, came and went.

“I’ll never forget it,” Preston said of his first practice with the band. “They said, ‘The good thing about this band is that there’s no drama.’”

Lively laughed.

“For as big a band as we have, we all get along pretty well,” Preston said.

“There haven’t been any knock-down, drag-outs,” Lively said. He paused. “Not in a while.”

**FOR THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW, PICK UP DRIFT AT THESE LOCATIONS ACROSS ST. AUGUSTINE.**