The Bushels discuss the cohesive sound of 'Wood and Steel'

Members of the Bushels, Jim Algar, Whit Algar, Mal Jones and Guilds Hollowell, have formed a creative acoustic quartet. The four take on traditional bluegrass and make it their own.

Releasing its new CD, "Wood and Steel," the Bushels opened up and answered some questions for Charleston Scene.

For information on the Bushels, check out www.thebushels.com.

Q: Who writes? Who sings?

Jim Algar (vocals): Anyone can bring anything to the table. When you have a collective group, everybody is essentially an equal part. Our method is simple. You bring a song in and see what's good. We're looking for a spark. Essentially, with us having three main singers, you kind of get three different approaches but it's all one band. It's the power of the simplicity. I think it's why we have such a wide range of people who are enjoying what we're doing. Our sound really picks up all the elements. We switch from singing lead to singing background.

Q: What is special about this new album "Wood and Steel"?

Jim Algar: This is the next step in our evolution. It's just something that when a band plays for a while you grow and get tighter. You grow a new dynamic. In our last CD, we didn't have any of Whit's songs. And he's written some songs on this CD. The ideas on this one are more scattered around. The sound is more cohesive.

Q: How would you describe your music to a first time listener?

Hollowell (banjo): I've played bluegrass for over 30 years. I can tell you that what we play is not bluegrass.

Jim Algar: That's the difficult thing. What genre are we? We are not traditional bluegrass. We have traditional instruments, but we aren't playing traditional bluegrass music. The main thing we try to do more than anything else is that we try to view ourselves as an acoustic quartet. A lot of times because we have a banjo, people say well they're see bluegrass singers. And we aren't.

Q: How has your chemistry and comfort level evolved over the course of the first year and a half?

Hollowell: What I've found about this group, and I have been playing music longer than these guys have been alive, is that there's more chemistry in this group that I've ever felt in any other group that I've ever played in. They have proved that. It's just a lot of fun.

Jones (mandolin): We're all in different stages in our lives, but we get up there and it's just a conversation.

Hollowell: It's just always fun. It's cool.

Whit Algar (bass): We never practice. (Everyone laughs)

Jim Algar: It's always an open gig.

Q: The Bushels. Where did the name orginate?

Jim Algar: Growing up here, oyster roasts are something that we've always gone to and enjoyed, and that's what we like to do and play in a environment that people have a good time, and that's really what people respond to. When it comes to a band name, you have to pick the one that you hate the least. It was a long, long process. All the great bands are called THE somethings. … And our old band names were constantly mispronounced. So we wanted something simple.

Q: What is it like playing in the Lowcountry?

Jones: The best.

Hollowell: Everyone seems to love us.

Jim Algar: We've got the most fan appreciation I've ever had. There's nothing better than playing in the Lowcountry.