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Pretty Little Goat bridges the gap between old time and contemporary music. Loosely defined as a string band, the Brevard-based quartet draws much of its inspiration from the music of the mountains, says mandolinist Josh Carter. \u201cThe hills are always calling,\u201d he says. But although Pretty Little Goat has its roots in tradition, the group isn\u2019t stuck in the past.<\/p>\n
Carter formed the group more than six years ago with his wife, washboardist Mallory Carter. Today the group also features banjo player Owen Grooms and upright bassist J.T. Linville. Setting itself apart from the herd of country and bluegrass bands, Pretty Little Goat doesn\u2019t have a guitarist.<\/p>\n
While emphasizing that he loves the sound of the guitar, Carter says that not having one helps give his group its distinctive sound. \u201cA guitar creates this driving, mid-tone rhythmic presence,\u201d he explains. \u201cBy exploring things a little bit differently, we were able to come up with a different feel.\u201d And the band enjoys the opportunity to do something outside the ordinary. \u201cEven though we love old music, we don\u2019t want to always do things the way people have done forever,\u201d Carter says. \u201cWe want to push some boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another way that Pretty Little Goat approaches things uniquely is in its use of percussion. \u201cMallory has such a unique feel on the washboard,\u201d Carter says. \u201cFrom the beginning, she was very stubborn about learning her own thing.\u201d He admits that sometimes made things challenging. \u201cI\u2019d say, \u2018Just hold down a regular drum beat,\u2019\u201d he recalls with a laugh. Mallory\u2019s reply? \u201cNo, I\u2019m going to do my own thing.\u201d But Josh says that she grew into the role, \u201cand has become a really innovative percussionist, doing things no one is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the group began, its music was based firmly in the old-time style. \u201cWe started out playing music from the Civil War period through the early 1900s,\u201d Carter says. \u201cPre-bluegrass, pre-country; we really dove into the roots of music from before the era of recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
But today the group\u2019s repertoire is a balanced mix of traditional and original songs. The latter fit well alongside the old song, even though they\u2019re informed by a different and wider set of musical influences. \u201cWe also listen to country music, bluegrass and all across the spectrum,\u201d Carter says, noting that he\u2019s inspired by \u201crock and roll, hip hop, and even psychedelic music.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pretty Little Goat\u2019s last major performance prior to the 2020 quarantine was a late December headlining spot on the main stage at Asheville\u2019s Isis Music Hall. \u201cIt was the best show we\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Carter says. A live recording of the concert is available on the band\u2019s website. \u201cWe worked up a set of music that was a combination of old traditional songs and original music, of instrumentals and singing.\u201d A guest spot by acclaimed lap steel and dobro player Jackson Delaney and a rousing opening set by Nashville sibling act Giri and Uma Peters made for an even better experience. \u201cAll that plus having a full house with the right people in the audience made for a magical evening,\u201d Carter says with pride.<\/p>\n
And although the worldwide pandemic is tragic on many levels, there are the occasional silver linings. \u201cThanks to the pandemic, we\u2019ve had all this time to work on our home studio,\u201d Carter says. \u201cOur professional studio is set up now. And I\u2019ve been taking online music production courses, learning everything I can. So that\u2019s where we are now: pushing the envelope of what we can do musically as a band, pushing it in the studio so that it raises the bar for our live performances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginal music is where our focus is right now,\u201d Carter says. Those old-time songs will always be a part of Pretty Little Goat\u2019s aesthetic. \u201cBut now I think we see ourselves more as artists than traditionalists,\u201d Carter says. \u201cSo we tend to look more at what\u2019s going on in the world. We bring a positive message so that audiences can get something from a show and take that to their relationships, and do something good with it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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